Formal and informal leaders in the group. Group norms, values

When it comes to any team - a group of students at a university or employees in the workplace, there is always a person appointed to the role of leader. This could be a headman, a senior manager, someone who is responsible for everyone and sets the direction for the process. This person is a formal leader, that is, officially vested with power. But is such a leader always a real one - not one who should lead, but one whom people will be happy to follow? How is an informal leader defined, what qualities does he have? Let's talk about this in this article.

Leadership and organization

Remember yourself as a child. Playing with your peers on the street, you intuitively knew who was the initiator of your entertainment and pranks. This personality may not have been the brightest among other children, but nevertheless, everyone in the company realized that it was he who was the ideological inspirer and organizer, and in some ways tried to imitate him. This is an example of what an informal leader is - a person who does not need nominal titles, but is able to successfully organize, direct and complete a process, and who knows and skillfully uses the qualities of other team members.

Nominal and real control

Starting from adolescence, people are faced with another type of leadership - nominal. An informal leader in a group does not require election; the team intuitively knows and feels that this person will lead everyone. The formal leader is elected. In schools and higher educational institutions, this is the headman - a student who is the link between the teaching staff and students. In a work team - a group of workers equal in position - the manager also most often chooses a “senior” who sets the vector of work and provides the opportunity for feedback on the work process. What qualities should an official leader have and why most often cannot a formal and informal leader be represented by the same person?

My answer to the question

I will answer the question from the last point.

In what cases does it make sense to make informal leaders the boss?
When we are dealing with a belligerent subordinate leader and we see that in a leadership position he will only cause us even more harm.
In what cases does it make sense to appoint an informal leader as a boss? If we see that such an employee:
Able to maintain an information distance with colleagues as well.
He knows how to be an ideal subordinate (that is, he knows how to play the role of a slave, among other things).
He is a loyal or committed employee.
He wants to become a leader or, in extreme cases, is not against trying himself in this role.

In this case, the position of manager will be the next step in the employee’s natural professional growth, where his leadership skills will bring great benefits to him and the company.

The difference between nominal and real leadership

In order to understand why real leaders rarely find themselves in leadership positions, you need to understand what qualities are valued by those who appoint the formal leader of the team. So, first of all, this is responsibility and punctuality - the formal organizer must clearly, “in form and on time” answer to his superiors about the work and the results of labor. This person is often a careerist and does not hide it, and his superiors, seeing such ambition, promote him up the career ladder and take advantage of this desire in their own interests. A formal leader may not be a person of the highest moral principles - in pursuit of his own goals, he sometimes has to inform the official superiors about the actions of his colleagues and report on what is happening within the team. In addition, the formal leader, taking advantage of his position, can demonstrate his advantage in status over his colleagues. What qualities does an informal leader have?

One of the best answers on the thread

Management is a personalized phenomenon. The personality of the leader, his charisma, authority are characteristics, if not of management itself, then of the process of functioning of the organization he manages.

Accordingly, an informal leader, by definition, can be a successful leader, but in a small team whose tasks are difficult, non-standard, often unformalized issues. When the success of a decision depends, among other things, on the level of trust of the team in the leader - the manager.

But when managing large teams, large masses of people, when it is difficult to personalize tasks, when communication within a large organization is strictly regulated, an informal leader can disrupt the “smooth flow” of interaction processes between company structures.

There are informal leaders who strive to occupy the position of official leader. Such employees do not want to fade into the background, as this does not correspond to their ambitions. Often they do not reveal all their cards, but manipulate the team covertly. Such a person can stand in opposition to the official leadership and act in his own selfish interests. Therefore, the issue of appointment must be considered strictly individually, taking into account: structure, team, tasks.

What are the characteristics of a real leader?

It is best to imagine an informal leader, focusing on the characteristics of the ringleader in a children's team. Children behave much more naturally than adults, since they are not yet bound by any obligations. For example, a person may have outstanding leadership skills, but suppress them due to circumstances (financial or otherwise). Children don’t chase after anything, they just play for their own pleasure.

Remember who led your “gang” when you were a child playing with your peers? This man might not have a clear physical advantage, but he had his own inner core. A leader does not adapt to anyone, he is on his own, and follows only his own convictions. This type of person never imitates the behavior of others, and no matter how much he likes them, he will not imitate them. Its value lies in its naturalness. The leader has his own clear value system, which will not change situationally. He gains trust because of his constancy and consistency in his decisions.

An informal leader also does not need followers; he will not form a circle of imitators around himself. He offers ideas, but if the team does not consider it necessary to implement them, then he will not humiliate himself to requests. Remember your childhood: it’s unlikely that the leader of your company persuaded everyone to play this or that game. If he suggested something and the other guys refused, he would simply change the idea.

Leadership in the adult world

An integral leader in childhood may not be such as he grows up. Since we live in a society, we have to adapt to circumstances, and sometimes become “at the mercy” of our own desires. However, a person with pronounced leadership qualities will not cease to possess them, even if the situation turns against him. Meanwhile, the roles of the formal and real leader are so different that they rarely intersect. The boss is completely disadvantaged by a true leader in a leadership position. Such a person will not always obey instructions, is unlikely to inform on his comrades, and he will not be able to play “insider” both for his boss and for his colleagues.

Or imagine that an informal leader has been appointed head of a group at an educational institution. If the opportunity arises to miss lectures, of course, the informal leader will want to take advantage of it, since he is an ideological organizer and is looking for the most effective ways to spend time for himself and the team. But for the headman, such a decision is not correct, since it harms the educational process.

So is there an answer to the question: “What kind of leader will an informal leader be?” For his comrades and colleagues, perhaps he would have become the best and most desirable manager, but this cannot be said about his superiors and the production process. It is for this reason that a wise boss will not choose a true leader as his “right hand”, but will choose a candidate based on other important qualities.

Features of a figurehead leader

Such a personality is characterized by the following characteristics:

Appears and disappears depending on circumstances . This happens during various transformations, crises, etc. For example, a change in formal leadership can lead to either the emergence of a real leadership role or the abolition of the need for it. The leaders themselves may also change depending on the prevailing circumstances.
Can interact effectively with other leaders. Often in a social group there are several people who occupy key positions.
At the same time, their spheres of influence do not overlap in any way, and joint efforts are directed towards achieving a common goal. It is this kind of effective interaction that often produces truly significant results.
Dedicated to the common cause. Coordinates the actions of team members to achieve assigned goals. Interested in the integrity of the team and the effectiveness of its activities. He uses his influence and authority not for the purpose of achieving personal interests, but solely for the purpose of solving common problems.
Internally he loves to manipulate people. Whatever good intentions guide the actions of the informal leader, he does not choose his position by chance. This is always a person who likes to have power over other people and influence the course of events. For this reason, real leaders often dream deep down of becoming formal leaders, since this will give them official powers.

When an informal leader in a team is a hindrance

You need to understand that a true leader is most often a revolutionary at heart. He loves freedom, authority is alien to him, he has no idols. It doesn’t matter what he does and what position he works in - first of all, he will listen to his inner voice, and not to the needs of the work process. These qualities can serve him badly. Imagine that in a team there is a person who constantly encourages his comrades (and quite successfully) to skip classes, leave work early, and organize “sabantui”. If this person is valuable as an employee, then management should give him a separate role in the organization. For example, give him such powers that it would be unprofitable for him to disrupt the process of work or study. Then the rebel will be “bridled” and will be able to express himself in other areas.

Functions

The main functions that a leader performs in a social group:

predict the development of events and take measures to develop an action strategy,
to take responsibility,
set tasks for group members,
distribute responsibilities according to the abilities of each participant,
provide moral and practical support in solving problems,
motivate to achieve high results,
strives to achieve common, rather than personal interests,
in case of failure, bear responsibility for the mistakes made.

The role of the informal leader

Why do you need an informal leader of an organization? This question is quite naive, because this person is the main inspiration and example for others. This is not good or bad - it’s just how the roles are distributed. Without an informal leader, the team will not have something irreplaceable, although it cannot be felt materially. Without such “glue,” members of the organization will feel disunited, unconnected units of the team. When there is no informal leader in a group, group members do not have a common vector of movement. When it comes to work, without a real leader, staff turnover is often observed; people easily leave their workplace in the event of even minor problems. On the contrary, an informal leader strengthens the team; people feel almost like a family. And sometimes they rush to work with no less pleasure than going home after it.

Signs

The presence of a leadership system in a group is evidenced by the recognition by the majority of its members of the authority of a person.

This person makes decisions, organizes activities, and bears responsibility. The main characteristics of a leader:

Foresight . He knows how to predict the development of events and convince others of the correctness of the chosen strategy.
Thoughtfulness . He always approaches solving any problems calmly and judiciously, without fuss or hasty conclusions.
Ability to understand people. He understands the essence of man, his inherent weaknesses and strengths. This helps to objectively assess everyone’s abilities and use these abilities as competently as possible in the common cause.
Activity . This position is very difficult emotionally, since responsibility is always a source of stress. The leader must be physically and psychologically resilient, only in this case the burden placed on him will be feasible.
Determination .
Failures do not become a reason to abandon your ideas, but are perceived as useful lessons on the way to achieving your goals. Facing difficulties does not confuse you, but only stimulates you to look for ways to overcome them.
Subsequence . People feel comfortable only when the reality around them is predictable and stable. It is the ability to build a correspondence between the chosen strategies, the techniques used and the achievement of expected results that is the key to the trust of group members. The inconsistency and variability of the leader always causes the destruction of any community.
Justice . A team or social group will trust someone who treats everyone around him equally, without exception. The presence of favorites and close associates always leads to a deterioration in the psychological climate in any group.
Cool mind. Decisions often have to be made on the spur of the moment to save the overall idea, but they can infringe on the rights of individuals. Often you need to sacrifice less in order not to lose more. Excessive emotionality and softness do not benefit a leader, who must always be guided by rational considerations.

Read about the causes of conflicts in organizations and ways to prevent them here.