Leader Identification and Disidentification: Constructs, Measurements, and Nomological Network.

This article focuses on the concepts of leader identification and leader disidentification, examining how employees incorporate or detach a leader's characteristics into their self-concept within workplace relationships. Leader identification involves followers internalizing positive leader traits, fostering connection, cooperation, and enhanced work outcomes, while leader disidentification entails deliberate separation from a leader's incompatible or negative traits, reinforcing self-boundaries and potentially leading to conflict. Through four empirical studies involving qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys with employees in Taiwan, the research developed and validated distinct measurement scales for both constructs and explored their antecedents—trust propensity predicts leader identification, and cynical belief predicts leader disidentification—and consequences, including satisfaction with supervision and perceptions of leader effectiveness. Findings indicate that leader disidentification has a stronger negative impact on perceptions of leader effectiveness than leader identification's positive influence, highlighting the importance of considering both constructs to fully understand leader-follower identity dynamics. The study also discusses theoretical implications for social identity theory and practical considerations for managing leader-follower value alignment in organizational settings.