Each political leader should have specific character traits, the ability to lead and influence the population, and also be able to achieve their goals. Leadership is characterized by the use of certain political styles that can be effective and ineffective, as well as authoritarian and democratic. Style is focused on solving specific tasks, the achievement of which is achieved thanks to a clear distribution of roles and functions, as well as the subordination of such an individual to all possible and necessary resources.
A political leader is a person who must lead millions. And this is not subject to everyone. Agree that not all people on the planet become such individuals, their units. Such abilities are based on unconventional thinking and the ability to convince. Based on many criteria, there are various typologies of political leadership.
So, according to the scale distinguish between ethnic leaders, as well as those who represent some class or layer of society.
Note that a political leader, according to the theory of the philosopher M. Berne, can be a converter or a businessman. The first of them works according to the accepted concept of social development. As for the second type, his representative focuses on the details, but does not focus on the global position of the project development of how the society should turn out as a result of the events.
An interesting interpretation was given by the philosopher and political scientist Pareto, who divided the political leaders into “lions” and “foxes”. “Foxes” combine the ability to maneuver, hide their intentions, predict the outcome of the situation, in general, act cunningly and carefully. Politicians “lions” are characterized by more directness in their actions, they use the method of force pressure and often fall into traps. They fight against the enemy in the open.
Note that the types of political leaders that are still being developed are largely shaped according to the interpretation of M. Weber. He distinguished between:
1. The traditional form of leadership, which is based on a firm belief in the foundations and their unwaveringness. An example is the situation when a political leader is not convinced, but according to tradition: the monarch’s son becomes his successor.
2. Charismatic leadership, when people blindly believe in the possibility of a leader who has the charisma and charm that is given to him from above.
3. Rational-legal. In this case, the political leader is chosen by the people, which is based on a belief in the rule of law and the legitimacy of the process.
Of all three points, the philosopher considered the charismatic type to be the most interesting, because here trust is based solely on sympathies and divine intervention. Therefore, the relations of such a leader and the masses are mystical in nature, and the people are required to completely obey the leader who is performing the highest mission. Typically, this type of political leader is found in many systems.
The following personalities are examples: Lenin, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Hitler, Mussolini, F. Castro and others. Moreover, these leaders cannot be assessed unambiguously. During the period of the highest crisis, such a person can only rally the people and calm him down with his eyes. However, this state of affairs is not always justified and painless for the masses.
Any political leader needs the support of the people, however, he must have certain characteristics that distinguish him from the populist. First of all, such a person must be able to lead the people. Moreover, he must, when necessary, activate the masses in action, but also keep them in time if the situation is at its limit.