Who is the leader in the team? Skills and tasks of a leader in a team

You are a successful leader and a competent manager, your team works as a single whole, one for all, and all for one. Sure? Or maybe the team is not following you, but following what in psychology is called an informal leader?

Roosevelt also said: “The leader leads, but the boss controls.” Let's try to figure out if this is so and understand who an informal leader (IL) is, how to identify him, what informal leaders are like and how to cooperate with them.

There are often cases when informal leadership gives rise to endless squabbles, conflicts and the stratification of the team into warring factions. The tug of war between the manager and the informal leader can seriously affect labor productivity and the psychological climate in the team.

Who is an informal leader

In order not to dive into complex psychological terms, let us explain simply. The boss is appointed to a leadership position. An informal leader can be either a junior specialist or a middle manager.

The main thing here is not the position, but a set of personal qualities, life experience and authority.

There are leading players in all areas of activity. After all, each team is a mini-society. And society needs to follow someone. And in this situation, the authority of the individual is stronger than the authority of the position. It is important for every manager to know and understand how to cooperate and generally coexist with IP.

First, determine who it is.

How to identify an informal leader

The most accurate way to determine NL is a sociometric test. Do you remember how psychologists did similar things in schools? If it is not possible to invite a specialist and conduct testing, then analyze it yourself:

• with whom employees communicate most often on non-work issues;
• who to turn to for professional advice;
• who voices the reasons for discontent in the team;
• who brings new proposals and ideas.

Surely, when drawing up plans and discussing innovations, one of the subordinates expressed a common opinion, asked questions more often than others, or acted as an instigator. Take a closer look at this person and his behavior with colleagues.

There are two styles: constructive and destructive. In the first case, the informal leader generates ideas, organizes the work process and motivates colleagues; in the second, he causes discord and creates conflict situations.

It is important to establish partnerships with constructive ones, because their activities benefit both the department and the business. It’s more difficult with the destructive, but its energy can also be controlled. The main thing is to recognize the true motives of leadership: the desire for power, the desire for self-realization. Once you understand what motivates this employee, you will know what to do.

6 types of informal leaders

A competent leader knows how to manage subordinates and build trusting relationships with various informal leaders. The description below will help you correctly identify IP and understand how to act.

1. Innovator

Emotional and creative. His ideas are original. This informal person is able to give a boost of energy to the team and shift stereotypical approaches towards innovation. If he does not find support or faces criticism, he quickly gives up, like any creative person.

How to use it

• Consult him when your business needs a breath of fresh air. The team is ready to follow innovators and bring their ideas to life. Perhaps behind such innovations there will be another round of success for the company.
• This type gets satisfaction from finding and implementing new things. Every brainstorming session in your team should take place with the participation, or better yet, under the leadership of an innovator.
• Emotional outbursts in this person’s behavior will help expose problems in the team. Use this signal to resolve troubles in a timely manner and neutralize discontent among subordinates.

2. Coordinator

Busy and organized. Ready to plan work and clearly coordinate processes. He has reasoned answers to all questions, so he enjoys great authority in the team. And some may even be afraid of the dry nature of the coordinator.

How to use it

• Entrust a business leader with organizational work - he will be happy to do it.
• Make the coordinator your right hand. You can safely entrust some of your supervisory responsibilities to this type. Legalize his power by promoting him and making him a partner.
• Use the authority of the coordinator to earn a couple of points in the eyes of employees and for yourself. He can be your voice or an evangelist for unpopular decisions.

3. Cardinal Gray

Lives in the shadow of his boss. But at the same time, he knows everything: who has deadlines, who recently quarreled with their husband (or wife), and who is looking for a new job. But the cardinal does not collect this information for gossip in the smoking room.

How to use it

• Find out useful information to keep abreast of internal processes in the team.
• Be careful: gray cardinals influence the boss himself. Therefore, subject even competent advice to analysis.
• Respect the eminence grise and let him feel it. Then he won't play against you.
• The Cardinal will never take responsibility for the decisions you make. Even if he influenced it.

4. Revolutionary

Rebel and critic. The one who stands at the head of the mood of discontent in the team. He doesn't like anything. The revolutionary states what is wrong, but does not suggest how to fix it. This type can cause conflicts and the formation of warring factions.

How to use it

• Invite the revolutionary to solve the problem, and not just shake the air. This will most likely confuse him. And it will help those team members who follow him to understand that the NL is strong only in words.
• Channel the violent energy of a revolutionary into social activities.
• Assign additional projects or transfer to another department where contact with colleagues is minimal.
• If these steps do not help, and the conflicts continue, there is only one way out - to introduce fines or fire the rebel.

5. Veselchak

These people are called “the life of the party.” The team follows him because he is charming and it’s not boring to be with him. Under easy and relaxed leadership, employees are ready to do even monotonous work.

How to use it

• Collaborate as equals. After all, in the eyes of his subordinates he is one of his own.
• Hand over some difficult tasks through a funny guy, appoint him as a project manager.
• Designate such an IP as the main one for working with newcomers. Then the adaptation process will go faster.
• Veselchak creates a comfortable atmosphere in the department. Instruct him to come up with joint leisure activities for colleagues. Events outside the office are his strong point.

6. Crisis manager

This is a situational leader. It may not manifest itself in any way in daily work, but in case of force majeure it can quickly navigate and make decisions.

How to use it

• Let yourself express yourself in stressful situations. Say it straight: “You’re in charge now!”
• Based on the results, evaluate the work of the crisis manager and thank him in front of the rest of the team.
• Encouragement is an important factor for IP. But you need to praise when there is really something for it.

Finally

Collaborate with the informal leader and try to make him an ally. Don't be afraid of the appearance of NL. Analyze his personality, competencies, authority and determine what qualities you lack.

Perhaps Theodore Roosevelt is right and your main task as a boss is to govern? Use peer leadership to benefit your business. And then success will be just around the corner!

Social psychology views leadership and leadership in teams as group processes that are associated with social power in the group. A leader and manager is understood as a person who has a leading influence on a group: a leader - in a system of informal relations, a leader - in a system of formal relations. Leadership and direction are mechanisms of group integration that unify the action of a group around one person who serves as a manager or leader.

There are two aspects of power - formal and psychological. The formal aspect of power is associated with the legal authority of the leader, and the psychological aspect is associated with the personal ability of the leader to influence group members.

The differences between a leader and managers include:

• - the leader regulates interpersonal relationships, and the manager regulates formal ones. The leader is associated only with relations within the group, and the manager is obliged to ensure a certain level of relations of his group in the microstructure of the entire organization;
• - the leader represents his group and is a member of it. He acts as an element of the microenvironment, while the leader is an element of the macroenvironment and represents the group at a higher level of social relations;
• - leadership is a stable phenomenon, and leadership is a spontaneous process.
• - a manager has a much greater influence on subordinates than a leader. In the process of leadership, he can use formal and informal sanctions, while the leader uses only informal sanctions;
• - The difference between a leader and a manager is also related to the decision-making process. To implement decision-making, the manager uses a larger amount of external and internal information. The leader owns only the information that exists within the group. Decision making by a manager is carried out indirectly, and by a leader - directly. A leader is always authoritative, otherwise he will not be a leader, while a leader may or may not have authority at all.

Some researchers believe that the phenomena of leadership and management are identical. For example, D. Myers believes that leadership is the process by which certain group members motivate and lead the entire group.

The managerial style of a leader is determined by the characteristics of his administrative and leadership qualities. The psychological climate of the team, the relationship between subordinates and the leader, and the results of the team’s work depend on the leadership style.

In this case, the leader can be officially appointed or selected, or can be nominated in the process of group interaction.

The following leadership styles exist:

• 1. Authoritarian or directive or dictatorial leadership style. It is characterized by strict individual decision-making by the manager, strict constant control over the implementation of decisions with the threat of punishment, and a lack of interest in the employee as an individual. Thanks to constant monitoring by the manager, this management style brings quite acceptable work results. According to non-psychological indicators - profit, productivity, product quality may be of good quality, but this style of leadership has many more disadvantages than advantages. Such disadvantages include: a high probability of erroneous decisions; suppression of initiative, creativity of subordinates, slowdown of innovations, stagnation, passivity of employees; people's dissatisfaction with their work, their position in the team; an unfavorable psychological climate entails increased psychological stress and is harmful to mental and physical health. This management style is only suitable for critical situations - accidents, combat, military operations, etc.
• 2. Democratic or collective leadership style. This style of leadership is characterized by the fact that management decisions are made on the basis of discussion of the problem, taking into account the opinions and initiatives of employees, the implementation of decisions made is controlled by both the manager and the employees themselves, the manager shows interest and friendly attention to the personality of employees, to taking into account their interests, needs, features.

The democratic style is the most effective, as it entails a high probability of correct informed decisions, high production results, initiative, employee activity, people's satisfaction with their work and team membership, a favorable psychological climate and team cohesion. But the implementation of a democratic style is possible only with high intellectual, organizational, and communication abilities of the leader.

3. A liberal or permissive, or neutral leadership style is characterized, on the one hand, by a “maximum of democracy” (everyone can express their positions, but they do not strive to achieve real consideration or agreement on positions), and on the other hand, by a “minimum of control” (even accepted decisions are not implemented, there is no control over their implementation, everything is left to chance), as a result of which the results of work are usually low, people are not satisfied with their work, with their leader; the psychological climate in the team is unfavorable, there is no cooperation, there is no incentive to work conscientiously, sections of work are made up of the individual interests of the subgroup leaders, hidden and overt conflicts are possible, and there is stratification into conflicting subgroups.

An inconsistent (illogical) leadership style is manifested in the leader’s unpredictable transition from one style to another (now authoritarian, now laissez-faire, now democratic, now again authoritarian, etc.), which causes extremely low work results and the maximum number of conflicts and problems.

The management style of an effective manager is flexible, individual and situational.

The situational management style flexibly takes into account the level of psychological development of subordinates and the team.

Leadership classifications are varied.

• 1. Business leadership is characteristic of formal groups that solve production problems.
• 2. Emotional leadership usually occurs in informal groups and is based on human sympathy - the attractiveness of the leader as a participant in interpersonal communication.
• 3. Information leadership. Everyone turns to such a person with questions, because he is erudite, knows everything and can find any information.

Situational leadership can be transactional and emotional. Its distinctive feature is instability, time limitation and connection with a specific situation. A situational leader may be a leader in some situations and may not be a leader in others.

Depending on the predominant functions, the following types of leaders are distinguished:

• 1. Leader - organizer.
• 2. A leader is a creator.
• 3. A leader is a fighter.
• 4. The leader is a diplomat.
• 5. A leader is a comforter.

Psychoanalysts identify ten types of leaders:

• 1. "Sovereign" or "patriarchal overlord." He is nominated on the basis of love and is revered.
• 2. "Leader". The group tries to imitate him.
• 3. "Tyrant". Usually they fear him and humbly obey him.
• 4. "Organizer". He is respected and brings people together.
• 5. “The Seducer.” He plays on the weaknesses of other people, they adore him and do not notice his shortcomings.
• 6. "Hero" He sacrifices himself for the sake of others, carries people along with him.
• 7. “Bad example.” Emotionally infects others.
• 8. "Idol". He is loved and idealized.
• 9. "Outcast."
• 10. "Scapegoat"

The last two types of leaders are more likely to be anti-leaders and objects of aggressive tendencies.

consciousness personality individuality leadership

Leadership is one of the oldest phenomena, the psychology of which people would like to understand. After all, leadership is most often associated with key figures on the chessboard of life. And it is on these figures that, first of all, the outcome of any party depends, since they are the centers of the entire system. Many people have a desire to become leaders and manage the system themselves, because by becoming a leader, we have significantly more opportunities and prospects, we gain access to more resources and bonuses. When becoming a leader, we make certain investments: first we work for the image of the leader, and then the image of the leader works for us.

How to become a leader

One of the questions that most researchers have asked themselves is: “Are leaders born or made?” How do you answer this question? My opinion is that they become leaders. Anyone can become anyone. But not at once! In support of this, there are a large number of examples of people who blinded themselves with their own hands and became leaders in many fields. Yes, a certain percentage of people may have leadership potential, but the potential itself is not a guarantee that a person will become a real leader in life.

The concept of leadership is quite broad and ambiguous. Therefore, I will not bring it. Better read this quote.

A leader has two important traits; firstly, he himself goes somewhere, and secondly, he can lead people.

- Maximilian Robespierre, one of the leaders of the French Revolution

More important is understanding how you need to develop to become a leader. And to do this, you must go through certain stages in the development of the personality of a successful leader. And there are 4 of them in total.

He is his own leader. This is the zero level, which is a prerequisite for becoming a leader. Here you need to understand yourself, take responsibility for your life, be able to motivate and discipline yourself, set goals and achieve them.

Leader in the situation. This is the first level - leadership at the micro level, when a person takes responsibility for the actions of an entire group in any situation. We see this kind of leadership most of all in childhood or adolescence, when a leader appears among friends in the company.

Leader in the team. This is the second level - leadership is already at a higher level. Such leadership involves solving more important and complex goals. As a rule, leadership qualities begin to manifest themselves acutely at this level, from 20 to 30 years old, when a person gets a job.

Team leader. This is the third level - leadership at the macro level. A person has an ambitious goal in life and he assembles a team to achieve it. Successful leadership at this level requires the development of certain leadership skills.

WATCH A VIDEO! 3 effective techniques for developing leadership qualities!

Naturally, I think you want to reach the last level! Therefore, now let's talk about what qualities you need to develop to become a leader.

12 Essential Leadership Qualities

According to a number of studies, about 70 leadership qualities have been identified. But developing such a quantity is an almost impossible task. Therefore, it is necessary to choose, according to the Pareto principle, 20%, which will influence 80% of the formation of you as a leader. As a result, I chose 12 main leadership qualities. For convenience, they were further divided into 3 groups: system skills, communication skills and internal qualities.

System Skills: vision, goal setting , determination or perseverance, flexibility.

Communication skills: communication skills, ability to motivate and inspire, organization, support.

Personal traits: internal integrity, confidence, proactivity, self-control.

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Now let's look at each of the qualities in more detail.

VISION

Leadership begins with this skill. The leader's vision must be based on the idea of ​​creating or reforming something. Vision allows you to create an image of something new and helps you draw pictures of the future, building perspectives. Thanks to this leadership quality, a leader can set a global and audacious goal. The ability to create a vision will help him rally and inspire people, making them want to follow him. Unlike a dreamer or a science fiction writer, a leader constantly asks himself one very important question: “How can I make this a reality?” And here you can move on to the next leadership quality - the ability to set goals.

GOALS SETTING

Goal setting allows a leader to articulate his vision into a very specific, tangible result. This leadership skill allows you to clearly see the goal, not just the distant future. When the result of an activity is formulated, the goal becomes clear, understandable, and clear. A leader's goal should always be ambitious and challenging! This approach gives a certain state - a state of passion. This is why a leader achieves much more than many other people.

PURPOSE OR PERSISTENCE

A leadership quality that allows, when faced with difficulties, not to stop, but to find solutions to the problem and move on. There are no barriers; there are insufficient resources at the moment. It is enough to be persistent and collect them, moving on until the result is achieved. Jumping over the abyss 98% and 100% are not the same thing. Don't confuse determination with stubbornness and obstinacy. To develop perseverance, remember that there are no defeats, but only feedback that helps you gain experience and draw the necessary conclusions on the way to achieving your goal.

FLEXIBILITY

In the process of moving towards a goal, a leader must be flexible. This is the ability to have more strategies and choices. This allows you to act most effectively in each specific situation. One of the types of flexibility of mind and actions is the ability to go beyond the system. As recommendations for developing this leadership quality, when setting a goal, you need to imagine at least 3 ways to achieve it and try to determine the optimal one. Remember that the most direct path is not always the shortest! Find an interesting path to achievement that no one has taken before.

COMMUNICATION

In the modern world, the value of this leadership quality is very high. Being a communicator is important not only as a leader, but also in any other situations. The ability to communicate effectively with the people you need is the key to success. Let's highlight several significant elements. This is the ability to quickly establish contact, win over your interlocutor, listen and hear, the ability to ask questions and receive information. Communication skills will allow you to create the right connections at the right time to more effectively achieve your goal. In the modern world this is called networking.

ABILITY TO MOTIVATE AND INSPIRE

The ability to motivate is to create an impulse for action that stimulates both oneself and others. Usually there are 2 types of motivation: “From” and “To”. From fear or to love. From minus or to plus. Different situations require different motivations. Alternating them will be more effective. Inspiration is a special way of motivation that allows you not just to create a short-term impulse, but sustainable and long-term motivation. The future should be so colorful and attractive that you want to get into it faster and plunge into it headlong. A leader with a good vision will be able to inspire people with great ease.

ORGANIZATION

It is very important for a leader to be able to assemble a team of first-class professionals in their field and organize the process of activity itself. This includes qualities such as planning, delegation, eliminating unnecessary actions, and so on. The entire team should work together with the leader to improve key performance indicators in a friendly environment. This is helped by the creation of group work, when the result depends on common efforts. This brings team members closer together and allows them to cope with assigned tasks more effectively.

SUPPORT

This leadership quality as a creator and team member includes the ability to provide support to like-minded people and followers in a difficult situation. People will support just such a leader who cares not only about his own interests, but about them too. Without this quality, it will be difficult for a leader to maintain his authority. Moving towards a goal is not only difficult tasks, but also strong relationships.

INTEGRITY

Internal integrity is a leadership skill that integrates all of the above qualities. This is the creation of a balance of all parts and manifestations of a person. A personality is holistic when the entire essence of a person is directed as a flow in one direction, as if subordinated to a single plan. You want to follow a leader when he not only knows where to go, but also broadcasts it with his whole being. A step toward achieving integrity is for a leader to recognize his mission or his own uniqueness. A person who has an understanding of his mission knows or feels what needs to be done, while enjoying the very process of his own activities and life in general.

CONFIDENCE

Confidence is defined as the basic state that a leader should have. The state of confidence is associated with reliability; it seems that you can rely on such a person, you can trust him, you want to follow him. A confident person can be identified by his body: straightened shoulders, slender posture, even breathing, slow and clear speech, keeping his gaze on the interlocutor. All this relates to personal confidence. And there is also spiritual faith in the positive outcome of the plan. This confidence is an order of magnitude higher than the first. And not everyone manages to develop it.

PROACTIVITY

A leader must be active in every way. He tries to go half a step ahead of time. He needs to have the latest information and be at the center of events in order to act first. In the modern world of enormous speeds, delay threatens loss both in moral and financial terms, which ultimately turns into lost profits. As soon as the goal is set, movement begins, and then it is necessary to control the entire system based on key parameters along the way.

SELF-CONTROL

A leadership quality that every leader should have. The concept of self-control includes a number of qualities such as resistance to stress, the ability to take a blow, and self-control, which are associated with critical situations and the manifestation of negative emotions. External pressure can cause poor health, apathy, irritability and even anger. There will always be a temptation to suppress your emotions. But there is absolutely no need to do this. What to do? Try not to fall into them from the very beginning. But what if stress is inevitable? In a state of stress, it is necessary to use breathing practice: take a deep breath, hold your breath, exhale deeply, smile. And so on “in a square” until the required relaxed or controlled emotional state.

See also:

50 signs of a leader

1. A leader is, first of all, a strong character.
2. The leader does not wait for orders - the leader acts himself.
3. A leader is distinguished from everyone else by the courage of his actions.
4. A leader, as a rule, is a leader in everything.
5. A leader is capable of leading thousands.
6. A leader has many advisors.
7. Leaders are not born - leaders are made.
8. All people are born leaders.
9. At the root of leadership is optimism.
10. The leader’s main rival is himself.
11. A leader is distinguished by a good mood and a sober mind.
12. A leader always knows what he wants.
13. A leader loves life.
14. The departure of a leader can cause the collapse of an organization.
15. A leader is not afraid to destroy in order to build again.
16. A leader, as a rule, is developed not only physically.
17. A leader has qualities that those around him do not possess.
18. People try to imitate the leader.
19. The leader knows why he wakes up.
20. The leader's statements are not disputed.
21. A leader can only be understood by another leader.
22. Leaders do not fight with each other, but cooperate.
23. A leader does not strive to be someone, he always remains himself.
24. A leader is comfortable alone.
25. Crises and changes for a leader are time for active action.
26. The main authority for a leader is himself.
27. The leader does not deny other people’s opinions; he uses them to justify his point of view.
28. For a leader there are no difficulties - there are tasks.
29. The leader manages everything.
30. Even the most ardent loser feels successful next to the leader.
31. A leader always moves forward.
32. Wanting to be a leader and doing something for it are two different things.
33. Leadership is, first of all, strong-willed decisions.
34. A leader is a person with non-standard views.
35. A leader does not fight - he conquers.
36. An entire team cannot suppress the will of the leader.
37. The leader’s mood creates the mood of everyone around him.
38. A leader inspires people to perform great deeds.
39. Leader’s motto: “There is only one warrior in the field.”
40. No one and nothing will force a leader to deviate from the path without his desire.
41. Only death can leave a leader.
42. The leader is the standard of faith.
43. A leader laughs at difficulties.
44. Obstacles in a leader awaken passion and interest.
45. Even in calm, a leader remains a leader.
46. ​​A leader does not strain - he lives.
47. The life of a leader is always impressive.
48. A leader cannot be created according to a template.
49. Leadership periodically awakens in everyone.
50. Legends are made about leaders.

Find your strength -
And you will become the center
Which it revolves around
It's your time.
Richard Bach

Becoming a leader is not an easy task. And to be a true leader, the center of a team, a company, one’s life is charisma, the individual inner essence of a person, his enormous potential, which can seriously ignite, inspire others and lead oneself.

Where do leaders come from? Are they born or made? And if they are not born, then how to become a leader? How to be a leader in a team? In company? In Group? At work? How to become a leader in life? Let's try to answer these questions.

Born to be a leader

There are people who are often called “darlings of fate”, “lucky” and so on. And they are called that because they were already born in such a good place, in such a family and in such living conditions that they have everything: parents, grandparents who adore their baby, the most important, “center” person. And while he is growing, he gets all the best, the newest, the very best. Only he is given all the attention and love. And when he reaches adulthood, the best position in his father’s or family business, the best car, the first beauty of the city, and the like await him.

And if someone who was already born to be a leader has at least a drop of awareness and gratitude to loved ones and life for all the blessings that have been given to him, if he continues to develop and increase what he already possesses, then he will truly become good, real, effective a leader in every sense and in all areas of life. There are such stars, but they are few. Such people are called golden youth, but not in the sense that they are some kind of majors, but simply the best among their peers, who, for example, were born in more modest conditions and who need to blaze their own path in life.

And a handful of people like the golden youth are individuals born with higher qualities of the soul, they have a sense of gratitude, nobility, brilliant creative abilities and talents, which they very purposefully develop from early childhood. They also have simplicity and tact in relation to other people, relatives, friends, colleagues, subordinates.

How can such simple people become leaders? Is this real? What should a leader be like?

Talent to be a leader

But here it doesn’t matter in what conditions a person was born. But he definitely knows and feels that he has leadership qualities and abilities. In this case, it doesn’t matter how exactly the parents treat their child, they can even suppress him in a sense, but inside him lives a spirit of contradiction. But in a team, in a group, in an enterprise, he will definitely reveal himself as a leader, and he will do this, naturally, with brilliance. There are always a lot of people around such a person: in the sandbox, on the playground, in the classroom, in the yard, in a student group, at the enterprise. And if such a leader has a good, friendly attitude towards people, talent and its implementation in any business or craft, then he will certainly become successful and effective.

How to become a leader?

All the options discussed above are quite simple, natural and require more work in terms of any professional direction and development of business skills.

And if, for example, a person has never felt the ability, opportunity and desire to be a leader and be in the center of attention. And he was born into a simple family, where besides him there were other children. And in kindergarten, at school, at college and at work, he also did not show any inclination towards leadership. How to become a leader in this case? But suddenly, fleetingly, completely unexpectedly, such an incendiary desire is born. What if it works?

Anything can be a catalyst. The boss praised me for a task well done, rejoiced at my colleague’s success, and my parents inspired me. And suddenly the idea came to try it too. A leader can become a person who will constantly work on himself, go towards perfection, and not stop there. The main thing is not to be afraid of difficulties, then there is a greater chance that everything will work out.

Leader in a team

How to become a leader in a team? Is desire and aspiration enough? Maybe it becomes interesting and exciting. This is an additional opportunity to test yourself, to move from boring and tedious work to more interesting one. Life will sparkle with new colors.

How to become a leader in a team? At first, not everything may work out perfectly, because doubts and fears immediately wake up and begin to actively interfere with the emergence of a new quality of character, a new stage in life. But if everything is in order with a person’s will and faith, he can do it!

It is very important that this new thing is consistent with the inner world, so that harmony and balance are necessarily present in the soul and heart. You need to constantly ask yourself, am I going there? Is this what I really want? What will I get as a result? And then everything else. This is persistent, painstaking work on oneself: changing a number of qualities that accompany the development of leadership (a different attitude towards oneself, spending time in life more effectively, a deep approach in relationships with people, and so on), professional development, and opening new horizons in life. You can go towards this throughout your entire adult life.

As a result, a person finds his inner strength in a completely new quality, he begins to feel his power and self-confidence. He truly trusts himself. And this gives energy that is felt by the people around who are still walking sleepily through life. And such a person begins to light them up. And if he believes in himself, then he will definitely want to believe in others, because they also have abilities and opportunities, you just have to wish it, really want it.

Leader in the company

How to become a leader in a company? If we consider a company as an enterprise, then, in general, the leader is not particularly different from the leader in the team, except for scale. When leadership qualities very clearly and persistently begin to manifest themselves in a narrow circle (in a team, department, division), then over time they expand to a higher level, that is, to the entire enterprise, to the entire company.

The employee becomes even more in demand, is in the authority of managers and his colleagues, they begin to trust him, including serious projects. You can even observe the following trend: the stronger the power and inspiration with which the leader approaches solving work issues and life issues, the faster and better others begin to think and act.

Leader in the group

How to become a leader in a group? When a person reveals his inner potential, he becomes charismatic and interesting. People listen to him wherever he is: in the family, in the store, at work, in a group of friends and like-minded people. Because people feel and perceive real leaders, their energy, and show trust in them.

good leader

How to become a good leader? It is very important to be sincere towards everyone, from management to the last level of subordinates. Sometimes it is necessary to be strict, but fair, tolerant and kind to people. Be able to teach if required. Be tactful and wise. Constantly take an interest not only in yourself and your affairs, but also in the life and affairs of your team, subordinates, and people around you, and with lively participation and interest.

Effective leader

How to become an effective leader? And here you just need to constantly and unceasingly grow and develop, read, learn new things, reveal new facets of your individuality, be in the flow of life, and improve. And it is very important to be flexible, and sometimes completely irrational, if life demands it. But here the leader always listens to his inner strength, intuition, because he trusts it.

Go forward, work on yourself, improve, then you will easily become a leader in life!

A leader is a person who has a strong influence on the other members of the team, who is able to both independently achieve his goals and lead other people. He is respected in the team, the opinion of such a person is always listened to. The rest of the group members allow the leader to manage them and be led.

In psychology, there are three different approaches to the study of leadership: structural, behavioral, and situational approaches.

Leadership in Structural Theory

This approach in psychology sets itself the task of determining what the universal personality of a leader can be, while highlighting the most striking character traits. Followers of this theory believe that a leader, without a doubt, must have characteristics that are different from those around him, and he must stand out from the rest. The arguments of this theory are supported by the studies of B. Bass and S. Klubek, which showed that it will be almost impossible to train a person who does not naturally have leadership traits and subsequently make him a leader.

It is clear that it is impossible to absolutely accurately indicate certain character traits inherent in a leader, especially since each society, in each time period, needs a completely different leader of its group. But still, the structural theory highlights the most characteristic qualities.

Qualities inherent in a leader:

• High level of intelligence
• Self confidence
• Dominance
• High activity
• Possession of professional knowledge and a large number of specific skills

Behavioral Leadership Theory

The main idea of ​​this theory suggests that a person can be made a leader in almost any case. Particular attention is paid to behavior; it is believed that this is what will make a leader out of a person in the future. Within the framework of this approach, the concept itself, as well as the types of leadership styles, have been formed. They are divided into three leadership options: authoritarian, democratic, and laissez faire.

To create an authoritarian leadership style, a person will need to be taught domineering behavior, strict, dictatorial control over the group. If democratic leadership is needed in a team, then a person should be trained to listen to the opinions of others, discuss work issues with the group, and also delegate some of his control functions to the team.

Permissive leadership is the least popular leadership style, but sometimes it is needed. For this person to be taught to be completely patient with the team’s opinions, to focus the process on the final result of the work, with little or no control over the internal developments themselves. The theory assumes that virtually anyone can be trained to be a leader using special programs and training. This could open up completely new opportunities for modern humanity.

Situational leadership theory

It says that a certain situation makes a person a leader. Situational variables are undoubtedly important and have been noted by many scholars. L. Carter and M. Nixon revealed that the type of leader is highly dependent on the nature of the task assigned to him. If the team had similar goals, then their leaders were similar. The differences were characterized only by some individual personality traits. In many ways, a leader's position is determined by his status in society. Undoubtedly, with increasing social status, there is also an increase in influence.

The social group in which one is located has an important influence on the formation of leadership style. A group that has been active for a long period of time has strong, established structures of activity, and the leader of such a group will be relatively stable under the influence of the same mechanisms of group organization that constantly occur. If a leader moves to a new group, compared to others, his chances of becoming a leader there also increase; his previous status will have a positive impact.

It should be noted that once having achieved the status of a leader, most often, a person does not want to stop there, he continues to develop and strengthen his leadership skills. He strives to maintain his status at all costs. Unfortunately, science has not yet given a 100% accurate answer to the question of how a leader appears in a team.

Leader functions

The functions of a leader are determined by the social group he leads. A leader with administrative functions is a person who maintains order and invariably monitors the accurate performance of all duties by the team. The leader, as an activity planner, develops all subsequent actions for his group, engages in both short-term planning and takes on the long-term perspective.

A leader as a politician - for him the main activity is development of goals and the main line of behavior of his group. A leader as an expert must have a large amount of necessary knowledge in a certain field; people turn to him for help and trust him. The leader as a representative of the group - he is the face of the team and speaks on its behalf. In this case, he identifies all members of the group.

A leader can also serve as a regulator of internal relations in a team, be an arbitrator, perform the functions of reward and punishment, and be practically a father or a symbol of a certain group. Very often, a leader is an example for his team; he becomes, as it were, a model for other members of the group to repeat certain actions after him, showing clearly how and what needs to be done. Very often, the leader relieves each group member of individual responsibility for the actions performed or certain decisions made. It is difficult to distinguish the main and secondary functions of a leader; it depends on the group itself and the course of life as a whole.