Social Identity

Knowing yourself, Leading Others

"Leadership is a lot about boundary spanning. It's about building bridges between us and other people. So how is it, that we find the bridhe? For me, tapping into self-awareness makes a big difference. If I understand who I am... If I know myself well enough to ask, What are the given aspects of my identity? chosen aspects? of who I am.. there is a better chance of me being able to find a bridge between myself and another person"

Who are you?

How do you articulate what matters most to you and why it matters ?

How does his create understanding and empathy between people you relate to ?

"Social Identity theory allows us to break the human element down into two layers. The first layer you might consider is a 'given' nature. Things that you didn't get to vote on, things that you didn't have control over"

Given

What are the attributes or conditions that you have no choice over?

Elements ofyour given identity inlude birthplace, name, gender, physical characteristics, caste, family, possibaly religion.

"Usually around age 15 or 16 our agency increases. The kinds of things we think about in terms of who we are, have more to do with choices we've made"

Chosen

What are some of the earliest choices you made ?

What are other choices that may describe your status, experiences, attributes or skills ?

Think about things like your occupations, hobbies, political affiliation, friends, life partner . Are these chosen ?

"Think about the given and chosen... maybe even map it out. Ask yourself those questions of where you've come from- the things you didn't have control over- who you are today because of the choices you have made. How can you use this to avoid conflict and actually build better relationships over the season ahead."

How to Use

1. Create an example of a social identity map to share with the group.

2. In the outer ring, list aspects of your chosen identity. Consider including your occupation, hobbies, political affiliation, friends. Examples are cyclist, mother, engineer, college graduate, wife, best friend.

3. In the next ring, write words that describe your given identity: attributes that you had no choice about such as your nationality, age, gender, physical characteristics, certain family roles, possibly religion. Examples include female, only child, tall, blind, cancer patient.

4. After you complete your map:

Underline the items that are important to you. These are likely to be the terms you would use to describe yourself.

+ Put a plus sign beside the items that you believe contribute to your ability to lead effectively.

- Put a minus sign beside the items that you believe detract from your ability to lead effectively.

? Put a question mark beside the items that may vary in how they affect your leadership ability, depending on context.