When the Outsider Leads: Power Dynamics of ‘Unexpected’ Identity Holders in Formal Organizational Leadership

Building on the puzzles explored by Heersink & Lacombe (2023) regarding unexpected group partnerships, this project flips the lens to focus on unexpected leaders—those whose identities are not traditionally associated with organizational authority. While much is known about the struggles and strategies of marginalized individuals (see Al‐Sharif, 2024), there is little research on what happens when they actually attain positions of formal power. How do they exercise authority? Do they challenge or reinforce prevailing organizational norms and political structures? Do their leadership styles catalyze novel alliances or power struggles, and how do followers react? This research would employ qualitative interviews and perhaps ethnographic shadowing to investigate these dynamics in a range of organizational contexts (e.g., religious organizations led by younger women, or tech companies led by first-generation immigrants). The novelty here is in examining the lived experience and organizational consequences of “unexpected” identity holders in formal power, not just as symbolic tokens but as active shapers of organizational politics. This could have profound implications for leadership theory, diversity management, and our understanding of how identity disrupts or reproduces power norms.

References:

1. Power in a Union: How Unexpected Group Partnerships Form. Boris Heersink, Matthew J. Lacombe (2023). Perspectives on Politics.
2. Identity work responses to workplace stigmatization: Power positions, authenticity, religious coping and religious accommodation for skilled practising Muslim professionals. Rami Al‐Sharif (2024). Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology.