A structured intervention that has been shown to deliver tangible benefits.
What is the 5R Leadership Programme?
The 5R Leadership Programme is an evidence-based approach to leadership development grounded in the social identity approach to leadership.
It helps leaders build inclusive, high-functioning, and healthy teams by strengthening a shared and sustained sense of “us”
How the 5R Programme works
The 5R Leadership Programme is delivered as a structured sequence of five connected modules that guide leaders and teams through the process of building and sustaining a shared sense of “us”.
Each module focuses on a distinct leadership challenge, while together they form a coherent, evidence-based intervention that supports alignment, performance, and wellbeing over time.
Readying
Why does ‘we’ matter? Understanding the value of groups for leadership and ways to harness this.
Reflecting
Who are we? Identify important group memberships as a basis for connection and growth.
Representing
What are we about and what do we want to be? Clarifying identity through values, norms and aspirations.
Realising
How do we become what we want to be? Developing strategies to align different identities.
Reinforcing
How can we be better? Ensuring that ongoing identity leadership supports health, performance and resilience.
How leaders engage with the 5R programme
Facilitated workshops
Leader-led team activities
Coaching or reflective practice
Online resources
Evidence & impact
The 5R Leadership Programme is grounded in world-leading research and has been evaluated across a range of organisational contexts, including government, health, and high-reliability environments.
It is designed not as a one-off training experience, but as a structured, evidence-based intervention that delivers measurable improvements in leadership ability, organisational alignment, and ‘teamfulness’.
Research-led design
Grounded in the social identity approach to leadership
Peer-reviewed evidence
Published in leading academic journals
Rigorous evaluation
Including randomised and quasi-experimental designs
Proven in practice
Delivered across health, and high-reliability environments.
Significant improvements in:
Identity leadership capability
Organisational alignment
‘Teamfulness’*
*Teamfulness = team reflexivity + team psychological safety + team goal clarity + inclusive team climate (as measured through validated scales)
The New Psychology of Leadership (3rd ed.) is published by Routledge and draws on over two decades of applied research across a range of sectors and contexts.
From research to practice
The 5R Leadership Programme was deliberately designed to translate the ideas set out in The New Psychology of Leadership into a practical, evidence-based intervention for organisations.
The book is widely regarded as the definitive account of leadership as a social identity process. It shows that effective leadership is not about individual traits or styles, but about a leader’s ability to CARE — create, advance, represent, and embed a shared sense of “us”.
5R was co-created by Professor Alex Haslam AM, one of the book’s authors, specifically to support leaders to put these ideas into practice.
Every participant receives a copy of the book as part of the programme.