Abstract
<p>Despite substantial investment in leadership development, organizations often struggle toimplement relevant programs effectively. This reflects the fact that the success of programimplementation is contingent on identity dynamics. Building on the Social Identity Model ofLeadership, the ASPIRe model, and evidence-based programs such as 5R that apply theseprinciples, we argue that, to be effective, implementation needs to ensure that the approachmakes sense for “us”, aligns with who “we” are, and fits with “our” leadership. To guide thisprocess, we present a Social Identity Model of Leadership Development Implementation(SIMoLDI) which specifies four phases of effective implementation: (1) identity activation, (2)identity alignment, (3) identity actualization, and (4) identity anchoring. Each phase draws ondistinct identity leadership components: prototypicality, entrepreneurship, advancement, andimpresarioship. The principles we outline have general relevance in providing a practical, theory-informed framework for translating leadership development initiatives into sustainable practice,while being particularly applicable when leadership development is focused on buildingcollective capability.</p>