Enacting change through leadership practice in social work
A social identity approach
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10898909 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Deborah Lynch (0000-0002-5176-2158, The University of Queensland, corresponding author), Blake McMillan (0000-0003-1152-9260, The University of Queensland) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 3796-3814 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal of Social Work (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0045-3102 • E-ISSN: 1468-263X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjsw/bcaf118 |
| OpenAlex | W4411759141 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 74 |
Leadership in social work is often met with ambivalence, as traditional models are seen to conflict with the profession’s core values of inclusion, equity, and social justice. While existing research highlights the importance of leadership in enabling professional practice and workforce well-being, there remains a critical gap in understanding how social workers can lead in ways that authentically embody these values. This paper explores a social identity approach to leadership that can empower social workers to influence and motivate others by Creating, Advancing, Representing, and Embedding (CARE) a shared social identity (a sense of ‘us-ness’) within the groups they lead. Drawing on research from organizational psychology and allied health contexts, alongside practice examples from social work, we discuss how this approach enables social workers to create a unified sense of purpose within contemporary practice contexts. Through the introduction of the 5R programme (Readying, Reflecting, Representing, Realizing, and Reinforcing), we outline a practical intervention to operationalize the CARE model which equips social workers with tools to develop inclusive leadership practices. This paper advances social work leadership scholarship by providing a theoretical foundation and practical framework that aligns leadership effectiveness with the profession’s commitment to anti-oppressive practice and social justice
Aesthetics · Identity (music) · Leadership studies · Leadership style · Political science · Public relations · Social group · Social identity approach · Social identity theory · Social science · Sociology · Work (physics) · Community Health and Development · Engineering · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
The New Psychology of Leadership
Together Apart
Work Motivation and Performance
Leadership training design, delivery, and implementation
Lost in knowledge translation
Personality and leadership
Social identity makes group-based social connection possible
Advancing the social identity theory of leadership
Testing and extending the group engagement model
Perceptions of the social worker role in adult community mental health teams in England
Lay perceptions of modern prejudice toward “White” and “Asian” people
Reconciling identity leadership and leader identity
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An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict
Social identity and intergroup relations
Collective action and psychological change
The Group Engagement Model
Social Identity Complexity
Rediscovering the Social Group
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A single‐item measure of social identification
Identity Leadership, Employee Burnout and the Mediating Role of Team Identification
The road to social work and human service practice
Identity Leadership in a Crisis
Everyday ethics in professional life
Weaving Color Lines
Social work perceptions of transformational and transactional leadership in health care
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Perceived Intragroup Variability as a Function of Group Status and Identification
Effects of the legitimacy of low group or individual status on individual and collective status-enhancement strategies
Assimilation and Diversity
Social Work Leadership
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |