In every organization, regardless of the type of activity, there is a leader and a leader. And most often they are different people. Leadership, or formal leadership, is an authority that does not depend on the personality traits. In other words, it is power granted by official position. Informal leadership is characterized by a set of qualities by which an effective influence on people is realized. The informal leader does not always occupy managerial positions, but at any moment the staff will follow him against the administration of the enterprise.
Not every person is able to become a leader. Many experts suggest that leadership qualities come from nature. Of course, in the process of socialization, a person acquires the missing abilities and qualities. As an individual grows up and gains experience, the talent for leadership increases.
Essence of leadership
Leadership is a key component of effective leadership. It is a process of managerial relationships based on a combination of sources of power and aimed at motivating people to achieve goals. Two main types of leadership are distinguished: formal and informal. In the first case, employees are influenced by a person who occupies a high position. In the second case, the impact on people is through personal abilities, skills and qualities.
A formal and informal leader in one person is a rather rare situation, but in most cases it is optimal. Here we can not ignore the characteristic feature of the Russians. If the boss treats his subordinates well, goes to meet them, then the return will be similar. Workers are ready to follow such leaders at any time.
Informal leader: who is he?
The organizational structure of the enterprise is usually clearly structured. Looking at it, you understand what positions exist in the company and what people occupy them. Informal leaders are people who do not occupy a high position in the organization, but who have an influence on employees.
The opinion of such people (or one person, it depends on the company) is always regarded as the most important. Work colleagues, regardless of their authority or position, are asked for advice in a given situation. The leader in most cases is charisma and attractive, which allows him to stand out from the crowd.
Prerequisites for becoming a person who is ready to lead others:
- work experience, the presence of professional skills;
- wide outlook, knowledge in various fields;
- ability to start a conversation, win people over;
- confidence, self-control, ability to overcome difficulties.
The role of the informal leader in the organization is difficult to overestimate. The general mood of employees depends on him, and the actual leader should not turn a blind eye to this. A good option would be to establish relationships with reputable people in the company, especially if the leader came after them.
Signs of identifying a leader
The so-called gray cardinal is not always as obvious as it can be imagined. Often the head of the organization does not know who exactly influences the employees. To find out, you need to be careful and not attract a lot of attention. The informal leader in the group is distinguished by the following features:
- The most sociable person. It will take a little time to determine the most sociable employee. Most often, he has the ability to easily find a common language with people of any age and temperament.
- Authority.It is necessary to find out to whom people constantly turn for advice, ask for help or solve a problem. Work experience and experience play an important role here.
- Confidence and organizational skills. In most cases, the ideological leader disagrees with the controversial decisions of the leadership, acts as a representative from the team.
- Good attitude, both to the whole team, and to every person. In the process, this can be determined if he goes to dinner with a different person or to a smoking room.
Informal leaders in the organization usually appear when an unexpected situation arises, for example, the deadline for the completion of the project ends or an important employee falls ill. Then one or more people take the initiative and organize the work, raising their authority. Subsequently, they will be contacted for advice.
Role of the informal leader
Experts argue that the appearance of such people is inevitable. The leader, because of his employment, cannot regulate internal relationships in the team, and one of the employees comes to his aid. In addition to professional qualities, he can rally people and solve interpersonal problems.
An informal leader in a team can play a different role. It depends on many factors, ranging from leadership style to personal qualities. There are five main roles of leaders:
- The innovator. Such a person can be called a generator of ideas in another way. This is the type of people who constantly come up with something new and are ready to immediately put into practice. They are indispensable when organizing an event or introducing new equipment.
- Communicator. A sociable person who is always surrounded by people. Usually he has a good sense of humor and is ready to support with advice.
- Crisis Manager. The strengths of such a leader are manifested in difficult stressful situations. He is able to rally people and direct his thoughts in the right direction. He often finds a solution to this problem, but in ordinary life does not stand out.
- Mastermind. The influence of the informal leader of such a role cannot be called decisive, but his emotional impact gives a positive result.
- Eminence grise. This is the most dangerous type of leader. These people have good knowledge in psychology. Remaining in the shade, they are able to control the work of not only ordinary employees, but also management.
How can the leader’s ability be directed to the development of the enterprise?
A leader and an informal leader do not always have a good relationship. Identifying the mastermind is not an easy task, and making it so that his qualities are aimed at developing the organization is even harder. In order to effectively interact with the leader, the leader should use the following methods:
- Promotion of the initiative. And it is not necessary to do this in the form of a monetary reward. Conversation, verbal praise, consultation will be sufficient reasons to build relationships.
- Recognition of authority. A formal and informal leader by mutual efforts can reach unprecedented heights.
- Openness towards the team. It is necessary to involve workers in the discussion of a particular problem. If there is full trust of the team and the leader, then the need for an informal leader will disappear by itself.
Leader Type: Conductor
There are four main types of leader, which are formed according to motivational and behavioral grounds.
"Conductor" is great for interacting with company management. The boss chooses for him a certain path along which the informal leader should lead people. As a motivation for him is a sense of significance and importance in the organization. The "conductor" is quite friendly and hardworking in nature.
Such people can encourage others to act, convey to them their own desire to come to a certain result.The middle manager is the most acceptable position for the "conductor", as he is ready to slowly but surely go up the career ladder. A leader of this type willingly organizes the work of people as part of a clear task. Those areas where you need to take full responsibility are not subject to the "conductors".
Shirt guy
A friendly, emotional person who is able to charge with positive other people. Such an informal leader is great for influencing specific people who, for various reasons, do not want to complete the task.
With the help of charm and attractiveness, he can sow positive emotions within the team. It is almost impossible to refuse him, even the most tedious and uninteresting work will sparkle with new colors in his presence. The motivation for such a leader is a sense of equality with the bosses. It is important for him to understand that he is able to influence people.
Eminence grise
An informal leader of this type is a mysterious person. On the one hand, it can be useful to management, since it easily copes with a task. Moreover, to solve the problem, he uses unexpected and effective steps. But on the other hand, these people are so cunning that they can use the leader for their own purposes.
The gray cardinal is most often quite closed and uncommunicative, but remembers even the most insignificant details with which you can manipulate people. He wants to stay in the shade and to know for himself that he has a huge influence on the organization.
Rebel
The most difficult type of leader. It is characterized by a state of constant struggle, and the struggle for justice. He loves to organize strikes, put forward his conditions, etc. He is ready to find injustice everywhere and at any time and to oppose it.
A rebel always defends every employee, and in disputes with the leader he has no equal. But if the administration clearly, reasonably explains that its rights were affected, the leader with the same zeal will defend this position. This type of leader is the most unstable, and subordinate to his leadership is unusually difficult. At any time, he can go to the other side due to the fact that he found a fair share of injustice.
Using a Leader for Leadership
Most often, the leader does not consider it necessary to cooperate with a pronounced leader and use it for his own purposes. However, this is not true. An informal leader who is not controlled can create many problems for the enterprise. For example, at his insistence, people will stop working, will demand higher salaries, etc. The relationship between leadership and the leader will bear fruit for the organization.
The most loyal types are the "conductor" and the shirt-guy. However, in some situations, they can create problems. For example, a “conductor” as part of a task can take a step that he considers right for himself. And due to ignorance of the plans of the enterprise, this step may turn out to be wrong or even critical. But special attention needs to be paid to rebels. To do this, you must always load it with work so that he does not have time to organize strikes.
Conclusion
The appearance of an informal leader in a team can have a positive or negative impact on a company. It all depends on the type of leader and the behavior of the leader. In any case, the boss needs to trust his employees, involve them in solving problems and discussing projects. In this way, a connection and a friendly atmosphere are formed, and in order to break it, the informal leader will need to try hard.