When we say the word "leader", we imagine a confident, determined person who has an indisputable authority. In general, the portrait is pretty standard, but why do not the leaders act the same way? It's all about the different types of leadership they use. There are several classifications of the forms of manifestation of leadership qualities, we will consider the two most common.
Democratic and authoritarian type of leadership
Quite often, division is used in relation to the leader to the subordinates. On this basis, the types of leadership are divided into two large groups:
- Authoritarian style . All power is concentrated in the hands of the leader, he alone chooses goals and chooses ways to achieve them. Between the members of the communication group are minimal, they are also controlled by the leader. The main weapon is the threat of punishment, exactingness and a sense of fear. This style saves time, but suppresses the initiative of employees who turn into passive performers.
- Democratic type of leadership . Most researchers recognize it as the best. Since the behavior of such leaders is usually respectful of the members of the group. The subordinates have the opportunity to take the initiative, but their responsibility also increases. Information is available to the team.
Typology of Weber
The classification, proposed by M. Weber, is universally recognized today. He considered leadership the ability to give orders, causing obedience. To achieve this, leaders use different resources, depending on the types of which, charismatic, traditional and rational-legal type of leadership are singled out.
- Traditional type . It is based on rituals, traditions and force of habit. The transfer of power passes by heredity, the leader becomes such by birth's right.
- Rationally legal type . Here, power is based on a set of legal norms recognized by others. The leader is elected in accordance with these norms, which also regulate the actions available to him.
- Charismatic type of leadership . The basis is the belief in the exclusivity of a person or his God-chosenness. Charisma is a combination of the real qualities of the personality and those that the leader endorses his followers. Quite often, the individuality of the leader plays a secondary role in this process.
Simply put, these types of leadership are based on habit, reason or emotions. Weber believed that the main engine of development is the charismatic management style, since only it is not connected with the past and can offer something new. But in quiet periods, rational-legal leadership will be optimal.