These insights come from Carl Akintola-Davies, Head of Learning and Development at ICAEW. He supports about one thousand internal staff and a global membership of over two hundred thousand professionals and students. 

His career spans music, teaching, consulting, and senior roles across public, academic, and corporate organizations. That range shaped a simple view. Leadership problems rarely depend on the sector. 

They depend on people. His work draws on strong research and long experience. It challenges leader focused thinking and supports Identity Leadership, where influence grows from shared purpose and real connection.

In this article, you will learn why many leadership models fail at work. You will see how shared identity shapes trust and results. You will understand why connection, clarity, and progress matter most. You will also learn how organizations can build leadership people truly follow.

Identity Leadership in Learning and Development

A career in learning and development often starts in simple places. Teaching a skill, guiding small groups, or working in creative fields helps people understand how others learn. 

These early roles build clear communication, patience, and the confidence to explain ideas in a way people can follow. With time, that interest grows into a focus on helping teams learn and work better together.

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The Influence of Performance

Performance skills matter more than most people think. Standing in front of a group takes presence, and you need to read the room fast. 

These skills help you keep people engaged, but they can also cause trouble. When someone enjoys the spotlight too much, the session shifts toward entertainment. 

It becomes more about charm than growth. Real learning often feels a bit uncomfortable, and you need space for that. A session can still be warm and friendly, but it should stretch people a little.

From Teaching to Guiding Adults

Working with adults feels different from teaching kids. Adults bring their own stories, habits, and ways of thinking. They don’t want someone to tell them every step. They want space to think and talk through their ideas. 

A good facilitator guides the room and helps people build on the knowledge they already have. This approach creates better discussions and helps learners take more control of their own progress. It’s simple, but it works.

How L&D Functions Inside a Membership Organization

Professional membership bodies support two groups:

• Students and members, who need clear learning paths and ongoing development.
• Internal staff, who need strong management and communication skills to work well together.

AI brings new tools and pressure, but the core needs stay the same. People still need clarity, confidence, and good support to do their best work.

Challenges That Don’t Disappear

Across all sectors, the same issues show up. Managers avoid tough talks. Feedback feels heavy. Development slips when work gets busy. 

These patterns remind us that strong human skills still sit at the centre of good work, no matter how much the world around us changes.

Identity Leadership That Builds Effective Leaders

Leadership development often looks polished, but the results don’t always match the effort. Many organizations chase new ideas and popular models instead of solid evidence. 

Over time, this creates a crowded mix of theories. New managers face too many options and little clarity. A few ideas work well, but they often get buried.

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Why Collaboration Needs Stronger Support

Most people arrive at work focused on personal success. That instinct feels natural and even useful at first. Organizations also reward it when they hire and promote. 

They look for drive, confidence, and speed. However, teams only do their best work when people collaborate. Shared effort creates more value than solo wins.

Learning and development plays a key role here. It helps people move from “me first” thinking to shared goals. Leaders must support that shift every day. It never ends because new people arrive with the same starting mindset.

What Identity Tells Us About Leadership

Identity shapes how leadership really works. Two ideas explain the difference:

• Leader identity: the belief that “I am a leader.”
• Identity leadership: influence that comes because others see you as one of them.

Leader identity gets far too much attention. Many programs build confidence and status, but they miss the point. Evidence clearly shows that people follow leaders who feel familiar and aligned. 

They trust leaders who understand them and act in their interest. Identity leadership focuses on connection. Traits matter far less than shared purpose.

Why Organizations Often Choose the Wrong Leaders

Many companies promote people who look confident and push themselves forward. These people seem ready to lead. 

Yet teams often prefer someone else. They choose people who support the group and listen well. This gap explains why many leadership plans fall short.

What Effective Leaders Actually Do

Effective leaders build a strong sense of “us.” They:

• build trust through real understanding
• support shared goals
• help people feel valued and useful

Their influence grows from connection, not status. That pattern shows up across teams and sectors. It also shows where leadership development should place its focus.

How to Build Identity Leadership People Follow?

Identity leadership grows when people feel that a leader is genuinely connected to them. It isn’t about charisma or confidence. 

It’s about whether people believe the leader understands them, cares about their work, and stands with them. When that connection feels real, people listen. When it feels thin or forced, almost nothing works.

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What Identity Leadership Depends On

Effective leaders do one thing very well. They help people feel seen and valued. They build a sense of “us” that feels honest. 

Two leaders can act very differently, yet both succeed if they tap into what their groups care about. Traits like confidence or loudness don’t explain influence. The connection does.

How Organizations Can Build This Skill

A simple way to support identity leadership is to focus on three daily habits: connection, clarity, and progress.

1. Connection: This is the base. Leaders build it by spending real time with people, asking good questions, and listening without rushing. Small one-to-one help people feel respected. When that trust grows, tough talks feel easier and day-to-day work flows better.
2. Clarity: People want to know what matters. Leaders should give clear goals and explain priorities. They should also share what’s happening in the wider organization. Clarity cuts noise and helps people stay focused.
3. Progress: Work needs to move forward, and people need to grow. Leaders coach, give feedback, and hold people accountable in a fair way. They also help people build skills for the future. Progress keeps energy high and gives the team a sense of movement.

Why Connection Feels Hardest

Connection takes patience and quiet moments. Many leaders feel pressure to talk, push, and move fast. Stepping back feels slow, but it often creates more trust than a long speech. Without connection, clarity doesn’t land, and progress feels forced.

Where Organizations Stand

Some workplaces support these habits, but most progress still comes from individual leaders who choose to work this way. The pattern is clear. Identity leadership grows from steady, human behaviour, not from titles or confidence alone.

Identity Leadership That Shapes Strong Culture

Many workplaces still reward confidence, visibility, and that classic leader pose. It feels familiar, so people keep choosing it. But it often overlooks the behaviours that actually help teams work well. That gap slows progress and leaves many strong managers unnoticed.

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Why Seniority and Leadership Don’t Always Align

Being senior doesn’t guarantee strong leadership. Senior roles pull people into strategy, budgets, and wide responsibilities. 

The workload grows fast, and connection is usually the first thing to slip. People also lead teams doing work they don’t fully understand anymore, so they step back instead of leaning in.

However, the pressure to look confident pushes leaders to talk more and listen less. When that happens, trust drops, and the team feels the distance.

What Organizations Can Put in Place

Real change doesn’t start with big programmes. It starts with small habits and a clear message about what good leadership looks like. A simple focus on connection, clarity, and progress gives people something steady to hold on to.

Connection sits at the base. It grows when managers spend time with people, ask simple questions, and listen without rushing to respond. Clarity then gives direction. 

It shows what matters, the goals, and how each person fits in. Progress pulls everything together because people want to see that their work moves something forward.

Where needed, organizations can support this through:

• feedback loops that let staff speak honestly
• performance expectations that highlight everyday people management
• small nudges or examples that show what good looks like

These tools help leaders without adding heavy processes.

Can Progress Be Measured?

Leadership will always feel messy, but you can still check if things are moving in the right direction. Look at whether managers hold regular check-ins, set clear goals, and offer feedback. 

Ask people if they feel supported and connected. These signs aren’t perfect, but they show that the culture is shifting toward leadership that feels human and steady.

Conclusion

Strong leadership doesn’t come from titles, confidence, or a loud voice. It comes from daily behaviour. This article shows that people follow leaders who feel close, clear, and consistent. When leaders build real relationships, work feels safer and more focused. 

When goals stay clear, people waste less energy guessing. When progress feels steady, motivation stays high. None of this sounds flashy, but it works. That truth often frustrates teams chasing quick fixes. However, simple habits usually beat complex models.

Carl Akintola’s work reminds us that leadership problems look similar across every sector. People want to feel seen. They want fairness and direction. They want leaders who stand with them, not above them. 

Identity Leadership captures that idea in plain terms. Influence grows when people feel part of a shared “us.” It shrinks when leaders focus on status or image rather than on the work. This shift asks leaders to listen more, explain better, and stay present, even when work feels heavy.

That said, real change doesn’t need large programs. It needs daily discipline. Small conversations matter. Clear priorities matter. Follow through matters. 

When leaders commit to these basics, teams respond. Trust grows. Results improve. Leadership starts to feel human again, and people want to follow.

FAQs

Can new managers apply identity-based leadership early?

Yes. New managers can start by listening more and speaking less. Small actions build trust faster than authority.

Does identity-focused leadership work in remote teams?

Yes, but it needs effort. Leaders must check in often and stay visible. Clear communication matters more when people work apart.

How long does it take to see results from this approach?

Some changes show quickly, like better conversations. Deeper trust builds over time through consistent behaviour.

Can technical experts struggle with this leadership style?

Yes. Strong technical skills don’t always mean strong people skills. Awareness and practice help close that gap.

What happens if a team resists a leader at first?

Resistance often signals low trust. Leaders should stay patient and consistent. Over time, steady actions soften doubt.