Leadership Processes and Follower Self-identity

Presenting a follower-centered perspective on leadership, this work focuses on followers as the direct determinant of leadership effects because it is generally through follower reactions and behaviours that leadership attempts succeed or fail.

Therefore, leadership theory needs to be articulated with a theory of how followers create meaning from leadership acts and how this meaning helps followers self-regulate in specific contexts.

In this book, an attempt is made to develop such a theory, maintaining that the central construct in this process is the self-identity of followers.

In developing this theoretical perspective, the authors draw heavily from several areas of research and theory.

The most critical constructs do not come directly from the leadership literature, but from social and cognitive theory pertaining to follower's self-identity, self-regulatory processes, motivation, values, cognitions, and emotions and perceptions of social justice.

Leaders may have profound effects on these aspects of followers and it is by analysing such indirect, follower-mediated leadership effects that most ideas regarding leadership theory and practice are developed.