Ph.D. Ivashchenko N.S.

Russian state University after A.N. Kosygin – RGU after A.N. Kosygin (Technologies. Design. Art), Russia, Moscow

The roles and functions of a leader

Annotation

The article considers the approach of different authors to the definition of the functions of the leader. A classification of the functions of the leader in the aspect of the role that he performs is proposed.

Keywords:

leader, function, role, classification

In the Russian management today, more than ever, much attention is paid to theories of leadership, which is obviously due to the shortage of effective leaders. Both, practitioners and representatives of various scientific schools, interests where to get and how to prepare an effective leader.

In order to talk about the effectiveness of the leader, first of all, you should determine the functions that it performs.

R. Beyls and F. Slater were the first to suggest the instrumental and emotional functions of the leader [1], which determined two main types of leaders: an instrumental or business leader and an emotional or expressive leader. The classification feature in this case is the sphere in which the leader shows the greatest activity, namely, the achievement of group goals or the maintenance and development of interpersonal relations in the group.

The instrumental functions include diagnostics, forecasting and organization of group activities, coordination and control.

The emotional functions include communication, motivation to work, conflict management, establishing norms of behavior within the group, ensuring group cohesion. Thus, within the group of emotional functions, communication, motivational, affective (providing feedback) and integrative (unifying) functions are singled out.

Recently, the authors propose to highlight information leaders, which is obviously connected with the peculiarities of the era in which modern economy and business develop, when knowledge and information are the driving forces of development.

The information leader is, first of all, an intellectual, a person with a broad outlook, with extensive knowledge in various fields.

Hence the third sphere of the leader's activity is the information sphere, as a result of which one can distinguish the information and cognitive functions of the leader:

information - is associated with the search, processing, structuring and effective use of information;

cognitive - is aimed at deeper understanding information, transforming it into a field of knowledge and clarifying the members of the group to solve the tasks.

It is undoubtedly interesting to classify the functions of the leader in accordance with the model of I. Adizes "PAEI-concept" [2]. In this case, the temporal aspect is proposed as a classification feature.

In the short term, leaders perform the functions of Producing and Administrating, i.e. maintenance of order in the group.

In the long run, leaders perform the functions of Entrepreneurship (the definition of the directions of development of the group) and Integrating, implying the creation of a group value system.

There are other classifications of the functions of leaders.

There is no strictly scientific classification of functions yet. Everything depends on the foundation for their selection. The most common classification is the allocation of 4 groups of leadership functions:

− strategic,

− administrative,

− public (representative),

− Role-playing.

Strategic functions are

− a vision of the future of the organization and the establishment of values and norms that make up the group worldview,

− setting goals and the basic line of conduct of the group,

− development of methods and means by which the group attains the set goals.

Administrative functions are

− delegation of authority and responsibility to others,

− coordination of the activities of the group,

− control over the activities of the group,

− motivation to activities

− use of informal sanctions,

− group relationship management .

Public function

− performance in the external environment on behalf of the members of the group

− transformation of the information coming from the group

− the symbol of the group.

As you can see, some of the functions in these classification groups may be attributed to instrumental leaders, some - to emotional ones.

Yemelyanov Y.N. [3] considers leadership in accordance with the roles that the leader in a given situation performs.

For example, the scheduler develops ways of solution of the task, the arbitrator eliminates conflicts, etc. And again, the functions inherent in these or other roles can be classified as instrumental or emotional, strategic, administrative or representative.

In the table below, the characteristic of leadership grouped into taxa, i.e. groups with a common base.

Table 1 – The classification of the functions of leaders in terms of their types and roles

	Roles			Feature characteristics
Strategic Functions
1.	Instrumental
	1.		scheduler	the developer of ways to achieve group goals
	2.		expert	source of professional competence
2.	Emotional
	1.		guide of worldview	declares the basic values and norms of behavior in the group
	2.		politician	determines the principles and directions of the group's activities
Administrative functions
3.	Instrumental
	1.	administrator		coordinates the activities of the group and monitors the performance of the work
	2.	Abolishing the individual responsibility		responsible for the actions of group members
4.	Emotional
	1.	regulator of relations within the group		regulates interpersonal and business relations within the group
	2.	source of incentives and penalties		carries out control over the group members by the "carrot and stick"
	3.	arbitrator and peacekeeper		finds a solution that satisfies all conflicting parties
Representative functions
5.	Emotional
	1.	representative of the group in the external environment		represents the collective mind and will of the group
	2.	sample for imitation		a pattern of behavior for all followers
	3.	the symbol of the group		the image, name that unite all members of the group
	4.	"father"		the image that the investigators seek to imitate
	5.	"scapegoat"		bears the brunt of the consequences of failures

The presented taxonomic classification of the functions of a leader will in many respects contribute to the selection and formation of effective leaders, which is especially in demand in the Russian economy today.

Reference:

1. Krichevsky RL, Dubovskaya EM Social Psychology of a Small Group: Textbook. allowance M .: Aspect Press, 2001.

2. Adizes I. Development leaders: how to understand your management style and effectively communicate with speakers of other styles: Per. with English. Moscow: Alpina Business Books, 2008.

3. Yemelyanov YN About the essence of leadership. Leader and group. [Electronic resource]. URL: http://psyfactor.org/lider3.htm (Date of circulation 28.10.17)