Who Are We? Learning to Be Social Identity Savvy in Turbulent Times

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Short Description

The importance of being social identity savvy is increasing as the world becomes more connected. Now more than ever, leaders are likely to encounter people different from themselves. Being able to leverage this diversity is a key leadership skill. This workshop will help leaders and practitioners better recognize, understand, and unpack both their own social identities and those of their teams in order to increase perspective-taking and positive organizational outcomes. This interactive session will translate the latest psychological and neurological research (e.g. intersectionality and identity integration) into a leadership context through a mix of lecture, discussions, hands-on activities, and take home tools.

Detailed Abstract

In today’s ever-changing world, one of the most consistent trends is increased diversity. Thanks to a global marketplace and changing social perceptions, organizations are now comprised of individuals from every walk of life. This increased diversity offers both challenges and benefits to organizations. On the one hand, research shows that diverse workgroups tend be more innovative and have stronger critical thinking and perspective-taking skills (Page, 2007). On the other hand, diversity also commonly leads to conflict, alienation, discrimination and anxiety (Hurtado, Carter & Kardia, 1998). Either way, understanding the complexities of social identities is becoming increasingly central for effective leadership in turbulent times.

According to Social Identity Theory, we use social identities to categorize ourselves and others into specific groups (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). There are many different types of social identities (e.g. ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion, sexual orientation, generation). In some ways, these categorizations are useful. They provide short-cuts and help us simplify complex information, identify others that are similar to us, and foster connections with others. However, such categorizations can also hinder us by creating boundaries that limit our ability to recognize and adapt to a broader and more nuanced world view and think outside of the box when needed.

All leaders have multiple social identities that shape their self-concept and leadership journey. However, understanding social identity is not often taught as a key leadership competence. Rather, it is often discussed as “special interest” issue that focuses on a single identity group (e.g. gender equality as a ‘women’s issue’). This is likely at least partly because up until recently, the majority of leaders shared common identities. But in an increasingly global, diverse, and turbulent world, social identity and diversity are not the issues of the marginalized, but issues that are unavoidably in the front and center of leadership challenges and organizational success. Understanding how to span social identity boundaries and leverage a diverse talent is one of the most critical skills for successful leadership in the 21st century. Leaders who understand their own social identities and can integrate then with their role as a leader have a basis for leading with authenticity and effectiveness (Munusamy, Ruderman & Eckert, 2010; Lord & Hall, 2005).

Proposed Session Description:
This workshop is designed to help leaders and practitioners better understand, attend to, and leverage both their own social identities and those of their teams in order to increase perspective taking and positive organizational outcomes. This interactive session will include a mix of educational talks, discussions, and hands-on experiential activities.

First, presenters will start by doing a brief introduction to the session (~ 5 minutes). Next, session participants will be divided into groups and asked to do an interactive hands-on activity designed to highlight principles of social identity and natural social categorization and intergroup behavior (e.g. Tajfel, Billig, Bundy, & Flament, 1970) (~15 minutes). Afterwards, presenters will hold a large group discussion to debrief the activity and will introduce the topics of social categorization, social identity, and the impact to the modern workplace (~15 minutes). In particular, presenters will integrate recent neuroscience findings explaining unconscious bias and why and how we categorize others (e.g. Johnson & Fredrickson, 2005).

After having this active learning experience with interpersonal social identities, participants will be invited to take a deep dive into exploring their own social identities. Presenters will guide participants in how to create their own social identity map using an innovative, scientifically validated technique (~15 minutes). Next, participants will do a ‘pair and share’ activity, in which they will engage in a guided discussion about their social identity maps with a partner (~10 minutes). Afterwards, presenters will debrief this activity by discussing what science suggests their maps might tell them about themselves—including their personal levels of identity integration and identity salience (e.g. Roccas, Sagiv, Schwartz, Halevy, & Eidelson, 2008) (~10 minutes). Presenters will emphasize the importance of using an intersectionality framework for understanding social identity in today’s work teams (e.g. Cole, 2009).

Finally, tools and tips for leveraging social identities and diversity in the workplace will be discussed. First presenters will share a number of ideas and tools, and then participants will actively engage in table discussions about further strategies (~15 minutes). The session will conclude with a large group wrap up (~5 minutes).

Contributions, Implications, and Key Learning Outcomes:
While social identities are hardly new (decades of social science research has been dedicated to it), the importance of being social identity savvy is certainly increasing in our turbulent times. Now more than ever, leaders are likely to encounter people different from themselves. Thus, being able to recognize differences and similarities in order to connect authentically with others is a central leadership ability (Lord & Hall, 2005). Yet, social identity is rarely discussed in leadership education beyond the basic concept of isolated social identities (e.g. “race” or “gender”).

This session is innovative in that recognizes that all leaders have multiple, dynamic social identities that blend together to make up unique human experiences. Moreover, this session goes beyond Social Identity Theory to translate the latest trends in psychological and neurological research on social identities (e.g. intersectionality, identity integration) and apply them to a leadership context.

After completing this session, participants will: 1) Gain a better understanding of what social identities are, and why they are relevant to leadership; 2) Reflect on and unpack their own social identities, including how these identities impact their leadership; 3) Have an increased awareness of and perspective for the social identities of others; 4) Gain a better understanding of how social groups work, and how they create unconscious bias.

The world is a turbulent place. In order to move forward through this turbulence, leaders and practitioners alike must gain a better understanding of themselves and those around them. We believe one of the most important ways to do this is by increasing social identity savvy.

Sub Unit

• Leadership Development

Presenters

• Cathleen E. Clerkin, Center for Creative Leadership

• Jennifer Martineau, Center for Creative Leadership