In recent years, in connection with the active development of the business, such concepts as leadership, leadership, approaches, management styles have been in the spotlight. Practitioners and scientists have repeatedly asked a number of questions.
- What leadership styles are best?
- What qualities do you need to have to become a good leader?
Consider this in more detail.
What are the differences between a leader and a leader?
This question is one of the main ones.
A leader is a member of a group whose power, authority and authority are voluntarily recognized by other members in the group. They are ready to obey and help him. Therefore, it turns out that the leader has an informal, or unofficial, authority. Often the main reason is that the styles of leadership and leadership of the boss are different. Therefore, the remaining members of the group choose the manager with whom they are more comfortable working.
A leader is not usually appointed. As practice shows, this is a person who is recognized as a member of the group and who, in turn, wants to become one. Therefore, it turns out that the official leader is not always the leader. To be more precise, this usually happens. The main reason most often, as was noted, is the ineffective leadership style of the leader. The group, he is recognized simply formally, as a person who signs documents at the right time.
A smart leader can take advantage of the situation. He has the opportunity to shift his authority to more authoritative members of the team. But the main thing is to manage this process so as not to lose your place and finally authority.
Several leaders may exist in a group, which often change depending on the current situation and the state of the group. A professional leader can manage a group. To do this, he needs to influence behavior and psychology through authoritative leaders with high status. But he must remember one basic law. Typically, in such situations, the leader needs to completely control the process, since the authority of the leaders in such a situation is not less than his. Therefore, the main thing is not to lose control.
At the initial stages of the study, scientists did not share leadership styles, their typology and classification. But over time, several concepts formed that had a certain evidence base.
Typology of leaders
In the process of research, several were identified. Let us dwell on them in more detail.
The authoritarian leader is characterized by the presence of the following personal and behavioral characteristics:
- authority
- sole decision-making;
- imposing one’s opinion;
- the provision of psychological pressure;
- installation on rigorous execution of the expressed decisions;
- application of the order as the main method of influence;
- avoidance of any personal relationships with subordinates;
- setting a business style relationship.
A democratic leader is the opposite of the first type. In their actions with subordinates, the following features are prevailing:
- respect for employees and consideration of their opinions;
- recognition of their right to act in accordance with their decisions;
- equal communication style;
- asking staff for advice and advice.
The liberal leader differs significantly from the first two types in his unwillingness to bear responsibility for the team and for the common cause. The following characteristic features can be distinguished:
- giving employees complete freedom of action and decision making;
- the absence of any control on his part, only formal;
- unwillingness or inability to influence subordinates;
- distribution of authority among reputable employees;
- development and decision making is carried out collectively;
- the leader behaves like an ordinary employee.
The bureaucratic leader prefers to use the formal bureaucratic method of leadership. Thanks to this, he forces everyone to follow the established order. His formalism and bureaucracy are manifested in everything: in communication and interactions with people, paperwork and paperwork, compliance with regulations, and so on. The management process for employees is usually carried out through orders and written instructions.
An opinion leader is a person whose opinions are considered authoritative by a group, to whom they listen, and whose assessments are most trusted. Usually an experienced and informed professional plays this role. However, he will not always occupy a leading position in other respects. As they say, everyone is good in their place.
A nominee leader is a leader who takes his place formally. In fact, he does not fulfill his duties in the group, and the team is managed by someone else, appointed or not appointed by the manager. There are situations when no one personally directs, all decisions are made collectively.
A people-oriented leader is a person whose main activity is the well-being of group members. Often he becomes a kind of "psychologist" of the company, everyone shares his experiences with him. But such a manager is not always able to lead a full-fledged group, since business problems are in second place. This is not enough to promote a company on the market.
Job oriented leader. This is a leader who considers his main function to be the solution of a group of tasks. The well-being of employees fades into the background. In an ideal situation, the manager begins to take into account the interests of performers. If such a combination appears, then he can be called the ideal leader.
A situational leader can perform these duties in the group for some time if a favorable situation develops in it. In some cases, it can become permanent. Especially if you can justify the group’s expectations.
Theories of leadership
The basic concepts reveal the following basic questions in different ways:
- Why does a manager use certain leadership and leadership styles?
- What are the optimal qualities he should have?
- Is everyone able to become a good manager?
The answers to these questions in a systematic and generalized form are contained in each theory of leadership styles. Let's consider them in more detail.
In the framework of the charismatic theory, it is understood that the leader must possess special personal qualities. Thanks to them, he will be able to become a leader in the team. In theory, it is noted that such properties are given from birth as a special gift. However, there are still no practical studies that could confirm this concept. Scientists tried to highlight and describe the similar qualities of good leaders. But to do this objectively failed. The main reason is that it did not work out to make a single, the same list of congenital leadership qualities. Therefore, this concept has not found its practical confirmation to date.
Situational theory emphasizes that a person does not have to possess certain personality traits in order to be a leader. To achieve this goal, it is enough for him to master some positive qualities that are appreciated by people, and take advantage of the favorable situation to manifest them.Therefore, in an optimal situation, the leaders usually go to those employees whose merits become popular and important for other members of the team. Therefore, the emphasis is shifted from personal characteristics of a person to the state of the group that has developed at the moment.
The theory of value exchange refutes the concepts described above. At its center is a consideration of the situation that develops in the group, and the characteristics of the interaction of the subject with this team. If we can talk about the presence of common interests or values, as well as their mutual complementarity, then this person will be able to become a leader.
However, none of the selected concepts is able to prove their theoretical position. Naturally, each of them contains a certain amount of truth and correctly focuses on those positions that are necessary for leadership. But a peculiar one-sidedness of the phenomena under consideration can be noted.
In this regard, the most optimal is currently considered a system concept. The following provisions are approved within its framework:
- leadership cannot be unambiguously determined by a single factor;
- to nominate the desired manager, it is necessary that at the same time a combination of certain conditions arise (the presence of certain personal advantages, a suitable situation, the correspondence of one's own values to the values of other employees, and so on).
Leadership Classifications
In modern socio-psychological literature there is a traditional division into certain types. We are talking about three basic leadership styles: authoritarian, democratic and liberal. First, we’ll make some adjustments.
The concepts of "types of leadership", "leadership style" at first glance are close in meaning. They denote the set of methods and means of psychological impact that the manager uses in order to influence the rest of the team. Leadership styles in the organization include all possible relationships and interactions that develop between the leader and subordinates. This is a fairly broad and generally accepted understanding.
As practice shows, the concepts of "leader", "leadership styles" are often used as synonyms. This interpretation is also valid. Let’s explain why.
The typology of leaders discussed above in some positions coincides with the classification of styles, which will be discussed below. This is not a random pattern.
The type of leader is usually determined by the style he prefers. But this, on the one hand. On the other hand, the leadership style is distinguished in accordance with what are the individual (personal) characteristics of the leader. That is why in some situations a similarity is obtained in terminology and their content.
Authoritarian leadership style
For such an approach, the ideal subordinate is a disciplined executor who has practically no voting right. In such groups, there is only one leader — he himself.
The authoritarian leadership style is characterized by the leader's pronounced authority, directiveness of his actions and one-man management in making decisions. In addition, he systematically monitors the actions of the followers, controlling their every step.
An authoritarian leadership style implies that the leader will not allow subordinates to intervene in the management of the group, to question or challenge his decision. He always shares his rights and duties of employees, limiting their actions exclusively to executive functions.
In the event that the leader has undeniable authority, the group respects and recognizes him. Otherwise, he fears, and employees would like to have another place of work.
Democratic leadership style
This approach is significantly different from the first.A democratic leadership style involves regularly referring to the opinions of subordinates in order to obtain their advice, attracting them to the development and adoption of decisions. The leader collaborates with the group, not drawing clear lines between his rights and their duties.
A democratic leadership style implies that, if necessary, he voluntarily transfers some of his powers to his subordinates. The latter take them upon themselves, helping the leader to fulfill his functions.
A democratic leader appreciates such qualities in people as independence, initiative and a creative approach to business. Not only business, but also personal relationships in the team are important to him.
Usually in such groups you can note a friendly, optimistic and interested attitude. Employees and superiors strive for a common goal and perceive this as their own business.
Liberal leadership style
With this approach, the leader tries not to fulfill his responsibilities for managing the team. He does not choose the role of a leader, but prefers the functions of an ordinary member.
Therefore, the basic problems of intra-group life are usually solved by the majority of employees using voting, or they are ignored. Therefore, the leader is exclusively nominal, and no one personally manages the collective.
Such a management style is ideal if the group is cohesive and its members are professionals. In it, everyone should know their responsibilities.
Described above are traditional leadership styles. However, in recent socio-psychological studies, innovative approaches have been described and justified. Let us dwell on some of them.
Flexible leadership style
In it, the presence of all the above approaches to leadership is possible. But it is not stable. Similar situational leadership styles change from time to time depending on what kind of relationships are developing in the group.
Not only the situation and plans of the company can influence, but also the state and attitude of the leader himself. In the ideal case, the manager acts this way because he adapts well to the current situation and tries to turn the current situation to the benefit of the company. However, there may be situations where the manager simply does not know what is best for him to do, and uses the trial and error method. In such a situation, it will be difficult for him to achieve the credibility of employees.
Combined Leadership Style
Such a leader is characterized by the use of basic styles in the management process. Moreover, in behavior and actions they are used in equal proportions. Such a leader cannot unambiguously relate to one of these types.
Moreover, in this practice it cannot be said that the choice depends on the situation. The leader in most cases focuses on familiar patterns of behavior and characteristics of his character.
What is an effective leadership style?
To date, there is no single answer to the question posed in theory and practice.
At first glance, it may seem that the best is a democratic style, since it has a lot of attractive features. It contributes to the formation of a favorable psychological atmosphere for the work of the team and is perceived by its members as comfortable.
However, practice shows that a democratic style is not always optimal. For example, if a team is poorly organized and developed, there is a shortage of time, but it is necessary to achieve the desired results as soon as possible. In such situations, strict discipline, responsibility and coordination of actions and, accordingly, an authoritarian approach are necessary.
In some groups, where each employee knows his job, is a recognized authority and professional, the best option for a manager is to use most often a liberal style.This usually refers to companies with a creative focus or to those that have long been working with the same composition. But, as a rule, there are few groups of the second type in the business.
Therefore, modern conditions dictate to the leader that he should know and apply all leadership styles depending on the situation and atmosphere that has developed in the group. Therefore, the most optimal is a flexible approach and the manager’s ability to adapt well in changing conditions. Otherwise, an unofficial leader may take his place, taking into account these requirements.
