Theories of leadership

Until now, there is no clear concept of what leadership is. Foreign social psychology defines it as a phenomenon of group interaction, manifested in the ability of some individuals to influence feelings, thoughts and behavior on others in a desirable direction, based on informal relationships. In order to explain this phenomenon, leadership theories arose. There are several approaches to the study of this concept. This is due to the fact that all the theories have their shortcomings.

The basic theory of leadership :

Charismatic

It is also called the theory of features. It was put forward by E. Bogdarus in the USA in the 1930s. The bottom line is that the leadership qualities of the character are innate. Leading can only be a person who has a certain set of features. Many authors tried to isolate them. So, K. Brad in 1940 compiled a list of 79 features of the leader. They included: intelligence, confidence, will power, friendliness, enthusiasm, sense of humor and others. However, in the lists of other authors they did not occupy a stable position, and the task of identifying the qualities and features of the leader proved to be unsolvable. In addition, the allocated qualities, in addition to being wide, are also often contradictory. It was found that in practice there are people in the group who are superior in their ability and intelligence to the leader, but they are not.

Situational

Has replaced the charismatic theory of leadership. Leading a person becomes due to the emergence of various life situations. In this or that case, people who surpass others by some qualities, if necessary, show them and stand out from the general mass. That is, the leader is the person who has realized his qualities better than others. This theory has its drawbacks. It was found that:

• Some people have profound professional knowledge, but are not able to engage in leadership activities;
• In difficult situations, the goals of different members of the group may be different, and the struggle of such goals for priority takes place;
• In the practice of management, in spite of the changing tasks of the group, the change of leaders is not allowed.

In the situational theory of leadership, the leader's independence and ability to influence the situation are not fully taken into account.

System

The leader is the person who organizes the group better than others to solve a specific problem. This person has more of the necessary personal qualities to solve this problem than any other member of the group. It is expected that it will meet the basic requirements: it will be able to coordinate the activity of the group, ensure its safety and give faith in success.

Leadership is often seen as a form of power. In this regard, the notion of political leadership, that is, the permanent, legitimate and priority influence of a person occupying an authority position on a group or a society, arose.

They sing out the charismatic, situational and systemic theories of political leadership. The remaining existing theories are the varieties of basic ones. So, a kind of charismatic approach is a psychological concept, represented by Z. Freud.

Its essence lies in the following: the basis for the emergence of the phenomenon is the suppressed libido. As a result of the sublimation process, it manifests itself as a desire for power. Striving to get rid of the complex, the person imposes his will on others and becomes a leader.

Classification of political leaders

M.J.Hermann singled out 4 images of leaders: a servant, a standard bearer, a trader and a fireman. The minister expresses the interests of the followers, relying on their opinion in their activity, the standard-bearer rests on his own vision of reality, which he is capable of capturing the masses. A merchant can correctly present his program to voters, and a firefighter can quickly find a solution to the problems that arise.