‘The Vision Thing’

written by Alex Haslam, Steve Reicher & Michael Platow

So how did he do it? Based on an exhaustive analysis of relevant texts, Esler’s definitive answer is that Paul “turned himself and [his would-be followers] into an ‘us’ in relation to their identity as Christ-followers, thus gaining their commitment to a sense of self from which they would derive meaning, purpose and value" (p.223)

In short, then, the secret of Paul’s success was that he understood that in order to propel his mission forward he needed to build with his followers a sense of shared social identity. Without this, his charisma would have gone unrecognized and his vision would have been just another dream. Without this, the road to Damascus would have been just another road.

References

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Reicher, S. D., & Haslam, S. A. (2006). Rethinking the psychology of tyranny: The BBC Prison Experiment. British Journal of Social Psychology, 45, 1-40.

Reicher, S. D., Haslam, S. A., & Hopkins, N. (2005). Social identity and the dynamics of leadership: Leaders and followers as collaborative agents in the transformation of social reality. Leadership Quarterly. 16, 547–568.