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Leadership exists in any society and is its invariable sign. The leader is the person for whom this community recognizes the right to make the most meaningful decisions.

Approaches to the definition of political leadership

Leadership exists in any society and isits invariable sign. The leader is the person for whom this society recognizes the right to make the most significant decisions. The ancient leaders also showed interest in leadership. They gave the political leaders the dominant attention, seeing in them the creators of history. In the Middle Ages, the idea of ​​God's election leader dominated. A great contribution was made by Nietzsche, who formulated two theses, which were further developed in political psychology. The first thesis concerns the nature of leadership as an irrational, instinctive force linking the leader and followers. The second - ascribes to a person outstanding qualities that turn him into a superman. In the future, many psychologists insisted on the irrational origins of political leadership. The first holistic concepts of political leadership were formulated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Regarding the essence of political leadership, there are different opinions among scientists, depending on the emphasis placed on this or that factor of leadership. There are points of view according to which leadership is classified as a kind of power. Others understand leadership as managerial status associated with decision making. Political leadership is also seen as an enterprise in which leaders in competitive struggle exchange their programs for managerial positions.

Formal and informal leadership

There are two types of leadership: this is "face-to-face leadership," carried out in small groups, and "distant leadership" or leader leadership. In the first case, all participants in the process have the opportunity to interact directly with each other, and in the second they may not be personally acquainted. In the second case, the indispensable attribute of the leader is the institutionalization of his role, i.e. he must occupy any power position. Thus, his personal qualities may fade into the background, especially if the power position is not elective. But informal leadership in the group reflects the willingness and ability to perform leadership functions, as well as the recognition for him and the right to leadership by members of society.

Typology of political leaders

There are different approaches to classificationleaders. The most famous was the theory of M. Weber, who distinguished traditional, charismatic and bureaucratic leadership. Traditional leadership is characteristic of patriarchal societies. It is based on the habits of submission to the leader, the monarch, etc. Legal leadership is an impersonal leadership. In this case, the leader only performs his functions. Charismatic leadership of personal qualities of the leader and his ability to unite people and lead them for themselves. Leadership can be authoritarian or democratic from the point of view of the style of decision-making. By the nature of the activity, leadership can be universal and situational, when leadership qualities are manifested in a certain external environment. Leaders can classify a leader-reformer, a revolutionary, a realist, a romantic, a pragmatist and an ideologist, etc.

The theory of personality traits of the leader

The most common theories of politicalleadership are the theories of personality traits, situational and situational-personal theories. "The theories of features" arose under the influence of the biologist F. Galton, who explained leadership based on heredity. This theory views the political leader as a carrier of aristocratic qualities that elevate him above other people and allow him to occupy the corresponding position in power. The parties of the approach believed that monitoring the leader would determine a universal list of qualities and would provide identification of potential leaders. American scientists (E. Bogdarus, K. Byrd, E.Viatr, R.Strogill, etc.) distinguished dozens of qualities of the leader: mind, will, initiative, sociability, sense of humor, enthusiasm, confidence, organizational abilities, friendliness, etc. time identified by the researchers traits began to coincide with a common set of psychological and social qualities. However, many great leaders did not possess all the qualities of this set.

Situational Theory of Leadership

A situational theory of leadership arose foreliminating the shortcomings of the theory of features. According to her, leadership is the product of the situation. In different situations, individual people are distinguished, which excel others in their inherent sets of qualities. Those. the fact that a person becomes a leader is connected only with external factors, and not with his personal qualities.

The concept of the defining role of followers

Adherents of this concept suggestdominant leadership attitude "leader - followers." According to this theory, the leader is nothing more than an instrument of social groups. A number of researchers perceive the leader as a "puppet". At the same time, they do not take into account the qualities necessary for the leader - independence and initiative. The influence of the leaders on the leader can also be positive: political activists largely create the image of the leader and serve as a link between him and the broad masses. The downside of this approach is that the leader's independence is underestimated.