What is a grassroots leader? What is the difference between a formal and an informal leader in a group.

You are a successful leader and a competent manager, your team works as a whole, one for all, and all for one. Sure? Or maybe the team is not following you, but the one who in psychology is called the informal leader?

Roosevelt also said: "The leader leads, and the boss rules." Let's try to figure out if this is so, and understand who the informal leader (IP) is, how to calculate it, what kind of informal leaders are and how to cooperate with them.

There are frequent cases when informal leadership gives rise to endless squabbles, conflicts and the stratification of the collective into warring groups. A tug-of-war between a leader and an 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, we will simply explain. The chief is appointed to a managerial position. An informal leader can be both a junior specialist and a middle-level manager.

The main thing here is not fasting, but a set of personal qualities, life experience and authority.

There are leading players in all spheres of activity. After all, each collective 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 leader to know and understand how to cooperate and generally coexist with the IP.

First, determine who it is.

How to identify a non-formal leader

The most accurate way to determine IP is a sociometric test. Remember how psychologists conducted them in schools? If there is no opportunity to invite a specialist and conduct testing, then analyze it yourself:

with whom employees communicate more often on non-working issues;
who is being consulted for professional advice;
who voices the reasons for dissatisfaction in the team;
who makes new suggestions and ideas.

Surely, when drawing up plans, discussing innovations, one of the subordinates expressed a general opinion, asked questions more often than others, or acted as the instigator. Take a closer look at this person and his demeanor 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 introduces discord and creates conflict situations.

It is important to establish partnerships with the constructive one, because its activities are beneficial to both the department and the business. It is 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 drives 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 IPs and understand how to proceed.

1. Innovator

Emotional and creative. His ideas are original. This informal is able to give a boost of energy in the team and shift stereotypical approaches towards innovation. If he does not find support or encounters 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 the innovators and bring their ideas to life. Perhaps behind such innovations there will be another round of the company's success.
This type gets satisfaction from finding and introducing new things. Every brainstorming session on your team should take place with the participation, and preferably under the guidance of an innovator.
Emotional outbursts in the behavior of this person will help to expose problems in the team. Use this signal to resolve troubles in time and neutralize discontent among subordinates.

2. Coordinator

Business and organized. I am 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 intimidated by the dry nature of the coordinator.

How to use it

Entrust the business leader with the organizational work - he will happily do it.
Make the coordinator yours right hand... You can safely assign part of your controlling responsibilities to this type. Legalize his power by promotion and make him a partner.
Use the authority of the coordinator to earn points in the eyes of the staff and for yourself. He can be your voice or a preacher for unpopular decisions.

3. Gray cardinal

Lives in the shadow of the boss. But at the same time, he knows everything: who has deadlines, who recently had a falling out 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

Get to know useful information to be aware of the internal processes in the team.
Be careful: the gray cardinals influence the boss himself. Therefore, subject even competent advice to analysis.
Respect the gray eminence and let him feel it. Then he will not 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 is at the head of the mood of dissatisfaction in the team. He doesn't like anything. The revolutionary expresses what is wrong, but does not suggest how to fix it. This type can cause conflicts and the formation of warring groups.

How to use it

Encourage the revolutionary to solve the problem, not just shake the air. This will most likely confuse him. And for those members of the team who follow him, it will help to understand that IP is only strong in words.
Channel the violent energy of a revolutionary into community service.
Assign additional projects or transfer to another department where contacts with colleagues are minimal.
If these steps do not help, and the conflicts continue, there is only one way out - to impose fines or fire the rebel.

5. Merry fellow

They are said to be “the soul of the company”. The team follows him, because he is charming and not boring with him. Employees are ready to perform even monotonous work under light and relaxed guidance.

How to use it

Collaborate as equals. Indeed, in the eyes of his subordinates, he is his own.
Pass some difficult tasks through the merry fellow, appoint him as the project manager.
Identify such an IP as the main person for working with newcomers. Then the adaptation process will be faster.
Veselchak creates a comfortable atmosphere in the department. Instruct him to come up with joint leisure activities for colleagues. Out-of-office activities are his strong point.

6. Crisis manager

This is a situational leader. He may not manifest himself in any way in daily work, but in case of force majeure, you can quickly navigate and make decisions.

How to use it

Let yourself be shown in stressful situations... Say directly: "Now you are in charge!"
Based on the results, evaluate the work of the crisis manager and thank the rest of the team members.
Reward is an important factor for IPs. But you need to praise when you really have something.

Finally

Collaborate with the informal leader and try to make him an ally. Do not be afraid of the appearance of an IP. Analyze his personality, competencies, authority and determine what qualities you lack.

Perhaps Theodore Roosevelt is right and your main task as a boss is to manage? Use peer leadership to benefit your business. And then success will not be far off!

Vladislav Vavilov, recruiting and training expert, practicing HR director, master of economics.

Leader (from the English leader - leading, the first, going in front) - a person in any group / organization who enjoys great, recognized authority, has influence, which manifests itself as governing actions.

An informal leader is a member of a group who does not officially have a leadership position, but due to certain personality traits, combined with life experience and behavior, has taken a special position. Has more influence on others than the immediate leader.

Informal leadership emerges within the team most often spontaneously and is a kind of symbol of the community of employees. It is based on competence, personal sympathy and a number of psychological properties. For example, a person's ability to find an effective way out of difficult situations. The informal leader is usually very influential in the team.

Informal leaders have the following characteristics:

the presence of an active need to control the actions of other people and control them;
the ability to easily come into contact with people, using the most beneficial forms of communication in each specific case;
the ability to concentrate on oneself the main streams of psychological information;
quick reaction to changes in the norms of behavior.

To understand who is the informal leader in your team, you need to observe all its members, their activities and relationships, determine the position of each employee in the group and the types of interpersonal relationships.

The informal leader in a group can be identified in personal conversations with subordinates by asking them the following questions:

Who would you turn to for advice in a case requiring competent advice?
who would you invite to another company with you if you were offered good working conditions and the opportunity to form your own team?

The main characteristic for recognizing an informal leader in a group is the reaction of team members to his presence, as well as the frequency of mentioning him, referring to his words, quoting his statements, following his advice and directions. Sometimes the informal leader enjoys certain privileges, for example, a better equipped workplace, the ability to come to work later.

An informal leader - a problem or a support?

An informal leader can become both a serious problem and a reliable support for a leader. Depending on the influence of the informal leader on the team, one can distinguish constructive and destructive(positive and negative) leaders.

Informal leaders constructive type influence the institution and the work of the team positively. They initiate the exchange of information, contribute to the realization of common interests, help in the adaptation of new employees and create a corporate culture.

Informal leaders destructive they use their influence to sabotage the manager's decisions, resist changes, they can undermine the authority of the manager, question his orders, reducing the efficiency of work and the motivation of employees. Having quit their job, they can take away part of the team with them.

What to do with a destructive leader?

Naturally, if the "shadow authority" brings the company some inconvenience and even losses, you want to get rid of it faster. But this is far from the best method, and it is completely undesirable for a medical institution. It should not be forgotten that the informal leader has already acquired supporters among the staff, has formed a certain point of view and assessment of the actions of the management, and a hasty dismissal can once again confirm his “rightness”. In addition, such a radical step can cause the loss of valuable personnel: the leader is able to take an entire team with him, which means a serious malfunction of the clinic, for which it is not so easy to find good specialists.

In this situation, the director needs to restore functions and communications as soon as possible, "take over" functions from the informal leader. For example, rumors began to spread - the director should inform subordinates in more detail; lack of communication - arrange a corporate event, etc. The main thing is to constantly keep feedback with employees, otherwise the influence of the "informal" will increase by leaps and bounds.

In most cases, an informal leader is a valuable and irreplaceable specialist in his place, because professionalism is an important component of his authority. Therefore, you will have to be patient without resorting to extreme measures. Experts advise to soberly assess the situation and the reason for the destructive actions of the employee. It is necessary to figure out whether the matter is only in the personal qualities of the leader or in the leadership policy, which for some reason does not find the support of the team. Get ready for a long and painstaking relationship-building work: in each specific situation, try to get to know the motives of this person as best you can. Show that his experience and knowledge will be in demand, and you will listen to his opinion. Give him such tasks so that he can prove himself: - requiring independence and responsibility. In the end, motivate him financially - perhaps the root of the problem lies here? But at the same time do not try to rudely please the "competitor", you need to be very tough in work matters and at the same time very soft in personal ones. Do not give the team a reason to think that the “gray cardinal” has more rights and privileges than others. Your relationship should be completely transparent to all employees. Do not, under any circumstances, scold him in the presence of subordinates. If he himself is trying to compromise you, say, at a meeting, do not start the discussion in public - sort things out in private. Having shown excessive emotionality, you run the risk of getting other subordinates as opponents.

A destructive leader is also well influenced by his approach to the official leadership. Make his authority legitimate: such an employee is an excellent expert in the field of internal problems. Standing at the official control panel, a person may begin to better understand the position of the leadership and stop acting against its interests. In addition, such a "formalization" of the leader will deprive him of his ideas and views of oppositional attractiveness, which will significantly reduce his influence on the group.

Since the informal leader very well feels the atmosphere and mood of the team, he will provide invaluable assistance in matters related to the psychological climate in your clinic. Its potential can be used in a number of cases, such as:

rallying the team to solve the tasks at hand;
improving the morale in the team;
resolution of disputes, conflicts;
initiative in putting forward new ideas;
increasing discipline.

If you are completely sure that you have taken all possible steps to conclude peace, and the leader, in spite of everything, continues his destructive activities, then it makes sense to say goodbye to him. But how can this be done as painlessly as possible? First of all, you must make sure that other employees do not leave with the leader. Therefore, before firing a leader, review the leadership policy with the team. Clarify any weak points and controversial issues. Your subordinates must understand that you are not eliminating the "fighter for justice", but on the contrary, you are trying to achieve this justice by joint efforts, avoiding a split in the team.

How to Train a Leader?

Can the leadership raise an informal leader artificially, “for itself”? It should not be forgotten that an informal leader does not have power and authority, therefore the only thing that can allow him to be a leader is personal qualities (charisma, emotional intellect). These qualities are 90% innate. There is an opinion that a person can develop the necessary qualities, but in most cases this is a thankless task, since the result does not justify the effort spent.

There is an informal leader in any team: in any permanent group of people, a leader naturally emerges - a personality is energetically stronger, more active, ready to take responsibility, to make a decision. This is a person whom people will follow in an extreme situation. Therefore, a leader cannot educate an informal leader "from scratch", but can single out a person in a team who already has such inclinations, and simply develop them further, orienting a person to the path of constructive cooperation.

Cases where raising a grassroots leader may be justified:

the leader plans to "grow" a successor, ie. he himself is going to take a higher position and wants to put someone in his place;
the manager plans to split his department into two parts, so it is necessary that someone lead the second team;
the leader purposefully "educates" the leader, who will be a "sent Cossack" and report to the leader about moods and situations in the team and, due to his personal influence (which the leader himself does not have), influence the team (in a way necessary for the leader, of course).

Who else, if not physicians, know that prevention of a disease is always better than its cure? To avoid the appearance of a destructor in your team, you need to pay constant attention to group processes. Employees with leadership qualities you need to recognize as early as possible and immediately attract to your allies. The best methods of interaction here are communication on an equal footing, the presence of responsible tasks and material incentives. By channeling the energy of leaders in a constructive direction, you will receive irreplaceable employees who can control the mood of the entire team.

The secrets of successful interaction with the team are becoming more and more relevant for managers of all levels - from the assistant to the head of the department to the top manager. And more and more often HR specialists are involved in managing people, entrusting them with the search for the optimal solution in each specific situation.

Leadership and leadership are fundamental concepts with which effective management of an organization is associated. Management- This is a formal position of power that does not depend on personal qualities. This is a right granted by a position in the career ladder. Leadership the same - a complex concept that includes the effective implementation of real influence on people, regardless of the hierarchical status. Thus, every leader can lead, but not every leader is a leader.

This can be seen very well in the American style of working with personnel: for Americans, the manager ( manager) and leader ( leader) are not at all the same thing, and in this their approach is fundamentally different from ours, burdened with stereotypes. At the same time, the close connection between the manager and the leader is obvious: moving up the service, a person automatically takes a higher place in the service hierarchy. The activity of the team is to some extent related to both management and leadership. Nevertheless, leadership in many ways involves personal initiative, but does not at all require occupying a certain position; while management is the responsibility for practical implementation decisions, often with a "tied" initiative, its dependence on corporate traditions, the opinion of higher management, etc.

For example, a plant director by position is a manager. The position opens the way for him to leadership. The process of influencing people from the position of their position in the organization is called formal leadership. However, the director cannot rely solely on the position to influence people. This becomes apparent when one of his deputies, who has less formal authority, is found to be more successful in managing stressful and conflict situations or solving vital problems for the enterprise. This deputy enjoys the support, trust, respect, and maybe the love of employees for his competence, prudence and good relationship to people.

Leadership is largely informal. The leader in the above example is more likely a deputy than his immediate superior - the director of the plant.

Both leadership and leadership are important to management. The leader is important because he constantly functions against the background of changing relationships within the group, influencing the people who act as “followers”. The informal leader helps the leader in many ways, successfully complementing his work. Leadership influence affects the behavioral and motivational spheres, contributes to the strengthening or, conversely, the leveling of personality traits. In well-organized groups, the leader is more likely to use counsel and request, and much less often, direction.

The process of influencing through abilities and skills or other resources needed by people is called informal leadership... The informal nature of the leadership position is largely due to the use of the personal basis of power and the sources that feed it. It is considered ideal for leadership to use an effective combination of both foundations of power.

Leadership is a key factor in achieving organizational effectiveness. On the one hand, leadership is seen as having a specific set of qualities ascribed to those who successfully influence or influence others. On the other hand, it is a process of predominantly non-violent influence in the direction of a group or organization achieving their goals. Leadership is a specific type of management interaction based on the most effective combination of various sources of power and aimed at encouraging people to achieve common goals.

In many situations, it is optimal for management practice to combine a leader and a leader in one person. In the work of individual organizations, the words "leader" and "leader" are often used as synonyms, which is often quite justified. But this is not always achievable and cannot be a panacea in every situation. We must not forget about our national line. From time immemorial, it is customary for the Slavs to love leadership, which treats subordinates with respect - for such leaders, the people are ready to move mountains. If the boss shows attention to his subordinates and at the same time makes it clear what quantitative and qualitative results he expects from them, then, most likely, they will meet him halfway. In such conditions, the principle “do not let the leader down” becomes a kind of social norm.

Starting from childhood, following the leader is perceived by everyone quite naturally. These are parents in the family, teachers at school, heroes with whom young people want to associate themselves. The presence of the image of a leader in the individual microcosm of a person is as old as the person himself. Most recognize the fact that leadership is identified with the presence of a psychoactive relationship between the leader and his followers.

To a certain extent, leadership can be seen as meaning management. Early approaches to understanding the phenomenon of leadership consisted of trying to identify the personality traits that characterized effective leaders. More recent research has noted attempts to identify the characteristics and behaviors of leaders that can be effective in certain situations. Such situational leadership theories were more productive, but they could not explain everything. Recent research attempts to explain leadership as a social process, and not as a feature of an individual or his interaction with a situation. This view allows us to consider the main function of leadership as "meaning management." What does this mean? There is no need for a personnel specialist to manage the actions of an informal leader; it is enough to set a semantic vector that he will adhere to.

It is important for a human resources specialist to understand that, having real power, the manager has a significant impact on the work collective, and through it, on the nature and results of the functioning of the object itself. It is especially important to note that he reproduces the personnel of the system in his own likeness: an authoritative leader surrounds himself with qualified, knowledgeable colleagues, and a weak one with even weaker subordinates. And, as a consequence, the first leader leads the system to prosperity, and the weak one with his cadres drives it into a dead end in the end. A skillful leader clearly forms the tasks of the team, clearly understands his role in solving them, is able to use internal incentives for independent actions and anticipate possible difficulties, prevent failures and find the best solutions in each specific situation.

Accordingly, when building a scheme for interaction with informal leaders, you need to make sure that it is suitable not only for the team, but also for its immediate leader.

The basis of leadership is a specific, or leadership, type of management relationship. This is a leader-follower relationship. Historically, the leadership type of relationship arose much earlier than the boss-subordinate relationship, which appeared and took shape only with the development of mass production.

To fix effective interaction between management and the team by attracting informal leaders to your side, it is always worth paying attention to communication. Internal communication in a company is a flow of information of intellectual or emotional content, the purpose of which is to weaken negative aspects in the relationship between management and employees, as well as to strengthen and maintain positive ones. In other words, internal communication presupposes the establishment of good relations between employees, between employees and the manager, and also contributes to the provision of conditions for effective and emotional complicity.

Understanding the intricacies of team management is well helped by developments in the field of crowd management. Oddly enough (after all, the work collective is an organized structure, not a crowd), the emotional tendencies that often determine the climate in the team are the same. And just as the only way to quickly take over crowd control is to single out and manipulate leaders, this is also a very effective method in a team.

The leader uses power and authority, as well as his ability to motivate and entice others, to lead the group towards goal achievement and success. But there is a downside: actions that destroy authority - deliberately lying, irresponsible, stupid or antisocial actions, unethical or violent behavior, especially if it brings personal benefits at the expense of others or at the expense of the organization - lead to the loss of the informal leader of their status.

It is highly likely that the HR manager already knows the answer to this question. If there are no obvious leaders, or the team is new and people have not yet had time to show themselves in full force, you will have to conduct a methodical search for a suitable person. To get started, you can use the hint ( see diagram).

The next step after the selection of candidates for informal leaders in terms of personal qualities is consideration of their interaction style :

With myself. Leaders study and know themselves well and their capabilities, seek the truth, follow high standards and are well aware of the consequences of their own behavior, do not show arrogance and spread an atmosphere of self-esteem around them, know when they need rest, and successfully cope with stress, usually stay in good mood and are optimistic, preferring to see opportunities where others see only obstacles;
with others. Leaders know how to get along with people, not forgetting about the interests of the organization (solving problems according to the "win / win" strategy - as a result of creative resolution of the conflict, both sides win), fully maintain independence, communicating about decision-making, never give in and they know how to disagree, without being considered intractable, respect others, and those around them understand and feel this respect. They are not peculiar uncontrolled outbreaks rage, they rarely impose their ideas on others, and instead try to succeed through recommendations, suggestions, or asking others to consider their perspectives. Respect for others gives them the power to motivate others to achieve often big and difficult goals. They do not sacrifice their family for their own success, they know how to find a balance in the relationship between work and family;
with the organization. Leaders keep pace with the development of the organization or group. They allow subordinates to be honest without fear of losing their jobs, they know they cannot lead while sitting at a desk, so they do go-and-see research, hire the best professionals and give them maximum freedom to perform their duties, establish a highly effective reward system, to encourage people to do their best for the organization. They help subordinates achieve their personal goals while contributing to the success of the organization;
with the case. Leaders know a lot about their business and competition, their methods are always ethical, they take the responsibility to lead change seriously and are their initiators;
with the community. Leaders give their talents, ideas, abilities and energy to important matters and projects, they usually give more than they take, often become mentors for younger colleagues.

Do not forget that most informal leaders are the first candidates for career growth, therefore, one of the elements of their leadership "professional suitability" can be considered the presence of pronounced features inherent in successful top managers: the ability to extrapolate (disseminate conclusions obtained from observing one part of the phenomenon, to its other part), to the development of several problems simultaneously, stability in a situation of uncertainty, quick grasp of the essence of the matter; the ability to cope with aggression, the ability to take control, perseverance, the ability to cooperate, initiative, energy; the ability to manage emotions; ability to rely on others, sensitivity (sensitivity to the feelings of others), self-identification with work, ability to empathize, interest in the growth of the organization, and not in their own career, independence.

Personal Ideal: Flexibility, stress tolerance, purpose, community leadership, sense of humor, wholeness.

Today, neither psychology nor sociology provides a unified classification of informal leaders. Therefore, everyone defines them in their own way. I offer my vision of leadership types based on motivational and behavioral characteristics.

"Conductor"

Ideal for interacting with results-oriented management who does not want to over-democratize the relationship with the team. The leader-conductor willingly manages the tendencies in his team, not one step away from the "score" set by the leadership. His motivation is a sense of his own worth, because he relies on leadership. Such people like to say: “If it were not for me, it’s scary and think about what might have happened ...” Usually executive and friendly. Knows how to organize the work of people, infecting them with their own thirst to achieve the goal. “Conductors” are prone to slow but confident career growth to mid-level managers - there is an ideal place for them. Top management is not their element, because there you have to make fundamental decisions yourself, and not organize work within the framework of the task.

"Shirt-guy"

The soul of the company, sociable and charming, he is great for organizing individuals in a team to perform tasks that they would rather avoid - he is so charming and sows positive emotions around that even the most tedious task becomes iridescent, it is almost impossible to refuse him. His personal motivation is to feel that he is allowed to communicate with management “on an equal footing”.

"Grey Cardinal"

An extremely useful figure for an ambitious leader. He willingly creates thoughtful, effective strategies for solving the task, taking into account the personal characteristics of each member of the team. Usually a little boring, but he remembers everything about everyone in the little things - after all, it is so easy to play on these little things, manipulating a person. At the same time, the “gray cardinal” does not pretend to be a developer or organizer, preferring to remain on the sidelines in the eyes of those around him all his life, but to know that in fact he is the first violin.

"Rebel"

A very complex type. Feels an innate need to rebel against existing injustice and has a talent for finding this injustice anywhere and in anything. He loves to set conditions, organize strikes, etc. The rebel constantly fights for the rights of each and every one, but with the logical justification of the infringed rights of the leadership, he just as zealously defends these rights in front of the collective.

Managers and personnel officers, as a rule, do not see the need to "tame" a pronounced informal leader who works in a team. But this is a dangerous delusion. An “ownerless” informal leader can cause a decrease in the efficiency of the team, and sometimes lead to serious conflicts.

The least dangerous from this position are “conductor” and “shirt-guy”. Although they can cause problems. The "conductor" will strive to help in organizing the work process as he sees it as correct, which often leads to the opposite result due to his ignorance of the pitfalls and far-reaching plans.

Example 1

The plans of a small company - a food manufacturer, included a significant expansion of the sales department. The management found it necessary to take a closer look at the employees of the department and select those who have little time left (they, apparently, work quickly and efficiently, and can help in the adaptation of new employees). In the absence of the head of the department, the directives were transferred to his deputy, without explaining why this was done. So, the typical "conductor" was instructed to single out those people who have more time than others. He cannot simply follow the instructions and offer the management a list of such employees. He tries to do "what is best." The "conductor" considered that the goal was to screen out ineffective employees, so he began to load the best specialists with additional tasks so that they would not fall into the category of having too much time, and included all the rest in the list required by the management.

As a result, the adaptation of new personnel during the expansion of the department fell on the shoulders of not the best specialists, which was clearly to the detriment of the company.

The “guy-shirt”, feeling himself deprived of the attention of the management, can form a negative attitude of the team towards the bosses, even without striving for such a result.

Example 2

Deprived of the attention of the head of the IT department of a large company, the "guy-shirt" was looking for sympathy from the team. He sat for a long time next to one employee, then next to the next, etc. and complained to them about the insolvency of the boss, who ignores his ("shirt-guy") potential. And at the same time, the offended "informal" very vividly and emotionally told everyone about the existing and fictional shortcomings of his boss. The guy did not pursue any far-reaching goals, he was just looking for sympathy. But as a result, given the emotional contagion and the good attitude of the team towards the misunderstood employee, the attitude towards the boss worsens. People begin to pay attention to the little things, to find fault with his every instruction. And the reason for everything is the "shirt-guy" who is not involved in the management of the department.

The “gray cardinal” poses a more significant danger - if his ideas are not appreciated at their true worth by the immediate leadership, he may well go bypassing it directly to the higher authorities. And often he is quite capable of logically substantiating his claims, which is fraught with troubles both for the immediate leader of this team and for employees. At least on the situation in the organization, such situations usually have an extremely negative impact.

Example 3

Analytical department of a commercial bank. One of the employees - a typical "gray eminence" - comes to the boss with a proposal to optimize the analysis of one of the areas of activity. The boss is skeptical about the proposal - yes, efficiency can improve, but this still needs to be proven. Resisting changes (after all, in order to introduce a new methodology, it will be necessary to install and master new software, which requires time and material costs), he refuses an initiative employee: no, we do not need this, everything is fine with us.

A month later, the "gray eminence" receives a cash bonus from the higher management, the department is charged with the obligation to carry out the analysis according to a new (the same!) Scheme, and the head of the department is reprimanded. In addition, the team does not like upstarts, which means that such an incident will cause stratification and an inevitable decrease in efficiency due to a decrease in team spirit. And if the boss agreed with such a generally sensible proposal, everyone would consider it his personal initiative.

The most dangerous thing for an organization is usually the “rebel”. If a pronounced "rebel" is left idle (not puzzled by the solution of issues of universal justice for the good of the company), he is quite capable of using his talents not in favor of the leadership. For clarity: it was these people who organized the first trade unions in their time, which pretty much annoyed the merchants of those times. These "rebels" organize strikes and other protest events. And not always having good reasons for this. Be aware: if employees suddenly began to express dissatisfaction en masse with something that suited everyone before, they demand to change working conditions or pay, establish a shortened working day, etc. in the presence of a normal office, salary, appropriate qualifications of employees, then the team wound up "Rebel".

Sociology, as the science of the development of society, helps to better understand the mechanisms of its development in order to confidently navigate the present or make predictions for the future. Formal and informal leadership, from the point of view of the layman, are very similar: in both cases it is about who leads the collective or the masses. In fact, these concepts are different to the opposite. More details about this will be discussed in this article.

You should start with the terminology. it is considered to be going in front, leading a group of people or a competition in a sport. From this point of view, a formal leader is a leader (commander, chief, director), who, due to his official position, is given the authority to manage a group of people.

There are many examples to illustrate this: political parties(), companies, firms, departments - any community created for the purpose of solving a certain problem (sometimes for a long period of time). Simply put, in the case of formal leadership, an external force is the starting point for rallying different individuals around their leader. The leader of everything is appointed, but never elected. Often, his role is imposed, they are forced to obey him, not daring to oppose openly.

Important. A formal leader most often does not have the makings of a leader, is devoid of charisma, while he knows perfectly how to lead, using his power and relying entirely on it.

Official leaders, even if they come from their own environment, are more connected with their superiors than with their subordinates. They pursue the policy adopted in the company, are representatives of the administration, serve to organize the exchange of information between ordinary employees and higher management. They can be appointed for a specific term, they are changed often, but they are never chosen by voting or on the basis of sympathy.

How to define informal leadership

Informal leadership is fundamentally different from the previous option in its essence: it is based on respect, recognition of merit, personal relationships. In the overwhelming majority of cases, such a leader is completely trusted, sometimes to the point of endowing him with supernatural powers or abilities. However, he does not have specific responsibilities or rights.

Sometimes a group headed by an informal leader may be in opposition to the official authorities (up to the development of conflicts). Or he risks having a time bomb in his environment: the hidden leader will constantly disturb people, interfere with work, and distract from the task at hand.

Important. A wise leader will try to establish friendly relations with the unofficial leader in order to skillfully use his capabilities and influence on the team for his own purposes. And in a completely ideal situation, they are one and the same person.

Usually the reasons for creating informal education in society or collective are the following:

unified social environment. People are united by common interests, origin, place of residence - this is absolutely normal. Moreover, compliance with this condition contributes to the emergence of a comfort zone;
the need for help. Different groups are created in connection with the insecurity of individual individuals, and together they represent a real force that can overcome the limitations of loners and ensure the safety of the entire organization;
insecurity. Partially related to the previous paragraph, by combining individuals in the collective, their protection increases significantly;
lack of communication. A person is a social being, for normal self-determination in society he needs communication with his own kind, the exchange of information. This implies the principle of information leadership - when a person owns a large amount of data and intelligently uses this opportunity to manage people.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, the listed criteria are the main ones. It is on their basis that interest groups are formed in society - be it a choral singing club or a youth sub-culture. These social communities are formed almost spontaneously (while the creation of formal associations always requires a command "from above").

This will require knowledge of human psychology, as well as the intricacies of relationships in a team. A person with the natural inclinations of a leader enjoys the boundless trust of his colleagues and can have the status of “his boyfriend”. His opinion is always listened to and in no case ignored. They will not point a finger at the informal leader, and he himself is in no hurry to introduce himself to the official authorities. He can have a complex character, even be a sociopath in some way, but if the leader does not consider it necessary to take into account his fact of existence, then he will make a serious mistake.

It is best to identify an informal leader in an informal setting: there he will show all his managerial qualities and the degree of influence on the team.

The difference between them

Formal and informal leadership in an organization often operate side by side, according to their own independent algorithms. They do not always work in one direction: more typical for human collectives is the situation in which the boss authoritarianly promotes his line of management, and the informal leader opposes him explicitly or indirectly. The head of the unit is appointed by the administration; often he has nothing to do with the team. Its task is to carry out interaction between the higher authorities and the team headed. In this case, the formal leader must ensure the implementation of all decisions descended from above. His status, financial situation, as well as career growth depend on this.

An informal leader is practically not interested in getting results for his superiors: he already has respect, trust of colleagues, and also a real sense of his own worth. He can use his position for his own purposes, he is almost not attracted to career growth and privileges.

In a critical situation, the informal is able to organize a long-term defense against the official authorities. To act head-on against him, right through, is like stirring up a hornet's nest with a stick: relations with the team will be completely ruined, and you will have to forget about the achievement of the results required by the authorities.

Examples of such forms

A trade union can be a typical illustration of informal leadership in an organization. There are all the signs of an informal community: a single social environment (people work together for a long time), getting help ( trade union organizations often create a cashier to provide material support), security (the interests of employees are defended before the administration). In the 20s of the last century, the influence of trade union leaders on workers in the United States was so great that the mafia structures that controlled the business had to physically eliminate them.

Another typical example is youth groups. They are created spontaneously, on the basis of common interests (favorite football team), practically do not lend themselves to external control, have pronounced leaders. Any large company (Apple) can be cited as confirmation of formal groups: employees are subordinate to the implementation of tasks set by management, acting within the limits of their authority. At the same time, the company's management may well be concentrated in the hands of a natural leader.

It has long been established that almost any group of people who are connected with each other by a certain activity is inclined to search for a leader - a charismatic personality who is able to "lead." It is not known whether this is a legacy of primitive times, when a person could survive only in a crowd, submitting to a strong leader, or informal leaders began to appear only in modern collectives, but most of us encountered "gray cardinals" in school. Disrupting a lesson, rallying classmates against someone alone, making suggestions for leisure activities outside of school, to which others happily agree - all this is the behavior of a leader. In adulthood everything is almost the same: in most cases, informal leaders are team members who do not officially have a top management position, but at the same time they occupy a special position that allows them to lead the rest of the employees. In any team, more than five people sooner or later appear their own. If it is not there, it is only a matter of time.

It is impossible to say for sure who can become an informal leader, in each case the factors are different. Sociability and initiative, intellectual development, certain psychological qualities and excellent oratory skills - all this can affect a person's ability to be an informal leader. The main task is to determine as soon as possible whether the company will benefit from cooperation with such a leader, or whether it should be immediately got rid of.

“We have had a case in our company when a sales manager who has been with us for several years and has earned a well-deserved prestige among colleagues, independently developed a plan to expand the company and reorganize our stores, without consulting with senior management. It is quite understandable why the leadership did not consider it necessary to support him and spoke out sharply against it. Despite the fact that the plan for the new development of the company was sensible, the bosses preferred to continue working according to proven schemes and did not consider it necessary to listen to the Napoleonic ideas of their employee. In retaliation, he raised a "popular revolt", made numerous comments regarding the size of salaries and the distribution of powers. Many employees supported the rebel, and the atmosphere in the department became tense. In response, the bosses did not come up with anything more sensible how to fire the head of the sales department. As a sign of dissatisfaction with such actions, some of his colleagues resigned along with their manager, as a result the work of the department was paralyzed for several months until new employees were found. " - Tatiana, sales manager

Friend or foe?

Most experienced leaders are of the opinion that informal leaders should be used wisely for the sake of company prosperity, and not fired and thereby cause discord in the ranks of employees. “Gray cardinals” often serve as conductors of information in the team, strengthen the team spirit and are the first assistants of management. The task of the bosses is to direct the authority of the informal leader in the right direction and redistribute his energy so that it is spent not on squabbles between employees, but on solving problems for the development of the company. The simplest and, in many cases, the most effective way out of this situation is legalization, when the informal is introduced into the group of the official leadership. This measure allows an ambitious employee to show his abilities in the "big arena", and in the eyes of the collective he loses his oppositional attractiveness and becomes an ordinary leader, which greatly reduces the likelihood of riots.

“When he came to our company, no one suspected that with his arrival we would have a lot of innovations proposed by him. Of course, this did not happen right away, at first our Sergey Andreevich rubbed himself into the confidence of the employees, tried to make friends with them, went to lunch together, asked the opinion of each employee, and especially those who had weight and authority in the team. Very soon he became a mutual friend, respected by men and adored by women, almost all employees of our department listened to him and to resolve issues they turned to him more often than to the authorities. Our leadership drew the right conclusions and tried to bring Sergei Andreevich out of the shadows, improved him and allocated him an area of work that corresponded to his interests. In addition, they began to consult with him about the development of our company and in many cases listened to his opinion. It cannot be said that all our employees agreed with such a “promotion” of a manager to the top, but no one argues with the fact that he made a successful career in the company. " - Irina, economist

Dismiss immediately

Unfortunately, there are often cases when an informal leader does not plan to invest in work more than others and does not dream of high positions, but tries, with the help of a team cover, to make his work easier with the help of regular delays, communicates on personal topics during working hours or spreads gossip about “ wrong "leadership. Such leaders are also called "screamers" - they talk a lot and stupidly, but do little and, by their actions, often bring confusion to the team. It is useless to negotiate with such leaders, it is like admonishing a school bully who disrupts lessons and will do it over and over again. There can be only one way out - dismissal, and as soon as possible, until other employees adopt the methods of work of such a leader.

“A year ago a girl came to our company and everyone liked her right away. She was hired as an accountant, but very soon she delved into the responsibilities of other employees and was always ready to help and suggest. It cannot be said that her advice was always competent, but she was so sweet that she immediately became everyone's friend. Over time, this girl began to regularly be late for work and ask to "cover" her in front of her superiors. Then she stopped coping with her duties, preferring to drink tea for half a day and discuss the shortcomings of her superiors and their personal lives. Other employees got involved, and as a result, work stalled, which was not profitable for others, especially for those who worked for a salary plus interest on sales. The girl was fired, and since then everyone has breathed freely. " - Dmitry, analyst

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