Leader Influence beyond the Individual Leader: Group‐Level and Member‐Level Factors that Affect Leader Influence

Abstract

Leadership is inextricably intertwined with the notion of influence. When examining the most prominent contemporary approaches to leadership, notably neo‐charismatic leadership theories, trait‐based approaches to leadership and leader‐member exchange theories, the factors that determine leaders' influence are sought in the individual leader. This paper uses social identity approaches to leadership as a basis for constructing a conceptual argument for investigating factors beyond the individual leader that impact on leaders' influence. We focus on group‐level factors that impact on leader influence. Using a minimal definition of social groups as point of orientation and framed by the philosophy of social constructionism, we show that two factors beyond the individual leader can be identified: group entitativity, or ‘groupiness’, is identified as a group‐level factor, and group identification is identified as a member‐level factor. This research contributes to a wider understanding of leader effectiveness by devoting closer attention to the effect of group dynamics on leader influence.