Reciprocal identity among leader and follower

A core assumption of social psychology is that a reciprocal relationship exists between social identity and social reality (Aronson, 2008). Reicher et al. (2007) proposed that “identity influences the type of society people create and that society, in turn, influences the identity people to adopt.” If dissonance exists between identity and reality, people tend to discard identity for viable alternatives.

For example, in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, the founding fathers of a nation declared “all men are created equal” (US Declaration Ind.), establishing individual liberty as a core value of American identity; while the compromises made to drive ratification of the United States Constitution allowed for slavery to exist in American society.

The contradiction in value and practice established a cognitive dissonance in American society that contributed to a Civil War, which culminated in Abraham Lincoln’s (1863) restatement of and commitment to American values as being “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” (para. 1). A restatement of values did not suddenly change human nature. Still, it served as a vision for coalescing individuals to take collective action.

Continuing disconnects between values and behaviors contributed to the Civil Rights movement with a vision summarized by Martin Luther King  (1963) as “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal” (para. 13). Riots, a restatement of principles, and assassinations did not suddenly transform human nature. Still, they helped to emphasize the conflict between values and actions within American society while serving as catalysts for transforming societal action to work toward closing the dissonance.

Today, barriers to individual liberty have not been universally eradicated in American society's attitudes, behaviors, and laws. Still, society continues to progress towards its stated vision and values.

An important consideration here is that a vision statement serves as a guiding star, not as a destination (Collins & Lazier, 1995). The vision guides the direction of individuals and society, but the journey never ends. If the leaders and the followers “hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and are granted with certain unalienable rights, among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (US Declaration Ind.), the vision will continue to influence societal development. If leaders and followers shift from the vision, their behaviors will follow.

Considering the above example against the new psychology of leadership, the Founding Fathers of the United States of America defined the vision. Still, leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. were able to shape and shift attitudes and behaviors toward the vision by clarifying the identity of the American character and by helping followers conceive those identities as substantial parts of their identity.