FORMAL LEADERSHIP: CHARACTERISTICS, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The formal leadership is a way to lead a team in which the person responsible for it is officially designated. It occurs in all those situations in which an individual has a position of power within a group; for example, in the case of a school teacher or the president of a company.

A formal leader can adopt any type of leadership to carry out his work. The only characteristic necessary to consider that a leader falls into this category is that her position of power has not arisen spontaneously.

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The opposite of this form of team management is informal leadership. This occurs when a person acquires a certain power within a group without actually having a recognized position. Teams often have both a formal and informal leader, which can lead to all kinds of conflicts.

In this article we will see what are some of the most important characteristics of formal leaders. In addition, we will also study their most prominent advantages and disadvantages, and what are their differences with informal or natural leaders.

characteristics

Recognized position of power

The defining characteristic of formal leaders is that their control over a group has been established externally. These leaders are part of the explicit hierarchy of the environment in which they operate.

Formal leaders often reach their position based on their titles, previous experiences, or job skills. They usually appear in structured environments, as in the case of companies, associations or work teams. However, the figure of the leader can also be created in other less conventional environments.

Control over your subordinates

One of the main limitations that natural leaders encounter is that they do not really have any power over their peers.

Because of this, they have to use their charisma and conviction so that others do what they want. In contrast, formal leaders do not have this problem.

By having an explicit position of power, a person with formal leadership has control over the people he commands. In a company, for example, the CEO can fire someone who does not behave as he wants; Or a high school teacher, another example of this type of leadership, may expel one of her students.

Existence of a hierarchy

In all the environments in which the figure of the formal leader occurs, it is necessary that there be an explicit hierarchy. Therefore, in most cases a certain distance is generated between the leader and his subordinates; they cannot connect too closely, something that does happen in the case of natural leadership.

Advantage

Formal leadership has certain points in its favor, which make it more useful in certain situations than the forms of leadership that arise spontaneously. Next we will see what are its main advantages.

Control over subordinates

The power of formal leaders is externally imposed, so they have the ability to make their team members follow the direction that they set.

This can be a great advantage in certain situations, where employees are not very familiar with a subject in which the manager is an expert.

Simplicity when directing

For a person to achieve a leadership position naturally, they have to have a series of very specific personality characteristics. The problem is that not too many individuals have them, so these situations are not very frequent.

By contrast, formal leaders don't have to be overly adept at leading teams. Generally, they just need to have extensive knowledge of the field in which they are working; the obedience of his subordinates will occur because of the hierarchy, and not because of the personality of the leader.

Easier to achieve goals

Formal leaders normally have a very high degree of control over the activities of their subordinates. Due to this, the teams that have this figure usually manage to achieve the objectives that are proposed in a simpler way than those that do not.

Disadvantages

However, having a formal leader doesn't always have to be good. This form of leadership also has a number of disadvantages, which can be counterproductive in some situations. Next we will see the most important ones.

Demotivation

Most people don't respond very well when externally imposed on them. Therefore, although having a formal leader can help the goals of a team or company, it can also make employees have a much more negative mood.

Greater likelihood of tyranny

Although this does not always happen, many formal leaders focus too much on the power they have over their team, expecting others to obey them without question or question.

This can lead to great discomfort in a work group, in addition to all kinds of internal conflicts.

Lack of communication

Finally, the existence of an explicit hierarchy usually causes groups with formal leadership to create a distance between the leader and subordinates.

Due to this, problems may appear that the leader does not bother to solve, because he is unable to understand them.

Differences with natural leadership

The form of leadership opposite to the formal one is known as informal or natural. In the situations in which it occurs, a person achieves power within a group not as a consequence of an externally imposed hierarchy, but because of her own personal characteristics.

Natural leaders tend to be more charismatic, generate a greater connection between team members, and foster motivation and communication. However, they may not be as effective in meeting specific objectives, so they are not suitable for all situations.

It is important to note that, although this is not common, a formal leader may have the characteristics that make him or her also a natural leader.

In these cases, the team has the best of both worlds: a person capable of enforcing the proposed objectives, but who understands the employees and is able to communicate with them effectively.

References

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3. "Formal Leadership: Definition & Explanation" in: Study. Retrieved on: December 1, 2018 from Study: study.com.
4. "Difference between informal and formal leader" in: Career Trend. Retrieved on: December 1, 2018 from Career Trend: careertrend.com.
5. "Differences Between Formal & Informal Leaders: The Advantages Associated With Each" in: Bright Hub PM. Retrieved on: December 1, 2018 from Bright Hub PM: brighthubpm.com.