The Capacious Model and Leader Identity: An Integrative Framework

The Integrated Capacious Model of Leadership Identities Construction (ICM) is a framework for understanding leader identity that integrates four extant leader identity theories with the systems and influences in the Capacious Model of leader identity. The ICM's systems (Individual System, Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, and Chronosystem) contextualize leader identity in time and space; its influences (Purpose/Calling, Self-Identity, Social Identity, and Relationships) pinpoint select factors that affect the construction of leader identities; and its integrated theories (Narrative Identity, Identity Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Social Constructionism) address the leader identity construction process. The ICM speaks to calls for interdisciplinary, multi-level frameworks that are situated within the stream of scholarly literature on leader identity, as the model presents leader identity as a construct located across space, time, and people, rather than the purview of a heroic leader or single instance of identity claiming. Connecting established identity theories, systems, and influences results in a descriptive, practical model of leader identity. Examples are provided of the practical utility of using the ICM as a diagnostic tool for constructing a leader identity, designing leader development programs, and identifying gaps in leader identity scholarship.