Some Leaders Come from Nowhere: Their Success Is Uneven

Abstract

Sometimes leaders seem to come from nowhere—that is, from a social group or situation has seldom produced leaders. Their emergence generally requires special conditions and unusual competence. Once occupying such a role, unexpected leaders have to meet challenges that are more difficult than those faced by expected leaders. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, provides an example of a political leader who, against all odds, has achieved high office and extraordinary success. Both role congruity theory and social identity theory explicate the processes that enable such leaders to emerge and sometimes be successful despite their origins in a marginal status or unusual social location. When unexpected leaders are successful, they serve as symbolic vanguards of social change and sometimes produce wider social change in groups, organizations, or nations.