A Social Identity Model of Leadership Development Implementation

Despite substantial investment in leadership development, organizations often struggle to implement relevant programs effectively. This reflects the fact that the success of program implementation is contingent on identity dynamics. Building on the social identity model of leadership, the ASPIRe model, and evidence-based programs such as 5R that apply these principles, we argue that, to be effective, implementation needs to ensure that the approach makes sense for “us,” aligns with who “we” are, and fits with “our” leadership. To guide this process, we present a social identity model of leadership development implementation (SIMoLDI) which specifies four phases of effective implementation: (1) identity activation, (2) identity alignment, (3) identity actualization, and (4) identity anchoring. Each phase draws on distinct identity leadership components: prototypicality, entrepreneurship, advancement, and impresarioship. The principles we outline have general relevance in providing a practical, theory-informed framework for translating leadership development initiatives into sustainable practice, while being particularly applicable when leadership development is focused on building collective capability.