Determination of a leader in a team. Informal leader in the organization

You will need

• Tests to identify the leadership qualities of students, bright pictures-gifts - 3 per person, additional pictures from the researcher (at least 5), a matrix diagram with a list of the entire class to record the results of the choice.

Instructions

Already in junior classes a teacher can conduct a sociometric study based on organizing a game with children. The day before this event, the teacher offers to bring each student 3. On the day of the game, he informs the children that today they will play the game “Secret”, i.e. secretly give each other gifts. All children come out, and the teacher occupies them with some kind of activity: plays outdoor games, reads, etc. Children take turns entering and, under the supervision of the researcher, pictures in the diary of their three. The researcher records the choice in his matrix diagram. After the game ends, the researcher counts the number of choices (gifts) each member of the team has. If one of the children does not receive a picture as a gift, the researcher will give him one picture, so as not to be offended. The true picture of the hierarchy of social statuses is reflected in his diagram. Children who received the maximum number of gifts (5-6) are leaders. But leadership so far is only of an emotional nature: whether you like it or not.

It is not enough to find and develop the “zest” in yourself. It is important to respect your abilities and skills, value and believe in them. A positive attitude towards even the most seemingly trivial things allows you to see what is happening from an optimistic position. A pessimist who is unsure of himself and his abilities should not even try to become a leader in a student group or a worker.

It is better to demonstrate your uniqueness to your classmates at the right time and in the right place. Math lesson or hour - no best time to demonstrate singing talent or the ability to master magic tricks. But on school party, at a classmate’s day or a creative meeting, you can not be modest and show your talent in strength.

Being a leader is about more than power and authority. Leadership is, first of all, the ability to take responsibility and make important decisions. The right moment to demonstrate leadership qualities is difficult to predict, but it is quite possible to rehearse your actions in advance in a hypothetical emergency situation.

To be a leader is to have your own opinion. It is not necessary to demonstrate the independence of your judgment on any matter, however, there is no need to be afraid to express your own opinion that differs from the majority. The leader’s opinion can be challenged and refuted, but in any case he will be respected. And respect from team members (a group of friends or like-minded people) is the first step to achieving the honorary title of leader!

note

Self-confidence should not be converted into self-confidence. A person who is confident in himself and his abilities evokes respect, while a self-confident person evokes a desire to bring down excessive arrogance.

Helpful advice

Developing leadership skills takes persistence and time.

Sources:

• Electronic journal"Psychological Science and Education"

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Introduction

1. Classification of leadership

2. Leadership and power

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

Although there is no uniform definition of a leader in a team, a leader is usually considered a person whose high degree of importance is recognized by the majority of group members in solving a group problem. But then there are as many types of leaders as there are situations and tasks in the group. Within the framework of sociometric analysis, such people are called the more precise term “criterion star.”

Being a psychological phenomenon by its nature, that is, arising in a system of unofficial, informal relations, leadership at the same time acts as a means of organizing relations of this type and managing them. The range of development of leadership issues, as is known, is extremely wide, and this circumstance makes it difficult to systematize the relevant theoretical and empirical material. Nevertheless, such a systematization, with a certain degree of convention, is, of course, quite real: in this regard, let us refer to our own research practice.

The managerial aspect of leadership is clearly visible in a number of specific leadership roles, often identified by researchers, either in connection with the analysis of leadership functions, or in relation to individual situations of group life.

The purpose of this work is to study leadership as a phenomenon of group dynamics.

1) study the classification of leadership;

2) consider leadership and power.

1 . Leadership classification

Informal leader is a member of the team who collects a relatively large number of votes in any situation of choice-preference, in other words, in each situational private sociogram, the informal leader occupies the position of a star, or preferred, on the scale of sociometric status. From the point of view of group activity, the functions of an informal leader come down to two main ones.

Firstly, it establishes and maintains standards of acceptable group behavior: benevolence, responsibility, mutual understanding, productivity, or negative forms of group behavior: aggressiveness, isolation, acquisitiveness, etc.

Secondly, having established norms, goals, customs and traditions, the informal leader motivates the behavior of each group member, forcing him to follow the standards of group behavior. The leader carries out motivation by expressing his assessment of the actions of a group member with a look, gesture or word. The majority of group members voluntarily and not always fully consciously join the leader, approving or condemning their comrade.

Administrative orders, reprimands, conversations, work-outs from superiors and lectures often have a weaker effect on the behavior of a group member than one gesture of censure from an informal leader or a silent expression of group disapproval. But one should not think that the collective is able to exert an unlimited educational influence on any of its members. More accurate protective function small informal group: if its assessment of the actions of its member diverges from the assessment of the team, this will negate all attempts at moral and educational influence by the leadership. The personal core, which is often identified with the reference group, operates in exactly the same way.

The educational role of the informal group leader is especially great. Social psychology distinguishes, but does not contrast, the concepts of management and leadership. Leadership is a management process labor activity collective, carried out by the leader - an intermediary of social control and power on the basis of administrative and legal powers and social norms. Leadership is the process of internal socio-psychological self-organization and self-management of relationships and activities of team members through the individual initiative of the participants. The legal and administrative functions of unity of command are associated with management, and with leadership - psychological impact of this person in Group. The phenomenon of leadership arises in problematic situations that the group encounters in its activities. However, in terms of group goals, leadership can be either positive or negative. There are two polar types of leadership - instrumental and emotional. An instrumental (business) leader is a group member who takes the initiative in solving a problem situation in accordance with group goals and has the appropriate knowledge, information, skills and methods.

An emotional leader is a group member who takes on the function of regulating group mood (expressive functions) in problematic situations. Sometimes the position of an emotional leader is called the epicenter of emotional contacts.

In a positive sense, an emotional leader strives to prevent and resolve conflicts, smooth out and defuse the emotional tension that arises among group members in problematic situations, and thereby contributes to the achievement of group goals and increasing the effectiveness of group activities.

On the negative side, an emotional leader, under the influence of failures and difficulties, can become the instigator of panic, discontent, hysterical reactions, and antisocial behavior of the group.

All the others are distributed between these polar types of informal leaders.

The problem of classifying leaders by type is very complex. Methodologically, it is easier to indicate the tasks and functions that are performed by them in the general process of regulating group behavior. In addition to the two most important functions (establishing and maintaining group norms of behavior and motivating the behavior of group members in accordance with established norms), the leader performs the following functions:

1) group behavior coordinator (distributes roles, responsibilities, tasks);

2) controller of the behavior of each group member (monitors the performance of assigned roles, responsibilities, tasks);

3) a planner of actions and means by which the group achieves its goals (this function may include the determination of both short-term and long-term plans for group activities);

4) politics (establishes additional goals and main lines of group behavior, in addition to formal organizational goals, which determine the boundaries of the primary labor collective; the leader-politician can also propose goals such as competition with another team, mastering new technology, mastering related professions) ;

5) an expert (in almost all cases when group members depend on a person, technical knowledge and whose qualifications are necessary to achieve group goals, there is a polarization of power around this person, which he can use to strengthen his leadership role);

6) a representative of the group (represents all members of the group, their collective mind, interests, will, desires, etc.);

7) arbiter (acts as a judge - prosecutor, defender and consoler, motivating the behavior of group members; uses informal social sanctions, i.e. techniques by which people who know each other closely express respect for those whose behavior meets their expectations , and show dissatisfaction with those who do not live up to their hopes);

8) example (serves as a standard, a model of behavior for other members of the group, i.e. provides them with visual instructions of who they should be and what to do, while leaders of reference groups occupy a special place in people’s minds);

9) a symbol of a group (a group with a high degree of cohesion among members who strive not only for internal, but also for purely external differences from other individuals; members of such groups resort to certain insignia in clothing and behavior - ties, stripes, badges, rituals greetings; the leaders of such groups begin to serve as symbols;

10) bearer of responsibility (releases group members from individual responsibility for personal decisions and actions);

11) “father” (a true leader is the focus of all positive emotions of group members, an ideal object of identification and feelings of devotion, the paternal role largely explains the almost unlimited power that leaders sometimes acquire under certain conditions);

12) a carrier of group guilt (sometimes the leader in this function is called a scapegoat; indeed, a negative emotional leader, in the case when the group gets out of a problematic situation, will be the object of attacks and accusations; this also happens in cases where the group loses illusions about the real goals and personality of its leader).

To successfully perform these and all other functions, it is necessary to create special conditions for the perception of the leader’s personality by all other members of the group. The informal leader is perceived as “one of us”; when speaking about group problems, he uses the word “we” rather than “I”; he is like the majority - a person who embodies the norms, values, symbols, interests, desires and goals that matter most to the entire group.

2. Leadership and power

Let us now turn to the study of problems of power relations at the microeconomic level - in production systems where joint activities of people take place in direct personal contacts.

Let's try to understand the nature of man's power over man. The theory of management does not want to abandon the principle of the Roman emperors that it has long professed: “divide and conquer.” M. Weber tried to scientifically substantiate this principle. His monistic concept of organization indicates the only possible way to achieve order, controllability and discipline: for this, a hierarchical management structure must be built with a clear distribution of power relations; Each official level is assigned its own powers and responsibilities, management functions and execution functions, rights and responsibilities, and a strict control mechanism is created and the inevitability of retribution for violation of administrative norms of organizational behavior is ensured.

In socio-economic systems, power relations are not reduced to relations of domination and subordination; here they appear in the form of social dependencies. Each person included in the most complex structures of organizational, communication, technological and interpersonal connections in some way limits the freedom of behavior of other participants in the labor process. He has influence and the ability to influence his microsocial environment not only by forceful methods of domination and suppression, but also by his human qualities. Influence is supported by competence, professional training, life experience, social status and so on.

Hierarchical dependencies in bureaucratic organizations are intended, in essence, to depersonalize personal relationships and remove the psychological coloring from them. This carries over to the entire society. The nature of relationships in stores, schools, hospitals and businesses is increasingly becoming impersonal and automated. The exchange of goods, information, ideas and money can occur without any personal contact, i.e. at the level of role-playing communication, when people play pre-learned social roles, putting on appropriate “masks and clothing”. This is especially evident in organizational behavior when workers exchange ideas and skills.

The impersonality of formal relations in an organization, as neurophysiologist X. Delgado writes in his work “Brain and Consciousness,” makes people’s behavior in an economic sense more effective. After all, the formalization of relationships relieves people from the torment of choice in conditions of uncertainty, from the painful search for solutions in current problem situations that replace each other, like in a kaleidoscope.

According to role theory, the exchange of ideas, management decisions and activities in joint work processes is successful as long as it is regulated by formal and conventional norms and role expectations. But if a person tries to be himself, forgets about role responsibilities and begins to openly express his real attitude towards the matter and others, i.e. If he begins to behave authentically, he will definitely enter into conflicting relationships with others. Role behavior depersonalizes power relations, removing the patina of subjectivity.

However, social dependencies still remain. The conventional role of the boss adds no less strong socio-psychological influences to the direct material and organizational-managerial dependencies of the subordinate on him. A subordinate does not have the right to choose his leader; he is forced to put up with his shortcomings, even if the autocratic leader tries to reduce him to the position of a pawn on whom little depends.

The consistently applied principle of unity of command in economic management puts the subordinate worker in the position of a day laborer. In conditions of universal wage labor, this is essentially what he is. But the day laborer, in the words of F. Engels, gave birth and is giving birth to the plebs, and his further fate is to join the ranks of the lumpen. In any case, power based on dominance and submission to force spoils both the boss and the subordinate.

Unity of command always breaks the boundaries of administrative subordination and carries with it all the disadvantages authoritarian power person over person.

The complete impersonality of power relations in the work collective, proclaimed in the theory of organizational management, should seemingly remove all subjective aspects in business communication between managers and subordinates. The ideal here is still the army organization with its unshakable principle of unity of command.

The process of unity of command in leadership joint activities always proceeds in inextricable unity with the processes of group self-organization. Each team has a very complex latent structure of informal interpersonal relationships; established in formal organizational structures normative power relations are replaced by complex socio-psychological dependencies. In latent structures, power, i.e. the ability to arbitrarily influence the behavior of other people belongs to informal leaders - business, emotional, informational, instrumental, charismatic, etc. In the latent structures of interpersonal interactions, the same stable hierarchy of social dependencies is revealed between those who have taken power into their own hands - leading and who voluntarily accepted their roles as followers.

This is the fundamental property of all social systems. The hierarchy of subordination between people, even if they voluntarily united for a common cause, is fundamentally irremovable. Therefore, all voluntary associations, associations, orders and communities known in history - from the Essenes sect in Wadi Qumran, the phalansteries of Charles Fourier and the “New Harmony” of R. Owen to modern self-governing labor collectives based on group ownership (meaning the system “ E50P", implementing the ideas of Aldous Huxley), who set themselves both main goal liberation of man from all power over himself - turned out to be nothing more than utopias.

The asymmetry of social dependencies in social groups is the key to understanding the socio-psychological nature of power relations in economic organizations. Even in self-governing teams, leadership functions do not disappear, but are only redistributed among team members in accordance with the latent hierarchy of social dependencies. That is why, in particular, all of F. Taylor’s arguments about the uselessness of line management turned out to be erroneous for the supposed reason that management is a function of servicing production, and not of commanding it. And in our time, authoritative experts in social management believe that economic management is a secondary service function that should be assigned to support staff and functional services. Persons performing service functions must be deprived of power, and all members of the team must be placed in equal relationships: have equal rights to own, decide, use and dispose of collective property.

The need to extend the rights of the owner to all employees without exception and to give each employee the right to a decisive vote has, according to O. Toffler, taken on the character of another global megatrend. The innovative nature of the modern economy requires that the individual, having overcome all forms of alienation, including alienation from management, be freed for creative work. Each member of a self-governing team must be given the right to a decisive vote and all opportunities for the development of personal potential. But the question remains unanswered: who will the majority follow in a problematic situation?

After all, even if everyone is ready to identify personal interests with collective ones and work conscientiously, disagreements can always arise regarding the choice of means to achieve a common goal. We should not forget about the objectively irremovable inequality of abilities, experience, qualifications and competence.

In American management various shapes power in business corporations is considered in a broader context - this is the power of coercion, punishment, reward, law, example, knowledge, authority and personal charm.

Although the above classification somewhat simplifies the actual forms of power relations, the classical political economy of socialism approached the problem of power in an equally simplified manner. The power of the people was associated with public property, and the power of the money bag or predatory capital with private property. In fact, relations regarding property have a much more complex structure.

The functions of property and power relations are connected by a much more complex relationship than is reflected in the usual schemes of political economy.

Nevertheless, the very fact of separating capital-function from capital-property is of historical significance. It marked the emergence of a social institution of management in society, which means that managers received public life their significant share of power beyond the boundaries of their firms and corporations.

The further evolution of property relations from its original classical form, which contains all the necessary attributes, including the concept of power, led to the depersonalization of capital.

Conclusion

The problem of classifying leaders by type is very complex. Methodologically, it is easier to indicate the tasks and functions that are performed by them in the general process of regulating group behavior. The phenomenon of leadership arises in problematic situations that a group faces in its activities. However, in terms of group goals, leadership can be either positive or negative. There are two polar types of leadership - instrumental and emotional. It is necessary to create special conditions for the perception of the leader’s personality by all other group members. The informal leader is perceived as “one of us”; when speaking about group problems, he uses the word “we” rather than “I”; he is like the majority - a person who embodies the norms, values, symbols, interests, desires and goals that matter most to the entire group.

In socio-economic systems, power relations are not reduced to relations of domination and subordination; here they appear in the form of social dependencies. Each person included in the most complex structures of organizational, communication, technological and interpersonal connections in some way limits the freedom of behavior of other participants in the labor process. The asymmetry of social dependencies in social groups is the key to understanding the socio-psychological nature of power relations in economic organizations. Even in self-governing teams, leadership functions do not disappear, but are only redistributed among team members in accordance with the latent hierarchy of social dependencies.

List of used literature

leadership emotional role behavior

1. Vikhansky O.S. Strategic management. M.: MSU, 2013. - 534 p.

2. Dyatlov A.N. Modern management. M.: IMPiE, 2012. - 246 p.

3. Vesnin V.R. Fundamentals of management. M.: HSE, 2012. - 480 p.

4. Krasovsky Yu.D. Managing behavior in a firm: effects and paradoxes. M.: INFRA-M, 2013. - 272 p.

5. Management. / Ed. F.M. Rusinova. - M.: FBK-PRESS, 2014. - 504 p.

6. Fundamentals of management. / Ed. A.F. Andreeva and others - M.: Yurayt, 2013. - 295 p.

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Basic principles of leadership theory, typology of leadership, basic concepts. Leadership as a socio-psychological phenomenon. Leader type is associated with nature social order, the nature of the group and the specific situation. Leadership in family relationships.

In turn, the informal leader places the main emphasis on people and the relationships between them. He is an excellent psychologist, and personal contacts are his living environment, the energy of which he can direct at his discretion. Therefore, such an employee can equally easily attract colleagues both to participate in a new project and to sabotage the decisions of official management.

Quite often, the hidden leader uses those methods that, for some reason, the official leader neglected. The main one is attention to people: “gray cardinals” are for the most part excellent psychologists and good managers.

The hidden leader strives to remain in the shadows, since it is easier to manage from there, including the director. He will not enter into open conflict with the leader, nor will he show himself to be openly oppositional or emotional. He likes to get his way by scheming and “pulling strings.”

The leader moves the team in one direction, and this leader moves it in the other. Such a leader begins to create a circle of his “subordinates”, a company within a company, which is more subject to him than to the leader. But it is far from certain that this happens in all companies where there are hidden leaders.

A talented leader who knows how to organize his subordinates is able to extend his influence to the internal leader. If he is unanimous with the leader, with the director, with the founder, then this is wonderful, this is wonderful. If the hidden leader respects the manager, the company will develop and move in the same direction. If not, then employees will listen to whoever has more authority over them. And this is the case when there is an unspoken conflict between the leader and the hidden leader. Therefore, it is important to have time to notice such moments and understand in time what a person needs. If “scepter and power” - allocate to him a sphere for leadership; if he is content with his hidden role - to raise him in the eyes of the team, taking into account his authority, opinion and ideas. Or break up.

Legalization of the hidden leader is one of the ways to neutralize his negative influence. Having become one of the leaders, he will lose the authority of the oppositionist in the eyes of the team. If the influence of an informal leader is positive, then his appointment to a leadership position will only increase his usefulness: people will be drawn to him.

It is possible to find out who the hidden leader is in the company when organizing feedback with employees. In a conversation, you quickly understand that not only the leader’s opinion is primary for them. Based on the statements, guidelines immediately appear, whose instructions they are guided by.

The phenomenon of informal leadership in a team - a medal with flip sides. The leader’s task is to turn it so as to direct the authority of such a leader in the right direction. The main thing is to redistribute his energy: it should be spent not on intrigue, but on solving problems.

It is good to have a hidden leader in the position of deputy manager: on the one hand, he is open, on the other hand, he manages not only formally, but also informally. It’s not the best option when the hidden leader is an accountant. Accounting is an information base for decision making. It must be independent of the likes and dislikes of leaders.

Moscow Pedagogical State University

"Leaders in the children's team and educational work with them"

Completed:

Muravyova Y.A., 2nd year,

Checked by: Goncharov M.A.

Moscow, 2009

Introduction

Psychology of Leadership

Identifying a leader in a children's team

Methods of educational work with leaders of children's groups

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

My choice of this topic is due to a fairly common problem of leadership in our schools. It is a problem because leadership, as an integral social phenomenon, especially in adolescence, can also have negative qualities that entail very sad consequences, both for the leader himself and for the entire group.

In my experience, I have encountered two striking examples. Student A. was a permanent member of the leadership group in the class until the arrival of student B., who, after a period of adaptation to the new team, not only ousted student A. and took her place, but also, having established her “dictatorship”, persuaded the rest of the children to completely ignore her former rival. A boycott was declared in the class. It would seem that the ordinary laws of society and nature apply here and there is no need to focus on this. However, the situation is unfavorable even for teachers: both the class teacher and subject teachers, because in general psychological climate class, constant tension and confrontation is established, children in to a lesser extent concentrated on educational process, because Their thoughts are primarily occupied by the stated problem. Such “bullying” (and, of course, for a teenager it will be bullying) can leave an indelible mark on the child’s psyche and lead to disastrous results (for example, the development of autism, all kinds of complexes, the search for alternative ways of consolation - alcohol/drugs, etc.) .

Another example of the phenomenon of “negative leadership” is the problem of harmful influence on the group. I have repeatedly witnessed when in a teenage group it was the leader who was the instigator of antisocial behavior. Being the organizer of his group’s leisure activities, he suggested trying drugs (alcohol, vandalism, etc.). But in a children's group there is a tremendous amount of trust in their leader, so it is unlikely that group members will think about the proposal, because their leader has already decided everything.

Such cases are not isolated. The purpose of this work is to try to identify the correct strategy for teacher behavior in children's groups, where a certain hierarchy has already developed (and leaders exist whenever a group exists), in order to avoid such situations.

1. Psychology of Leadership

Wherever more than two people come together, the problem of leadership arises. In the process of forming a group, some of its members begin to play a more active role than others, they are given preference, their words are listened to with great respect - they acquire a dominant position. Most people are inconsistent in their own beliefs and doubt the correctness of their actions. With the appearance of the “chief” (leader), all uncertainty disappears. The unshakable self-confidence of a leader generates the immense trust of others. In this way, the group participants are divided into leaders and followers, i.e., leaders and followers. As the group grows quantitatively and, most importantly, stabilizes, a rank hierarchy develops among the group members, and the role of the leader becomes crucial in the group’s activities. A person’s entire life takes place in a social context, he lives and acts as part of various groups and, therefore, throughout his life he experiences the influence of all kinds of formal and informal leaders; they can be different people personal qualities And social status. The personality of the leader and his style of behavior as a dominant person largely determine the fate of each participant and the entire group as a whole. In other words, leaders influence the socialization of individuals.

Leadership is the relationship of dominance and subordination, influence and following in the system of interpersonal relations in a group. Leadership studies have identified various styles, a number of concepts have been developed. The theory of leadership roles (R. Bales) considers the roles of a “professional” - a leader focused on solving business problems, and a “social-emotional specialist”, problem solver human relations. Proponents of the theory of leadership traits consider the possession of specific “leadership” traits and abilities to be recognized as a leader. Research conducted in line with this theory has focused on identifying qualities specific to leaders. A variant of this approach is the charismatic concept of leadership, according to which leadership is bestowed on individual outstanding individuals as a kind of grace (“charisma”). Proponents of the interactive theory believe that any person who occupies the appropriate place in the system of interpersonal interactions can become a leader. The question of who exactly will take leadership must be decided taking into account individual characteristics candidate for leadership, personal characteristics of other members of the group and its structure, the current situation and the task being performed. The situational theory of leadership (or group dynamic approach) states that leadership is, first of all, a product of the situation that has developed in the group (F. Fiedler) and that in situations that are very favorable or, on the contrary, extremely unfavorable for the group, a task-oriented leader , achieves great results than a people-oriented leader. In a moderately favorable situation, a people-oriented leader is more successful. Synthetic (or complex) theory focuses on the relationship between the main components of the process of organizing interpersonal relationships: leaders, followers (or led) and situations in which leadership is exercised.

Studying the relationships of children, researcher A. S. Zaluzhny identified a typology of leaders, whom he divided into situational (intellectual leader, organizational leader, emotional leader, etc.) and permanent. The common opinion that some children are “naturally” incapable of leadership is far from the truth; in reality, every child can be and is a leader under appropriate conditions, now one, the next moment another, etc. In other words, in In various specific situations of group life, individual members of the group are identified who are superior to others, at least in some one quality, but since it is precisely this quality that turns out to be necessary in a given situation, the person who possesses it becomes a leader. Thus, the emergence of a leader is the result of a place, time and circumstances in which a person must demonstrate the qualities necessary specifically for a given situation in such a way that the result meets the expectations of the group. When assessing the success of a leader’s activities, it is not so much the objective result that is important, but the recognition of this success on the part of other children.

Teenage leadership is the same as adolescence - a bright, dramatic, very controversial period. Teenage leaders experience the difficulties of their position more painfully than adult leaders and react more painfully to the loss of their position, even if it is temporary. Teenage leaders are more extreme in their choice of means of putting pressure on those who do not want to be their followers. Such an extreme means of influencing a dissenter as a boycott is common among teenagers. A boycott is most often organized by a leader. Teenage leaders are less reliable than adult leaders, which means that everyone is more anxious under their leadership. The uncertainty of teenage leaders is explained by the fact that they lack life experience and understanding of other people in order to act calmly and decisively in certain situations. They are very worried about their image (reputation), this also interferes with management. In general, it is not as easy for a leader to lose face as he himself thinks. It is necessary to commit a serious crime against the group, seriously disrupt its life, the relationships between group members. However, his position seems extremely unstable to the leader himself, especially to the teenage leader. Teenage leaders often do not cope well with the social responsibility that adults “hang” on them. It seems to them that if he is a leader, he will already cope with everything. However, “adult” assignments can be critical for a leader.

The main characteristic a leader is his leadership qualities - this is a set of certain properties, traits that allow a member of a children's public association to stand out in status in a particular matter and make responsible decisions in situations that are significant for the group. A teenage leader must have the following qualities: competence, activity, initiative, sociability, intelligence, perseverance, self-control, observation, efficiency, independence, organization. The process of developing the leadership qualities of adolescents includes both the results of qualitative development and their own personality transformations by the group members themselves based on active work in a children's public association. In other words, leadership qualities develop as a result of one’s own active attitude towards the life of the association and leadership behavior in the group. According to E.E. Lukyanchikov, the main subjective conditions for the development of leadership qualities are:

v the teenager’s knowledge about the essence of leadership;

v internal awareness of the importance of leadership for oneself;

v internal motivation for developing leadership qualities.

2. Identifying a leader in a children's team

The problem of leadership and leadership in the student body is one of the most acute and pressing in the educational system of the school. The leader in the class is the support of the class teacher and the head teacher of educational work. Leaders are the guys who organize their peers in the most natural way and contribute to the social significant values and orientation. That's why and to the class teacher, and it is very useful for subject teachers to know the informal leader in the classroom, at school, and be able to identify them according to various criteria.

The most in a simple way is a direct question: “Who is your leader?” The answer is a confident: “We don’t have it.” The one about whom the question was asked will say this. In another case, different guys are named, but everyone looks in the same direction. This is where you need to look to get the answer. In the third case, one of the guys, to everyone’s delight, exclaims: “I am.” Only a jester can be identified by this delight, and the leader is the one with whom he communicates most often. You can freely seat the children in the room. The leader's place will always be in the last row, usually in the middle or in the corner opposite the front door. From there he sees everyone, but no one sees him unless he turns around on purpose. He can manage the class, address everyone, but responding back is difficult: you need to turn around, and this is a kind of communication barrier.

Distinctive feature the position of the leader in the group - closedness, protection from any unforeseen influences. The place is as far away as possible, opposite the teacher or at the end of a long table (in a confrontation position). If he sits next to you, it means that either a “joke” (joke) is being prepared, or a kind of invitation to cooperation.

You can conduct a well-known test - an image of a person out of 10 geometric shapes. Square is the most stable among them. Leadership qualities are revealed by the one who has the largest number of squares placed on the image of a person.

If you ask a class (group) with a question or proposal that requires an unambiguous answer (“Turn off the lights here?”; “Maybe I should open the window?”; “Let’s move the tennis table”), the leader will be the first to answer. The right to speak on behalf of the group is delegated to him. By the peremptory nature of his answer, he consolidates his status in the eyes of the audience. The leader, as a rule, most actively refuses official leadership, since informal leadership suits him best. to a greater extent.leader of children's team teenager

After observing, you can easily notice that a leader is one whose words are cheerful company certainly cause approving laughter, even if the thought is not distinguished by depth and wit; one who, without trying to attract attention to himself, fills pauses in a conversation, deftly inserting a word that can direct its further course. But the most complete description of a leading personality will still be given by her speech portrait. At the words of the leader, the most temperamental polemicists fall silent, they listen to him, never interrupting. Understanding this, the leader speaks without much concern for the expressiveness of his speech, without doubting that he is right. A person who doubts himself cannot be a leader. There is one more feature of the leader’s “verbal portrait”: he never retells other people’s opinions as support for his own; he generally avoids delegating his powers as an arbiter to anyone. He is full of jokes, funny stories for all occasions. But at the same time, he never repeats them in the same group, creating for himself a reputation as a person of phenomenal memory.

The leader speaks little about himself, but as much as possible about his interlocutors; he does not allow himself to relax, talk about his weaknesses, or his bad mood. On the contrary, he strives every time to give the group an optimizing attitude, with his whole appearance he convinces everyone that he is acting freely: “It’s me who needs this.”

A leader is a master of dialogue; he knows how to listen, while maintaining the appearance of a thoughtful interlocutor, and talk to everyone about the problems that concern him. In a situation where it is necessary to divide the audience, communicatively isolating someone who obviously has a negative impact on the formation of the team, the leader has to create a vacuum around his opponent, without revealing his own thoughts, make them the result of the dialogue, and timely ridicule the person who is bringing discord into the group, “hackling” him at the first awkwardness, and then, contrasting him with the others, bring him into the group when he has already submitted to the established pattern of behavior. Usually this is helped by a responsible assignment. The leader always focuses the attention of his interlocutors on the problem that he knows better than others. If in a group of motorists there is a better car expert than him, the leader switches to another topic, which is obviously more familiar to him.

The leader demonstratively allows other group members to show weaknesses, talk about mistakes and make mistakes in speech, but he himself speaks flawlessly in the language accepted by the group. If the asocial orientation of the group is obvious, he has an excellent command of its language and its entire communication style. Guys often turn to the leader as an evaluative authority, conducting an indirect dialogue with each other. If there is a need to reprimand someone, the leader does this, being confident that he will be supported, argues and denies something only on behalf of the group. In this case, he says not “I”, but “we”. If “we” was heard in the mouth of someone else, this is a direct threat “ palace coup" “We”, “with us”, “from us” - the words of a true leader. He will not say “you” to the group, thereby separating himself from it; on the contrary: he always emphasizes his unity with the others.

Often the leader speaks on behalf of the entire group in order to impose his decision on the teacher or educator. In a well-organized group, subordination to the leader is automated; a person inertly fulfills the requirements without subjecting them to analytical comprehension. The demand itself is not emphasized, is not distinguished by intonation and tempo, the leader avoids such forms as: “I say”, “I demand”... The instinctive imperative formulation is naturally woven into the speech, not standing out in any way from the general “portrait”, although has some kind of distinctive attribute that fits into the emerging “ speech pattern».

The leader is allowed a lot, but he does not have the right to do anything that goes against the established orientations of the group, including external ones - by opposing himself to the others, he is deprived of the only mechanism of power - the ability to control some with the help of others.

3. Methods of educational work with leaders of children's groups

The effectiveness of educational work with teenage leaders (and teenagers in general) depends on an understanding of the psychology of students at a given age stage, the style and pedagogical position of the teacher, the family environment and education strategy, the state of physical and psychological health of students, the accuracy of determining the symptoms and causes of behavioral disorders. When implementing educational influences, it is necessary to remember that any pedagogical efforts aimed at solving educational problems in one area (educational-cognitive, emotional or interpersonal) lead to intervention and changes in the holistic structure of the personality. For example, attempts to change the nature of a teenager’s relationships with peers or teachers can lead to such manifestations (temporary or long-term) as increased emotional tension, impulsivity, inattention, or even aggression or depression. The educational work of a teacher should be based on several principles:

The principle of unity of diagnostics and educational activities (educational influences must be endowed with specific content, focused on real features brought up);

The principle of priority of eliminating not unwanted behavioral manifestations, but the causes that cause them.

The principle of the activity approach (personal education must necessarily be correlated with activity and is possible only in it).

The principle of taking into account the individual psychological characteristics of those being educated (taking into account the characteristics of the immediate environment, the formation of psychological new formations, typological, characterological features, etc.).

The principle of complexity of educational influences (educational influences are most effective when they are jointly implemented by all participants in the educational process).

Principle humanistic education(positive perception and respect for the personality of those being educated).

Traditionally, educational work can be carried out using 3 strategies:

1. “Do as I do. (Be like me)." The teacher shows effective forms of activity and interaction, teaches their implementation, achieving compliance with the model. In this case, the responsibility for developing appropriate qualities and skills lies with the teacher. The level of awareness of the ongoing changes among students is quite low. The use of this strategy in work is ineffective, since adolescents strive to understand cause-and-effect relationships.

. “Let’s do (achieve, learn) together.” The teacher, together with the teenager, finds and implements the most effective method achieving an educational goal (for example, the formation of a new useful (socially approved) quality). This strategy assumes a higher level of awareness of the students’ activities; the teacher in this situation shares responsibility for implementing changes with the student.

. “Let's think about how to do better.” The teacher transfers responsibility for implementing the found solution to the student. This strategy presupposes the highest level of awareness of the activity by students with ample opportunities for conscious choice of method and its mastery.

The choice of interaction strategy depends on the specifics of the relationship between the teacher and students. Using the “Do as I do” strategy is possible only if the relationship is characterized by a high degree of trust and a willingness to take on the role of a “subordinate” (more often used in working with primary schoolchildren). Adolescents prefer to use strategies with a higher level of awareness and independence of action (strategies 2 and 3). It should be noted that the most desirable for students is interaction within the framework of the “Let’s think about how to do better” strategy, which corresponds to the tendency to free themselves from the influence of adults and act independently, however, not all adolescents are functionally ready for such interaction. At the age of 12-15 years, leaders will not want to establish contact with the teacher of their own free will, so before moving on to implementing any strategy, it is necessary to create contact with the informal leader of the class. This can be facilitated by:

· the use of appeals to show interest in the child’s personality;

· taking advantage of any spontaneous opportunities to talk to teenagers informally;

· avoiding judgmental people who negatively evaluate the leader in the presence of members of his group.

If the teacher notices that the leader is beginning to show his dictatorship and impose his opinion on both the group and the teacher, then it is necessary to help the children “behead” the dictator. For example, the leader declares on behalf of the entire group: “We don’t want to go on an excursion, we’re all not interested in it,” meaning, first of all, himself. The teacher will do the wrong thing if he starts reading instructions to everyone; here something else is needed - to contrast the group with the words of the leader: “But we all want no one to speak on our behalf, we can do it ourselves. Really, guys? The pronouns “we”, “us”, and a direct question to the audience create a new communication situation. The guys will not answer “no”, but by answering in the affirmative, they will debunk the leader, helping the adult in this.

So that the leader provides only positive influence per group, it is necessary to involve him in the development of various promotions, events, amateur performances, creative tasks, where the teenager’s leadership qualities can manifest themselves to a greater extent. Thus, the student will not only be under the “control” of the teacher, but will be able to strengthen his position through forced organizational activities.

Conclusion

Modern teenager- a controversial personality, struggling for recognition of his opinion as equal when interacting with adults and children. It is important that these contradictions are reflected in the holistic harmony of the really existing world. However, the constant search for solutions to emerging problems and the inability to find the right answer lead teenagers to antisocial groups, where they acquire criminal experience and a negative attitude towards life under the influence of an antisocial environment. An alarming situation has developed in society when it is negatively oriented leaders who are attracting an increasing number of teenagers to youth groups. It is possible to resist rampant immorality among teenagers only by creating organizational and pedagogical conditions for “cultivating” a leader who is capable of making the process of interpersonal relationships more purposeful, effective, and evoking a sense of meaningfulness in what is happening among peers. It is important that the leader is a true bearer moral values capable of realizing their own individuality, aimed at self-development, creativity and self-improvement.

The leitmotif through all the work is the method of cooperation, involving the leader in public works, creating common leisure, developing awareness of one’s dominant position, but not abusing it. It is by what the leader will be that we can judge the entire children's team. It follows that the main pedagogical work should be carried out with teenagers who occupy a “privileged” position among “their own”.

Bibliography

1.Andreeva G.M., Social psychology. - M., 2006.

2.Bityanova M.R., Leadership in adolescence. - M., 2008.

Emelyanov Yu.N., Team management as a problem of social psychology. - M., 1971.

Emelyanova M.N., Raising a child leader. - M., 2006.

Krichevsky R.L., Dubovskaya E.M., Psychology of a small group. - Moscow State University, 1991.

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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 brainstorm in your team should take place with the participation, or better yet, under the guidance 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 your coordinator 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 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 be aware of internal processes in the team.
• Be careful: gray cardinals influence the boss himself. Therefore, subject even competent advice to analysis.
• Respect 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.
• Pass some difficult tasks through the merry fellow, appoint him as the 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. He may not show himself in any way daily work, but in case of force majeure, quickly navigate and make decisions.

How to use it

• Let yourself be shown 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 so is yours. the main task how to manage as a boss? Use peer leadership to benefit your business. And then success will be just around the corner!