1) The Leadership Identity Development (LID) is a structure about how college students develop social identity of being collaborative, relational leaders interdependently engaging in leadership as a group process. The LID grounded theory is the foundation upon which the model is developed.
The experiment consisting of thirteen diverse students was conducted at mid-Atlantic university and the participants were interviewed about the process in creating leadership identity. The findings showed that leadership identity is the central category for developing the leadership identity model. The LID model is stage-based and entails students progressing through one stage before beginning the next. The theory presented six stages of the central category of leadership identity and discussed each stage’s connection to the other five categories.
First stage is the awareness in which the student becomes aware of of the leadership happening around them. The family, particularly parents, are important in the awareness stage and played a critical role in helping the student build confidence and support them by serving as a building block. The second stage, exploration and engagement is the action step where students actually step out to be engaged in the opportunities that exist in their school/college. Then in the next stage, the leadership is identified and the person in that position is identified as a leader.
Moreover, in the fourth stage, a person starts to differentiate the view of their leadership and saw that non-positional students also exhibit leadership. However, in stage five, the students showed an ability to look beyond themselves and express a passion for their commitment for the welfare of others. Finally, in stage six, the students realize that a leader does not need a position to be involved in leadership, it is possible to be a leader without holding a position.
2) Personal development is a lifelong process. It is a way to assess the skills and qualities and set the aims and goals in life to maximize the potential in all that we do in life. The LID model has implications for developing the leadership capacity and capacity of groups to be supportive environments for shared and relational leadership. The six stages of LID model are very useful in personal development. LID model shows my current leadership identity which is on stage four: leadership differentiated.
However, LID model already shows the path that I can take to transition from stage four to stage five and then ultimately to stage six. The relationship with others is a key factor in any leadership position and personal development is equally as important.
LID model applies to my personal development as deepening my self-awareness, building self-confidence, applying new skills and expanding motivations. To have a study done on leadership identity really stresses my belief that the leadership is not personal rather it is for the welfare of others. The subjects in the study showed hierarchical views of leadership and that’s how I had viewed leadership before joining Robert Morris. But as I progressed in my collegiate career, it was almost impossible to do an event on campus without asking for help from others. The interdependence made me realize that leadership is only possible as a group.
Each stage explains a new idea and behavior, and expanding on all stages is critical. I had experienced these stages in my two-years of collegiate career. I had made myself aware of the FYSP position available on-campus. I started exploring and engaging about the position with people around me. I have identified this position as a leadership position because there was a process to become a FYSP mentor and there were only limited spots available. These stages have been very critical in my leadership roles in other organizations around the campus and I plan to be more engaged in each of the stages as I progress my student career.
3) The LID model is a great way to identify the leadership potential in people and determine their leadership identity. The LID model explicitly applies to the leadership roles in my personal life and on-campus.
First, the six stages are generalized and are applicable to any leadership role I have taken. I can work to create the awareness about leadership responsibilities at RMU and help motivate the incoming freshmen by talking about making a difference in their surroundings. I can also affirm and encourage them to explore diverse roles that they can take to create the change. Once a group starts to explore and engage, they can be reaffirmed on the things they did great individually so they can learn to label their skills and identify the areas of further growth.
Secondly, as a FYSP mentor I can educate the freshmen about the importance of teamwork and building a group community. There are certain activities done throughout the FYSP class which helps the incoming class identify their potential strengths and weaknesses. The activities also include doing the service for the community which will help them identify the feeling of doing the welfare good of the society. My responsibility as FYSP mentor also includes helping the students identify their strengths and passion. This would allow them to label the strengths and showcase them effectively.
Finally, the LID model applies to my leadership responsibilities in my personal life, relationships and friendships. I have to make sure that my younger brothers get the resources that they need in order to succeed in this competitive world and help them identify their life goals. I find myself in Generativity stage when I think about relationships and friendships. Being an elder son and brother, I always find myself looking for ways to help my family make right decisions. As an actuarial science major, I am diligent with my friend’s mathematical questions. I have to teach mathematics to some of my friends and help them understand the concepts so they can succeed in their respective courses. Whenever I have to organize the event on-campus, I reach out to SGA officers and divide the responsibilities of the event according to our interests. I find myself in stage six: Integration/Synthesis stage where I find that other members in my group could complete some duties/tasks more effectively than I can.
