What problems does charismatic leadership create? Charismatic leader

The manifestations of leadership are quite diverse. Attempts to typologize such a complex phenomenon are due to the desire to predict the likely behavior of leaders on the basis of certain signs.

The type of leader is associated with nature public structure, the nature of the group and the specific situation.

There are various classifications of leaders. The typology of leadership proposed by M. Weber is widespread.

Max Weber(1864-1920), German sociologist, historian, economist and lawyer. At the heart of Weber's methodology, based on neo-Kantian epistemology, is the distinction between experiential knowledge and values; the concept of "understanding", according to which social action is explained through the interpretation of individual motives; theory of ideal types of abstract and arbitrary mental constructions of the historical process. He opposed Marxism.

Max Weber identifies three types of leaders, corresponding to various forms authority :

a) traditional leadership - is based on the belief in the sanctity of traditions transmitted by inheritance.

b) Rational-legal leadership - established through general free elections, based on taking into account the interests of the electors and the leader.

c) Charismatic leadership - associated with belief in the supernatural, outstanding abilities of a leader from whom a miracle is expected.

As part of the study of leadership in small groups, a distinction is made between formal and informal leadership.

Rational legal leadership

Rational-legal leadership is based on the idea of reasonableness, legitimacy of the procedure for electing a leader, transferring certain powers to him. His power is based on legal norms recognized by society or routine - these are democratically elected leaders. The competence of each holder of power is clearly outlined by the constitution and regulations. In a rational-legal society, the legitimacy of power is based on the faith of the participants in political life in the validity of the existing rules for the formation of power. Institutions of power in their activities are subject to the law. The motive for the subordination of the population to power is the rationally conscious interest of the voter, who expresses it in the elections, voting for one or another party, leader. As a feature of this type of legitimacy, M. Weber called "dominance by virtue of" legality ", by virtue of belief in the obligatory nature of legal establishment and business "competence" justified by rationally created rules. Humanity is moving towards this type of leadership.

Traditional Leadership

Traditional leadership is based on the mechanism of traditions, rituals, force of habit. The habit of obedience is based on the belief in the sanctity of tradition and the transmission of power by inheritance. The leader acquires the right to dominance due to his origin. This type of leadership is characteristic of a traditional society, which is based on the authority of "eternally yesterday: the authority of morals, sanctified by primordial significance and habitual orientation to their observance." The authority of leaders, elders, monarchs and kings is based on the habit of obeying authority, faith in its divine character and the sacredness of the right of succession to the throne. The traditional type of legitimacy and, accordingly, the traditional type of leadership has survived to the present, although it has been noticeably transformed. It includes royal regimes in countries such as Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Kuwait.

As religion lost its importance, and universal suffrage became more and more strengthened and spread, the divine right of one-man rule was replaced by a rather extensive system of bureaucracy and political parties. Restrain the growth of bureaucracy public life could, according to M. Weber, a charismatic leader.

Charismatic Leadership

In social psychology, the phenomenon of charisma is considered in the context of the topic of leadership.

Charisma - (from the Greek charisme - divine grace, gift) - exceptional properties that a leader is endowed with in the eyes of his admirers.

Charisma is the endowment of a person with properties that cause admiration for her and unconditional faith in her capabilities, this is the ability to captivate the masses without the help of tools of power.

The concept of "charismatic leader" is actively used in organizational psychology, the psychology of influence, and the psychology of politics. It is understood as a person who, by virtue of his personal abilities and qualities, is able to exert a deep and extraordinary influence on the people around him.

A charismatic leader is a person endowed with authority in the eyes of his followers.

A charismatic leader is in demand primarily in a society where some kind of crisis situations constantly occur and there is no system of control of power by citizens.

When stabilization comes after radical change, people simply want to live in peace under good governance. Many believe that gaining charisma is associated with the leader's ability to find his admirers and admirers and even change their composition depending on the situation. Others define charisma as a set of specific leadership qualities.

Leaders of this type have a high need for power, have a strong need for action, and are convinced of the moral rightness of what they believe. The need for power motivates them to become leaders. Their belief in their rightness in action conveys to people the feeling that he is capable of being a leader. These qualities develop such traits of charismatic behavior as role modeling, image creation, simplification of goals "focus on simple and dramatic nature of the goal", emphasis on high expectations, manifestation of confidence in followers of the impulse to action.

Research suggests that charisma has a negative side associated with the usurpation of personal power or a leader's complete focus on himself, and a positive one associated with an emphasis on shared power and a tendency to delegate part of it to followers. This helps to explain the difference between leaders like Hitler, Lenin, Stalin and the likes of Sakharov, Martin Luther King and the like. In general, a charismatic leader is credited with having self-confidence, high sensitivity to the external environment, a vision of solving a problem outside the status quo, the ability to reduce this vision to a level that is understandable to followers and encourages them to act; extraordinary behavior in realizing their vision.

Models of charismatic leadership differ in the number of stages in the development of charisma itself and relationships with followers. It is believed that it is first necessary to develop sensitivity to discovering a problem that could be attacked with criticism. Then you need to develop a vision of idealized ways to solve this problem. Something new must be included in the vision, something that no one has previously proposed and that seems to be able to immediately advance the solution of the problem.

The next step is related to the leader's ability to convey the meaning of his vision through interpersonal communication "publications, speech, gestures, postures, etc." followers in a way that makes a strong impression on them and spurs them to action. Further, in order to rally followers around him, it is important for a leader to develop a relationship of trust with them, showing such qualities as knowledge of the matter, the ability to achieve success, taking risks and committing extraordinary actions or deeds. At the final stage, the leader must demonstrate the ability to realize his vision through the delegation of authority to followers. This can be done by giving followers strenuous and meaningful tasks, involving them in management, loosening bureaucratic fetters, rewarding them for results in an appropriate way.

Formal and informal leadership

Organizations distinguish:

Formal leadership is the process of influencing people from the position of their position;

Informal leadership is the process of influencing people with the help of one's abilities, skills or other resources.

"Informal" leadership arises on the basis of personal relationships of participants. This is the so-called character of leadership. Unlike the leader, who is sometimes purposefully elected, and more often appointed, and who, being responsible for the state of affairs in the team he leads, has the official right to encourage and punish participants in joint activities, the informal leader is put forward spontaneously. He has no authority recognized outside the group, and no official duties are assigned to him.

Therefore, the official leader in leadership positions is not always the most authoritative person in the team. If the leader is not at the same time an “informal” leader, then a person who enjoys great authority among his subordinates will decompose the team and the effectiveness of the organization and the very effectiveness of the activity will fall. It may well happen that there will be a conflict between the formal and informal leader.

In addition to "formal" and "informal" leaders can also be divided according to the following criteria:

According to the leadership style: a) authoritarian, b) democratic, c) combining elements of both styles. Distinguish between authoritarian leadership, which involves the sole management of the activities of the group, democratic, involving members of the group in the management, and anarchic, when the group is left to itself. In different types of organization different types leadership can be effective to varying degrees

By the nature of the activity: a) universal, i.e. constantly showing his qualities of a leader, b) situational, i.e. showing the qualities of a leader only in certain, specific situations.

Social psychology considers charisma as a tool that allows a person to control others. Translated from the Greek charisma (charisma) means "divine grace, a special gift." In social psychology, the word charisma means magical, divine, exceptional qualities that a group of led people endows a leader with. This property allows you to drag people along without using any tools of power. Such a person inspires trust, reverence and admiration. Followers of charismatic leaders do not notice their shortcomings and unconditionally obey them.

Definition

The charismatic theory of leadership is that followers imitate the personal qualities of the leader. The leader has the ability to influence thinking by modeling the system of perception of values. His behavior is perceived as a model. The main features of charisma is the ability to modify the perception of reality and the behavior of a led group of people.

People are more likely to be influenced by those who can cause admiration for their actions, extraordinary appearance, outlook on life. This state of affairs means that leadership and charisma are qualities given to a person by nature: he is able to understand the desires of certain people, adapt to them, model his behavior and even develop the necessary character traits.

Features

A charismatic leader is well aware of the power of his influence on others. Everything he says is taken at face value, even if this judgment is absurd. He is confident in his strength and steadfastness. His self-esteem is inflated. Such a leader sees opportunities where there are none.

His main quality is the ability to captivate others. His dedication to his idea and cause instills confidence in his followers. This is a man of admiration, he never runs away from difficulties and is not afraid to take responsibility.

Another quality is the extraordinary behavior of the leader, which is not characteristic of a particular society and acceptable in culture. Among the main qualities characteristic of a charismatic leader, one can single out his ability to charge others with his energy, regardless of whether he says something or performs any actions.

A charismatic leader is like an actor. He makes others experience all the sensations that are beneficial to him. Vivid examples are presented below.

Adolf Gitler.
Coco Chanel.
Napoleon Bonaparte.
Mussolini.
Fidel Castro.

Charismatic leaders need and seek power. Need gives motivation to be a leader. These qualities help develop certain behavior patterns:

role modeling;
simplification of the goal;
focusing on high hopes.

The downside of the behavioral model of a charismatic leader is usurpation and a high focus on one's self. The positive aspect is the desire to share power. The charismatic leader sees the solution beyond conventional standards and knows how to reduce his conclusions to a level understandable to followers.

Basic Concepts

There are 6 concepts of charismatic leadership.

The first consists in attributing certain abilities to the leader by the led people in the process of assessing the situation, initiation into the strategy, through the formation of extraordinary decisions and demonstration of opportunities to become an example.
It consists in the separation of personalized and socialized forms of charismatic government. The first form is characterized by intemperance, a strong desire to seize power and its unauthorized use, the pursuit of one's own selfish goals. The second form is characterized by the desire to instill their concepts and educate followers.
It consists in the perception by the followers of the leader in the form of a father when there is a demonstration of heroism, stability and foresight. Usually, followers who find themselves in a difficult situation, highly suggestible, emotionally unstable become more receptive. This state of affairs can drastically change the leader's self-perception and strengthen his desire to dominate the followers.
Considers the behavioral characteristics of the followers and the leader at the time of the crisis. Followers, being in a critical situation, aspire even more to the leader, perceiving him as a family. The leader gets even more power.
Represents leadership of a charismatic type, as a kind of engine of progress in a certain circle of people. Sometimes this form of government helps preserve cultural values or adopt new ones when a stalemate arises and followers cannot stop being ambivalent about it.
The final concept is that charisma is a characteristic of the relationship between a leader and his followers.

Development of charisma

The charismatic type of leadership is developed in two directions:

internal;
external.

Under the internal direction is meant the development of one's qualities: the creation of a certain image that will attract others. Outward direction refers to building a connection with led people.

Charismatic leadership is not only an extraordinary appearance and the ability to speak and behave beautifully. This is a search for non-standard variations of solving certain problems that others need.

To do this, you must first find a problem that can be criticized by one of the parties. After that, a charismatic leader needs to develop the ability to see ways to solve such problems, to analyze them. The way to solve the problem must include innovative ideas that have never been used by anyone. This will give the impression that the approach of such a leader will help to instantly resolve the situation.

Not less than important point in the concept of charismatic leadership is the ability of the leader to publicize his thoughts, to present them so that the followers understand and accept them. In addition, you need to learn to understand the problems and aspirations of your followers. An important aspect in the concept of charismatic leadership should be the desire to rally the team around you. The leader in question must be able to correctly present not only his ideas, but also himself, so that followers imitate and equal him. To do this, you need to develop qualities that will help inspire confidence:

good business knowledge;
the ability to succeed in any way;
the ability to take risks;
taking extraordinary actions to achieve your goal.

In order to win people over to his side, the leader must teach them how to achieve their goals through the use of his vision of solving problems. Then he gradually delegates some of the responsibilities to close followers.

Following certain technologies and modeling your behavior allows you to learn the mechanisms of charismatic leadership. But this will be a short-term result, because the leader uses only external trappings to influence people by putting pressure on their weaknesses, pity and needs. This variation is called false leadership. It is suitable for solving temporary problems that require team building.

Characteristics of charismatic leaders

The theory of charismatic leadership suggests that true charisma is manifested in the ability to subtly sense needs, take part in processes that are interesting to a group of led people, develop their abilities, lead to progress, modify the perception of values and model a certain line of behavior. Such a leader may lead his group to progress, try to harm the followers themselves, or, through their actions, ruin the lives of others. Based on the objectives of the impact, there are 2 types of leaders:

dark;
light coloured.

In addition, distant and immediate representatives are determined. The distant ones are never met, but simply follow their instructions. They have perseverance, always achieve their goals, good speakers, do not succumb to pressure. The direct representative prefers personal contacts. This person is very sociable, experienced in many matters, attractive and has a creative mind.

Conclusion

Charismatic leadership is used in many areas of activity. Charisma can produce positive and negative results. It all depends on his behavior and goals.

People who are naturally capable of leadership always attract attention. In any work team there is a leader, and this is not always a formal leader. The leader perceives the needs of the team as his own, actively participates in the life of the team. Exist different types leadership with their own leadership styles.

From the article you will learn:

Leader is an authoritative person who plays a leading role in the organization labor activity, and regulating relationships in the team. The organization of the team, its composition, the desire to achieve goals and work depends on the leader. The more responsible and stronger the leader, the more cohesive and stronger the team will be.

Although all leaders are confident and determined people with authority, not all of them act in the same way. Because there are different types of leadership, with the manifestation of a variety of leadership qualities.

What are the leaders

Often use the division into types of leadership in relation to the leader to subordinate employees. On this basis, they distinguish: charismatic, traditional, authoritarian types. In addition, there are several psychological types leader.

Types and functions of leadership

Leader Types

Creator Leader is a generator of new ideas. Such a leader takes on problems that others seem intractable and stressful. He manages not by command, without forcing subordinates to do anything. The leader-creator invites employees to discuss, listens to the opinions of others, suggests an idea, shows it from a side that attracts listeners.
wrestler leader always a self-confident leader with a strong will. He confidently enters the struggle for his idea, boldly leads the team to everything new. The negative feature of such a leader is that he strives to do everything quickly, he does not have enough time to think about each step.
Diplomat Leader- Negotiator. Such a leader is always aware of everything, knows the situation, hidden details, which allows him to influence his subordinates or partners in a certain way. A leader-diplomat turns out to be an excellent leader if he uses worthy ways of influencing the team.
Leader-organizer differs in that he perceives the needs of the team as his own and acts adequately. Such people are usually optimistic and work confidently to solve problems. The organizers know how to convince, encourage, and when expressing disapproval, they do it without hurting the personal dignity of subordinates.

Most often, a good leader exhibits several types of leadership and uses not one, but different styles of team management in a given situation.

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The functions of leadership depend on the activities of the enterprise, corporate culture, individual qualities of the leader. Among the generally significant functions of leaders are:

Function combining and harmonizing various interests based on corporate values and ideals recognized by the employees of the enterprise. This also includes the promotion of collective cohesion and harmony.

instrumentalist. The leader always offers a mechanism for the implementation of his program, describes ways to solve it and the possibility of providing resources.

Orientation function. The leader in practice achieves the solution of production problems without contradicting the social interests of subordinates.

Mobilization and motivational function implies the competent use of incentives for effective work employees.

Communicative function is to organize sustainable forms interaction with various organizations and teams.

Innovation Encouragement Function and autonomy of workers.

Besides, leader any organized team performs the following functions:

administrator, coordinator of the team's activities, directing the team in the right direction and exercising control over the work;
a planner who develops plans for the long term, creating new concepts to improve the efficiency of the company;
source of rewards and punishments;
an expert to whom they turn for reliable information;
regulator of relations within the team - the leader improves the climate in the team, creates a friendly atmosphere in the workplace;
conductor of the worldview, the leader is the source of the values of the team;
arbitrator and peacemaker, who is contacted in case of conflicts between employees;
a kind of symbol of the team, which has a direct impact on the emotional state of the team.

Authoritarian type of leadership

The authoritarian type of leadership is characterized by the fact that all power is concentrated in the hands of the leader, he single-handedly chooses goals, objectives and methods for their solution. Communications between team members are minimal and are under the control of the leader. The main means of pressure are the threat of dismissal, punishment, a sense of fear. This type of leadership allows you to quickly solve problems, but suppresses the initiative of workers and turns them into passive performers.

The authoritarian type of leadership assumes that such a leader introduces a number of attitudes into the structure under his charge that require unconditional submission. This type of leader tells the employee what exactly, to whom, how and when should be done.

At the same time, such leaders do not tend to listen to other people's opinions or advice. Discussing issues is not encouraged, as well as expressing any thoughts and wishes. It is strictly forbidden to ignore the rules and decisions of the leader. There is no point in arguing either. He is sure that he is always right, and requires strict faith and execution of commands from his subordinates.

Traditional type of leadership

Traditional leadership is based on the mechanism of traditions, rituals, force of habit. Many businesses still use this type of leadership today. The habit of obedience here is based on the belief in the inviolability of traditions. The transfer of leadership positions often goes "by inheritance", from the older generation of managers to their children, who grew up as leaders in the same enterprise.

Such leaders receive authority not for their merits, but because of their origin. The traditional, as well as the legal type of leadership, nevertheless, has noticeably transformed over time, but it can often be found in organizations that have been operating since Soviet times.

Charismatic leadership style

At the heart of the charismatic type of leadership is the belief in the exclusivity of a particular leader. Charisma is the ability to captivate and inspire people, and it can be a combination of the actual qualities of a leader and those that subordinates endow him with. This is where individuality plays an important role.

A charismatic leader in the eyes of employees looks infallible, as if he is endowed with some kind of supernatural abilities. People perceive him with devotion, they blindly believe him and follow his instructions. Despite the fact that the decisions of the leader may not always be correct. But his words are perceived and remembered, because it was this leader who expressed them.

The charismatic type of leadership is characterized by the ability to unite subordinates for the benefit of a common goal and infect with confidence in the success of the entire enterprise, regardless of adverse conditions. However, it can be difficult for such a leader to solve routine current affairs.

In conclusion, it should be noted that all named types leadership are not absolute and perfect. Therefore, the most successful manager is one who shows a flexible approach and is able to combine different leadership styles depending on the situation. This contributes to achieving the greatest efficiency in the workflow. Knowing the main characteristics of leadership types, you can develop in yourself necessary qualities and become a leader in your team.

Knowledge about political leadership significantly expands and deepens its typology, which can be carried out according to different features. Classical is the typology of political leadership by M. Weber, which is based on three types of legitimacy of political domination. On this basis, three types of political leadership are distinguished in accordance - traditional, charismatic and rational-legal. Considering the importance of this typology, let us turn to the relevant considerations of M. Weber. “In principle,” the scientist notes, “there are three types of internal justifications, that is, grounds legitimacy... Firstly, it is the authority of “eternal yesterday”: the authority of customs, consecrated by the original significance and the usual orientation towards their observance - “traditional” domination, as it was carried out by the patriarch and the patrimonial prince of the old type.

traditional leadership, so based on the authority of custom. The leader of this type receives and exercises power not due to his own merits and merits, but according to traditions and customs. Traditional leadership is characteristic of pre-industrial, that is, slave-owning and feudal society. The power of traditional leaders is primarily the power of the aristocratic nobility. In modern societies, traditional leadership is manifested, for example, in the succession to the throne in countries with a monarchical form of government. A striking example of this type of leadership is the membership in the upper house of the British Parliament of life and hereditary Lords. The membership of the latter, however, was recently terminated by law.

The next type of legitimacy of political domination, according to M. Weber, is “the authority of an outstanding personal gift...(charisma), complete personal devotion and personal trust, which are caused by the presence of the qualities of a leader in a certain person: revelations, heroism and others - charismatic leadership, as it is carried out by the prophet, or - in the political sphere - a prince-commander or plebiscitary ruler is elected, great demagogue and political party leader"6.

Charismatic Leadership is of particular interest to researchers. It is based on the belief in the unusual qualities and abilities of the leader, his exclusivity. The Greek word "charisma" (charisma) means "mercy", "grace", "gift of God". During the period of the establishment of Christianity, he was characterized by preachers who were credited with the gift of direct communication with God outside official religious institutions. In political practice, charisma is understood as such traits of an individual that the environment perceives as unusual, inaccessible to others, and therefore recognizes him as a ruler.

For M. Weber, great generals, prophets, prominent politicians have charisma; charismatic leaders were the founders of world religions - Buddha, Christ, Mohammed, the great conquerors - Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte. In the XX century. such charismatic leaders as V. I. Lenin, I. V. Stalin, A. Hitler, B. Mussolini, C. de Gaulle, Mao Zedong, Kim Il Sung, F. Castro and others became famous.

Charismatic leadership arises in society, as a rule, during periods of crisis. The impetus for the transfer of power to a charismatic leader is the awareness of the broad masses, as well as a significant part of the ruling elite, of the inability of the country's representative institutions to lead the country out of the crisis, to consolidate society around a particular goal of social development. This causes a need for a sharp increase in the influence of the executive branch and the search for a political leader as a messiah capable of leading the country out of a deep and protracted crisis.

For his part, in order to become a charismatic leader, a politician must be endowed with special psychological and social qualities: a pronounced strong-willed character, purposefulness, the ability to exert a significant influence on large groups of people, the ability to inspire people with hope for a better future, sensitively capture the mood of the masses and express general will. However, it is not his traits that create a charismatic leader, but the masses who want to see the leader just like that.

In our time, the charismatic type of political leadership is most characteristic of backward countries or those that are embarking on the path of radical social change. As a rule, charismatic leadership is characterized by an authoritarian style of political leadership and a rigid political course. For some time, such a course gives positive results and enjoys the active support of the broad masses of the population. In some cases, charismatic leadership lasts for decades, in others it is not long-term. In relatively favorable periods of social development, charismatic leadership is transformed into a more democratic type of leadership - rational-legal.

The concept of the charismatic type of political leadership by M. Weber underlies his theory of plebiscitary democracy. According to the scientist, with the help of this theory it would be possible to avoid the tyranny of bureaucrats. Within the framework of the plebiscitary democracy of the people and individuals, the role of passive participants in the political process is assigned. The only form of political participation for the masses is participation in elections and the exercise of the right to vote.

The main figure in the system of plebiscite democracy is a charismatic leader, directly elected by the people to whom he is responsible. Such a leader stands above the bureaucratic administration. Behind M. Weber, a charismatic leader who stands outside classes, statuses and demagogic politics, having a source of legitimization of his power independent of the bureaucracy and not being strongly integrated into the bureaucratic hierarchical structure, could unite the nation around him and protect the individual from the onset of the bureaucracy. The main purpose of the plebiscite, that is, general direct elections, G. Weber saw in the creation of a charismatic authority as a result of the direct participation of the entire people in the voting7.

From Weber's theory of plebiscitary democracy, an important conclusion follows about the presence of rice charisma in a national political leader elected to a leadership position through general elections. Such a leader is the head of state - the president in countries with a presidential and mixed republican form of government. A popularly elected president never has all the positive qualities that are attributed to him. Features of charisma - the image of the "father of the nation", "savior", "defender of the people", "democrat", "reformer", "independent leader", etc. - this creates a victory in the general elections using electoral technologies and the media.

A popularly elected national leader with traits of charisma can play both a positive role in the life of the country, as did, for example, F. Roosevelt or Charles de Gaulle, and an extremely negative one, establishing a terrorist dictatorship with all its harmful consequences, an example of which can be A Hitler and B. Mussolini. In the political science literature on Weber's theory of plebiscitary democracy, not without reason, an opinion is expressed about G. Weber's involvement in the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship. Namely. Hitler became that plebiscitary-charismatic leader who, according to the theory of M. Weber, was called upon to "protect" the masses from the bureaucracy.

The nationwide election of a national political leader and thus endowing him with the features of charisma potentially contains the threat of establishing authoritarian rule.

Rational legal type political leadership, according to M. Weber, is "dominance by virtue of" legality ", by virtue of belief in the obligatory nature of the legal installation... and business "competence" rationally justified by the created rules, that is, an orientation towards subordination in the implementation of established rules - domination in the form in which it is exercised by the modern "civil servant" and all those holders of power who are similar to him in this respect.

Rational-legal leadership, therefore, is based on the belief in the legitimacy and rationality of the established order and in the right to the domination of the bodies that exercise power. These bodies and their leaders - political leaders - are elected through democratic procedures. they are given powers, for the abuse of which they are liable to the electorate.

Rational-legal leadership, which is based on the law and is sometimes also called bureaucratic, is the main type of leadership in modern democratic states. Leaders of this type acquire political power, usually through elections.

Common in political science is the typology of political leadership, depending on the content of the style political activity leaders. Along with the charismatic, this typology also provides for the allocation of Caesarist, plutocratic, populist and professional types of political leadership.

Caesarian type political leadership is characterized by the concentration of all power in the hands of the leader (as was the case during the reign of Julius Caesar). The leader of this type has unlimited freedom of decision-making, ample opportunities for exercising a huge impact on the environment. This type of leadership can be justified under extreme conditions, but is unacceptable in a democratic society.

Plutocratic type political leadership is based on wealth and represents the interests of the richest social strata (hence its name: Greek plutos means "wealth"). It also provides for the use by the leader of all power. Inherent in all stages of socio-historical development, but most characteristic of an industrial society.

populist type political leadership is based on populism. In its original meaning, the term "populism" (from the Latin populus - the people) meant the struggle for the rights and interests of the people. Subsequently, opponents of populism gave this an urgent negative meaning: they began to designate activities aimed at achieving popularity among the masses at the cost of unfounded promises, demagogic slogans, etc. In modern politics, a populist leader is a figure who flirts with the masses.

In the context of the theory of political leadership, a populist leader acts as a charismatic leader of a demagogic sense. The populist type is characterized by: a bet on simple political decisions that are based on a low general culture of the participants in the political process; emphasis on the importance of small but specific political deeds, which reduces all politics to a multitude of specific details; labeling political opponents; flirting with the masses, giving unfounded promises; exploitation of the political feelings of ordinary people in their own interests.

Another type of political leadership from the above series is professional. This is a professional leader of a post-industrial society, respect and trust in which are based on his competence and personal behavior. He organically combines a high intellect, strong-willed aspiration, a developed ability to generate original ideas of his own and perceive other people's ideas, high morality. Such a leader is able to determine priority goals, conduct a scientific analysis of certain problems and determine ways to solve them. Sometimes he uses charismatic qualities in order to present his ideas and plans attractively, convince others of their advantages and involve him in the implementation of these ideas and plans. A professional leader not only uses his abilities, but also willingly consults with his subordinates, creating an atmosphere of cooperation.

In more general view The style distinguishes between authoritarian and democratic leadership. authoritarian leadership provides for sole directing influence, which relies on the threat of coercion. The authoritarian style is characterized by the rigidity of the leader's thinking, ignoring information or arguments that do not coincide with his own position, and the sole choice of directions and goals of activity. Communications between members of the leader's inner circle are kept to a minimum and pass through the leader and under his control. An authoritarian leader tries to achieve the activity of subordinates by administrative methods. Most often uses the pronoun "I".

Persons with an authoritarian leadership style can become leaders mainly on the condition that they first occupy one or another leadership position, and only then, using their administrative power, seek public recognition. The authoritarian leadership style is dominant in authoritarian and totalitarian political regimes. Leaders of the authoritarian type do not seek to deepen democracy and adhere to the apparatus method of promotion to leading positions in the power hierarchy. The immediate social base of authoritarian leaders is the bureaucracy.

Democratic style political leadership is characterized by the flexibility of the leader's thinking, his tendency to obtain the most complete information, attention to those arguments that contradict his own position. The leader determines the goals and directions of activity not individually, but together with the environment. The socio-spatial position of the democratic leader is within the group, and the pronoun he most often uses is "we". Respect for the environment, objectivity in communication activate everyone's participation in joint activities, delegate responsibility, distribute it among everyone and create an atmosphere of cooperation.

The democratic style of leadership is inherent in those politicians who first win public recognition, and then occupy leadership positions. They come to power thanks to voters and are dependent on their reaction to their activities. Leaders of this kind are considered popular. They show interest in developing the political activity of the masses, their activities are open to the public.

Giving unconditional preference to the democratic style of political leadership (leadership) over the authoritarian one, however, it cannot be absolutized, because in its extreme manifestations it is associated with protests, demagogy, anarchy and irresponsibility. At the same time, the authoritarian leadership style of all its shortcomings is necessary in extreme conditions, when strict discipline, unquestioning execution of orders, maximum concentration of efforts and resources, etc. are needed.

The modern American political psychologist M. J. Hermann, depending on the character of the leader, the properties of his constituents, the relationship between the leader and his constituents, and the situation in which leadership is exercised, identifies four composite images of leadership: “standard-bearer” (or big man), "servant", "merchant" and "fireman".

Leaders - "standard-bearers" distinguishes his own vision of reality. They have an idea, for the sake of which they often seek to change the political system. To understand this form of leadership, it is necessary to know the personal qualities of a person who leads his supporters in moving towards some goal. Such a leader determines the nature of what is happening, his pace, and forms the political issues.

Image "servant" assimilates the politician who seeks to act as a spokesman for the interests of his supporters. It is their desire that the leader expresses and acts on their behalf. In practice, leaders of this type are guided by what their constituents expect, believe, and demand. Voters formulate those tasks that become central to the leader.

For leader-"merchant" the ability to convince is important. Thanks to her constituents "buy" his plans or ideas, are involved in their implementation. In this case, leadership is based on the relationship that the leader establishes with his constituents. Of particular importance here are the abilities of the leader himself and the strategy he resorts to in order to gain support for his policy and its implementation.

Firefighter Leaders“putting out the fire”, that is, responding to those problems that environment presents them to the constituents. Such leaders respond to the events generated by the situation and the problems of their action determine the pressing requirements of the moment.

In practice, most leaders use all four types of leadership in different order and in sequence9.

Depending on the attitude to the existing social order, leaders can be divided into conservatives, reformers and revolutionaries. Conservative leaders advocate the preservation of existing social orders, allowing only minimal changes. reform leaders are guided by significant changes in only some of the social orders while maintaining the foundations of the social system. Revolutionary leaders tuned in to radical and comprehensive changes in society up to a change in the foundations of the social order. According to the orientation, leaders use certain methods and means of political leadership.

By type, formal and informal leadership are distinguished. formal leadership- this is leadership as the implementation of institutionalized powers of authority. It is connected with the established rules for the appointment of a leader and provides for functional relationships. informal leadership is based not on formal powers, but on the authority of the leader, his recognition by the environment.

In politics, the formal, institutional aspect is the main one. Therefore, it is very important that the formal leader is also an authoritative person. But this is not always the case. There are three possible combinations of leadership and management. First: the manager is not a leader, that is, he does not enjoy authority among his subordinates. Such a situation can develop not only on the scale of a group or organization, but also the country as a whole, and not only when a non-authoritative person has taken a leadership position, but also as a result of the loss of former authority by the leader.

The second option: the coincidence of leadership and leadership, for which the formal leader acts at the same time as an authoritative person. This is the best case.

The third option: purely informal leadership, for which the leader is not the leader. In politics, informal leadership, as a rule, does not last long and is soon supplemented by the occupation of some leading position in public political associations or government bodies. In the end, it is precisely the occupation of such a position, especially in the highest bodies of state power, that is one of the main goals of the activity of a political leader. A busy position, in turn, becomes a means of achieving other goals, far from always officially proclaimed.

In terms of scale, leadership can manifest itself at the level of a group, organization, social community, locality, administrative-territorial unit, region, country as a whole. It can be individual and collective (when the leader is a group or organization, such as a party). At the small group level leadership has an individual character and acts as a mechanism for integrating group activities, in which the leader directs and organizes the actions of the group. Here an important role is played by the personal traits of the leader, especially his ability to make decisions, take responsibility, find the best ways and means to satisfy group interests.

in leadership at the level of social community Of fundamental importance are not so much the leader's personal traits as his ability to adequately express the interests of a particular community. The leader must be able to formulate such interests in the form of specific political demands, determine tactics and effective means struggle for their satisfaction. Leadership at this level can be both individual and collective in nature, when a political party or a public organization acts as a spokesman for the interests of a social community. A leader at the level of a social community is often the leader of a party or public organization.

Individual political leadership at the national level characterized by a number of features. This is, firstly, remote leadership, when there are no direct contacts between the leader and his constituents. The communication of the leader with the masses is mediated by mass media, organizations and officials state apparatus. The main role in shaping the image of such a leader is played by the mass media, and this image can differ significantly from what it really is. The gap between the image of a national political leader and reality depends on the level of development of democracy, especially the political culture of the society.

National political leadership, secondly, is a bagatorolevim. In an effort to have comprehensive support, the leader focuses on various social interests: the immediate environment, social communities, voters, political parties, public organizations and etc.

The third feature of nationwide political leadership is its corporate nature. A leader of this magnitude never fulfills his many roles himself. A whole corporation works for him, which consists of his inner circle, officials, apparatus and activists of political parties, employees of controlled media, etc. The nationwide political leader is more or less a symbolic figure.

Another feature of nationwide political leadership is its legal and regulatory limitations. A leader of such magnitude as a statesman operates in a well-defined legal space that determines the real extent of his power and the way it is exercised. The actions of the leader are regulated in detail by regulations, protocols, legal traditions, customs, and so on.

The above typology does not exhaust the whole variety of manifestations of political leadership. In addition, even the most thorough theoretical analysis cannot capture the full complexity and diversity of political life. Political practice is always richer than theory and often gives rise to combined types of leadership and their various modifications.