Social Identity Theory at ELC: Legitimate, Yet Not Law

As my time interning at The Estee Lauder Companies (ELC) comes to a close, I continue to reflect on my experience, specifically noting how leadership theory connects to the operation and effectiveness of the organization. 

Throughout the internship program, I have noticed the strong sense of group membership among employees at the company; people are proud to work at ELC and consider this grouping a significant part of their identity. By the end of the summer, even I found myself strongly identifying with the group. An interesting feature of this notable group identity, however, is that, at the same time, the company embraces core values of individuality and diversity of thought, background, and opinion. Subsequently, this “groupishness” within ELC does not thrive on homogeneity, but rather, it serves to employ unity in difference. Therefore, Social Identity Theory is applicable to the organization in terms of leader emergence, however, only to a certain extent. 

There are several leadership positions within my department at ELC, however, there are three top leaders that hold the highest influence. All three of these leaders are female. The top leaders in my department align with Social Identity Theory because the prototypical group member in my department, as well as in the company in general, is female. In fact, there are only two men in my department and the company itself, founded by a woman, is 84% female. I have enjoyed working in an environment where I have had numerous female leaders as mentors and role models. 

Social Identity Theory also applies to the three top leaders in my department as several of their traits model the archetypal group member at ELC. All of these leaders are charismatic, outgoing, and incredibly intelligent. Many ELC employees embody these same traits and, therefore, because of the strong identification that employees have with the group, their prototypical traits justify these individuals’ rise to leadership. 

While Social Identity Theory serves to explain certain aspects of leadership emergence in my company, it only aligns to a certain extent. The top leaders in my department, and seemingly of the overall company, while they are in some ways very similar to the group, also emphasize their differences; they are not afraid to be bold in speaking their opinions, even if they go against everyone else’s. Importantly, these leaders all have broad worldly perspective and can see beyond the “in-group, out-group” dynamics to address the companies genuine strengths and weaknesses. This is a powerful skill in a leader because it prevents “group-think”.

 One of the most memorable moments of my summer that highlights the power in difference at the company was when the Senior Vice President of my department described how her rise into leadership. She had a very atypical path, beginning as an actress, then becoming a producer, and subsequently an activist. When she began at ELC, she stressed that she had little interest in the beauty industry or in the corporate world in general. Her reasoning for starting at the company was to spring off of its large platform to make a difference in the world–to improve the company’s sustainable practices and make other ethical changes. This leader was prototypical of the group in the way that she was charismatic, confident, and intelligent, yet she was different than the in-group in more ways than she was similar. She described how in many meetings she spoke out against the majority opinion to fight for what she believed in and while some people were startled, many eventually  gave her their respect. Over time, her differences in thought and opinion were seen to be of incomparable value and this propelled her into a reputable leadership position.

While this leader’s story is not necessarily the normal path to leader emergence at the company, it displays that while Social Identity Theory applies to the company’s operations, it is not law. This reality seems to be tied to the immense value that the company places on diversity and individuality.