Who is the leader? Image and functions of a political leader

No social group can do without internal structuring and differentiation, within which management and managed different levels are distinguished. The subject of our article affects the highest level of the social pyramid. We will talk about who the leader is and what his functions are.

The phenomenon of leadership

Every person on the earth already participates in a race called life. There are running in it ahead, there are outsiders. Nevertheless, most want to be leaders, seeing this as a sign of the success of their lives. Who is a leader in the broad and narrow sense of the word? The term itself in English means literally "going ahead", "leading". In general, it is a person or a group of people who lead the rest of society. Psychologists have established that no social community can exist for a long time without the leading elite being recognized, whose authority is recognized by all and will be ready to obey. This phenomenon is typical not only for the human race, but also for many representatives of the animal world. Thus, we can assume that leadership is a phenomenon of the biological world.

The idea of leadership in development

Although most of the historical events were committed by many people, the annals of history include the names of mostly those who acted as generators of ideas and inspirations of these or those undertakings. Niccolo Machiavelli first paid so much attention to the question of who such a leader is and what qualities he should have. In his work "The Emperor" he admires the leaders of medieval Europe, who were able to achieve their goal, regardless of methods and methods. Some superman saw in the present political leader Friedrich Nietzsche. This is the one who stands above the generally accepted morality, is able to step over everything on the way to the intended. Modern political science considers the leader primarily as a personal example, inspiring everyone in the common cause. Thus, during the Second World War the son of Joseph Stalin was taken prisoner. The German command offered to exchange this prisoner of war for Paulus, who surrendered at Stalingrad. Stalin, being a real leader, did not go to such an exchange, replying that he does not change the soldier to field marshals. It was a difficult decision that condemned the death of his son, but he was received not so much by his father as by the leader of a large country.

Types of Leadership

In the broadest sense, there are formal and informal leaders. The former have an official primacy, while the latter, even without it, are a great authority for the group, rather than an official leader. The following types of leadership stand out:

• Traditional - according to origin, established traditions;
• Charismatic - based on the individual qualities of the individual and her achievements, surpassing the dignity of ordinary people;
• Democratic - on the basis of existing law.

Also, a modern political leader can build his relations with society on the basis of democratic, totalitarian or authoritarian principles of governance.

Qualities of a true leader

The leader is not only privileges of a high social status, but also responsibility for those who follow him. Therefore, not everyone is able to perform the functions of a political leader. The population has a certain image of the leader. Leadership qualities include responsibility, commitment, the ability to inspire, think prognostically, administrative skills, strong character and charisma. Yes, in our pragmatic age the image of a political leader can not do without this primitive component, which acts on people as if reluctantly, on a subconscious level. It can be said that sometimes it outweighs all other advantages of the candidate.

Creating an image

In the political struggle for the championship, not only one person takes part, but the whole of his team is the circle of the nearest proxies, who support and create the image of a political leader. This process is quite important, despite the general conviction that a good person and so the people will see. Unfortunately, the society is short-sighted, it needs to show in an accessible form that an actor is worthy of their trust and will be able to justify it. In addition, there are not so many true leaders. Given the current understanding in society of how a leader should be, image makers create a political subject. This work includes creating the appearance, grinding speech, the ability to behave, diction, theatrical art and much more. Thus, the image of a political leader can simply be a pacifier and a fake, and can beautifully emphasize the dignity of the individual, making it a more attractive figure for voters.

Simulator and populist

There are politicians who are actually leaders, leaders of certain sections of society or the whole people, and there are those who only pretend to be so. The latter are called imitators, or populists. How can you distinguish, especially in the heat of the election campaign, who is the leader? The simulator does the calculation for the immediate result, for a momentary benefit. This lzeder more likely and willingly makes promises, and all at once, rather than seriously weighing the situation and offers the best ways of development. For the populist, the external is more important than the inner content. Often he uses incorrect methods of conducting political debates, unhealthy criticism of opponents, down to slander. Concrete, serious proposals can not be made.

Unfortunately, such figures often get the support of the electorate, which is kept on promises to solve everything quickly and immediately. However, this practice leads to an increase in distrust among the population towards the institutions of democracy.

The role of political leader

The functions of a political leader are very diverse and important. First, it unites the society or its part around common ideas and goals. Secondly, it acts as a generator of strategic goals for the development of society and puts forward proposals on the way to achieve them. Third, it mobilizes the population for activities in a given direction. Fourthly, it carries out the connection between the power structures and the society, supports the consent in the state.

It should be noted that the leader should justify public expectations. If he does not do this and can not explain why, then soon he will face not just mistrust, but also unkind attitude on the part of the electorate. Remember the joyful jackal: "Akela missed"?

Political capital

One of the most important qualitative characteristics of a public leader is his political capital. It implies achievements in the public sphere, which include statuses, positions, popular decisions, justified forecasts, in a word everything that can prove his professional and business abilities. This capital accumulates for a very long time, but it can be wasted in a very short period of time due to incorrectly chosen tactics or an erroneous decision. Such figures are called political corpses. So, many leaders of political parties, born in the 90s and very popular at the time, currently have neither political weight nor popularity. They, despite all attempts to break into the State Duma, lose the elections after the elections. Therefore, every politician must remember the responsibility and consequences of any of his promises and decisions.

The Way to Leadership

Many people reading this article may have a question: "How to be a leader?" In this regard, it is appropriate to paraphrase the famous aphorism - leaders do not become leaders are born. Why so radical? Most researchers of this topic state that innate qualities play a very important role in the development of those characteristics that are necessary to fulfill the role of leader leading social groups.

First, the future leader is distinguished by an active social position and a high degree of interpersonal skills. Secondly, he is very useful experience of social activities in all kinds of organizations, the skills of public activities of different levels. Of course, you can not go anywhere from education. In Western countries there are special educational institutions, from which come future public figures and government officials. In conclusion, I want to note that any leader as a leader in the first place seriously and works a lot, and also assumes a huge responsibility for his subordinates.