Group Leadership and Authority
Leadership Functions: Both primary and secondary groups have leadership or positions that enable certain people to be leaders (or at least to wield power over others).
From a functionalist perspective, if groups exist to meet the instrumental and expressive needs of their members, then leaders are responsible for helping the group meet those needs.
Instrumental leadership is goal or task oriented; this type of leadership is most appropriate when the group's purpose is to complete a task or reach a particular goal.
Expressive leadership provides emotional support for members; this type of leadership is most appropriate when the group is dealing with emotional issues, and harmony, solidarity, and high morale are needed.
Both kinds of leadership are needed for groups to work effectively. Traditionally, instrumental and expressive leadership roles have been limited by gender socialization.
Instrumental leadership has been linked with men, whereas expressive leadership has been linked with women. Social change in recent years has somewhat blurred the distinction between gender-specific leadership characteristics, but these outdated stereotypes have not completely disappeared.
Authoritarian leaders make all major group decisions and assign tasks to members.
These leaders focus on the instrumental tasks of the group and demand compliance from others. In times of crisis, such as a war or natural disaster, authoritarian leaders may be commended for their decisive actions. In other situations, however, they may be criticized for being dictatorial and for fostering intergroup hostility.
Democratic leaders encourage group discussion and decision-making through consensus building.
These leaders may be praised for their expressive, supportive behavior toward group members, but they may also be blamed for being indecisive in times of crisis.
Laissez-faire leaders are only minimally involved in decision-making and encourage group members to make their own decisions.
Laissez-faire literally means "to leave alone." On the one hand, laissez-faire leaders may be viewed positively by group members because they do not flaunt their power. On the other hand, a group that needs active leadership is not likely to find it with this style of leadership, which does not work vigorously to promote group goals.
Studies of kinds of leadership and decision-making styles have certain inherent limitations. They tend to focus on leadership that is imposed externally on a group (such as bosses or political leaders) rather than leadership that arises within a group. Different decision-making styles may be more effective in one setting than another.
Imagine the different types of leaders that might emerge within a classroom. The teacher is an obvious leader because he or she is the one who creates the curriculum timeline and provides instruction, but a classroom also has student leaders who help faciliate learning through their actions and participation.
