An evidence-based framework for building identity leadership
5R builds teamful leaders and leaderful teams.
Leadership is a ‘we’ process, not a ‘me’ process
Traditional leadership development often focuses on the individual leader — their traits, styles, or competencies. Decades of research show that leadership effectiveness depends just as much on how leaders work with the groups they lead, and how they build a shared sense of “us”.
That insight is the foundation on which 5R is built.
5R is an award-winning leadership framework developed by researchers at the University of Queensland’s Social Identity and Groups Network (SIGN).
It focuses on how leaders CARE — create, advance, represent, and embed a shared sense of social identity in their teams.
What is the 5R Leadership Programme?
5R is a structured leadership development programme that helps leaders and teams build, strengthen, and sustain a shared sense of “us”.
Each module focuses on what leaders and teams need to understand, align, and embed to lead effectively together over time.
Readying
Why does ‘we’ matter?
Reflecting
Who are we — really?
Representing
What are we about, and who do we want to be?
Realising
How do we become what we want to be?
Reinforcing
How do we keep getting better?
Together, the 5Rs provide a practical pathway for developing leadership that is shared, sustainable, and grounded in collective identity.
The four elements of identity leadership
Identity leadership is built through four core elements, captured in the CARE model, which describe how leaders mobilise and sustain a shared sense of ‘us’
Creating ‘us’
Identity Entrepreneurship
A leader who unites people by actively shaping a shared sense of group identity.
Advancing ‘us’
Identity Advancement
A leader who champions the collective goals and values of the group, especially in the face of challenge.
Representing ‘us’
Identity Prototypicality
A leader who embodies what it means to be ‘one of us’ in ways that are positive and distinctive.
Embedding ‘us’
Identity Impresarioship
A leader who builds structures, practices, and activities that make the group’s identity real and enduring.
The 5R Leadership programme has been specifically designed to develop these four elements of identity leadership in practice.
Why organisations choose 5R
The 5R difference:
Grounded in world-leading research
Developed by experts at the University of Queensland’s Social Identity and Groups Network (SIGN).
Focused on teams, not just individuals
Leadership is developed through shared identity, relationships, and collective purpose.
Structured and practical
Theory is translated into a clear, staged framework for action.
Proven in complex environments
Used across higher education, government, health, and safety-critical settings.
Delivered by accredited practitioners
Every facilitator is trained and licensed to deliver 5R with rigour and care.
Organisations choose 5R because it shifts leadership development from the individual leader to the collective realities of teams and organisations.
“Leadership is not about power over others but about power through others.”
— Turner, J. C. (2005). Explaining the nature of power: A three process theory. European journal of social psychology, 35(1), 1-22.