Leaders and followers: co-constructing a creative identity

By bringing together leadership and creativity in the development of a conceptual model, this chapter focuses on how leaders and followers co-construct the creative identity, which in turn impacts organisational outcomes. To explain the interactions between leaders and followers in the co-construction of creativity and the concomitant identity work, a conceptual model is presented which shows how leaders’ narratives can act as a regulator or enabler of followers’ identity work. Overlaying this is the concept that certain gendered behaviours are more likely to facilitate the co-construction of the creative identity. Thus, this chapter demonstrates how leaders and followers, on an ongoing basis, construct a subjectively meaningful workplace and then act accordingly.