alexander

Chapter 4
Leadership Process Four:
Directing Symbols
There is robust literature that investigates when and
how people attribute actions to leaders, even when
the attribution is inappropriate. A leader can direct
the use of symbols and thus influence followers’ attributions,
due in large part to the salience of the leadership role and
the cognitive response elicited by symbols. Symbols are also
important because through them a leader can create sustained
meaning, shared interpretation, and joint action. Controlling
symbols is a source of power for leaders. This power
is akin to that of a movie director using another’s script, but
causing the story to unfold in such a way as to retain the
director’s prerogativeforshapingthefinal outcome.
Using symbols and the cognitive attribution assigned to
these symbols was critical to Alexander, who viewed symbols
as part of tactics. By blurring the distinction between
the environment and the organization, and between problem
and solution, Alexander reframed problems and used
symbolism to alter the environment.
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