The New Psychology of Leadership : Identity, Influence and Power

This groundbreaking book provides a refreshing introduction to the field of leadership and is jam-packed with theoretical and practical insights derived from a wealth of applied scientific research conducted by the authors and their colleagues around the world over the last three decades.

It starts from the premise that leadership is never just about leaders. Instead it is about leaders and followers who are joined together as members of a social group that provides them with a sense of shared social identity – a sense of "us-ness". In these terms, leadership is understood as the process through which leaders work with followers to create, represent, advance, and embed this sense of shared social identity. The new edition of this award-winning book presents a wealth of evidence from historical, organizational, political and sporting contexts to provide an expanded exploration of these processes of identity leadership in action. In particular, it builds upon the success of the first edition by examining the operation of identity leadership in contemporary society and fleshing out practical answers to key organizational and institutional challenges.

Drawing on real-world examples and rich data sources, this book will appeal to academics, researchers, and students of psychology, business, and management, as well as to practitioners, policy makers, and anyone interested in the workings of leadership, influence, and power.

S. Alexander Haslam is Professor of Psychology and Australian Laureate Fellow at the University of Queensland. Alex’s research focuses on the study of group and identity processes in social, organizational and contexts. Together with over 250 co-authors around the world, he has written and edited 14 books and published over 250 peer-reviewed articles on these topics. He is a former Editor of the European Journal of Social Psychology and currently Associate Editor of The Leadership Quarterly.

Stephen Reicher is Professor of Psychology at the University of St Andrews. Steve’s seminal contributions to research on social identity and self-categorization theories stretch back to the 1970s, and have been particularly influential in areas of delinquency, nationalism, crowd behaviour, and political influence. Together with over 200 co-authors, he has written and edited 7 books and published over 200 peer-reviewed articles on these topics. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a former Editor of the British Journal of Social Psychology.

Michael Platow is Professor in Psychology at the Australian National University. Michael has published extensively on intergroup relations, social justice, leadership and social influence. He has published over 120 papers in these areas and written and edited three books. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and a former president of the Society of Australasian Social Psychologists.