The term ‘leader’ tends to make us think about a charismatic, driven individual, super salesperson, that sits at their big chair and their impressive office, and paving the pathway to success for all subordinates. While this is partially true, the true definition of a leader is any person who instructs a group of people. There are different types of leadership; formal and informal, and others as well.
In every group, there is an individual who takes the role of being a leader, regardless of whether they are formally appointed or informally given authority. These leaders play an important role within organizations by resolving the challenges faced on an everyday basis, and they are the essence of their organization.
In any situation, effective leaders are able to provide new opportunities and an optimistic perspective on the group of people being led, in order to achieve their goals and targets. Instead of only following the herd, good leaders think outside of the box and present their own logic as they are both innovative and risk-takers.
For organizations, exceptional leadership skills are essential to overcome obstacles, efficiently operate the company, and reach new heights of performance. While everyone has a certain amount of leadership skills in them, and almost everyone can present formal and informal leadership skills, not all are able to utilize these skills properly.
Exceptional Leadership Skills
True leadership consists of far more than knowing the basics of how to manage a group of people, but generally speaking, successful leaders are often seen as determined, fair, passionate, creative, intellegent, empathetic, and confident in their pursuits.
A good leader is also likely to possess excellent communication skills, both in writing and in-person. Similarly, leaders tend to be courageous individuals who are willing to take a few risks during their tenure, particularly if it provides an opportunity to accomplish more.
While these basic skills remain similar in all kinds of leaders, there is still great debate upon which leadership method is the most effective.
Types of Leadership
A style of leadership refers to the certain behaviors and attributes that a leader shows when directing and managing a group of subordinates for achieving the goals of their organization. Instead of being solely based on personality traits, these leadership styles tend to differ in the nature of their role.
Formal Leadership
As the name suggests, formal leaders are those who are given a position of authority over a certain group. Being assigned as leaders, these people are responsible for the group working under their control and are free to exercise authority over them.
A formal leader is usually associated with being more of a job title than a simple role, especially since it is the responsibility of the leader to organize, plan, and guide group members effectively in order to achieve the goals determined by the team.
As organizations and groups become bigger in number, and so are their challenges in our global tech-driven modern world, the need for a formal leader becomes clear. In order to manage a large group of people who must work productively and meet deadlines, it is important for the leader to have direct authority.
Through this, subordinates tend to take the leaders’ guidelines more seriously, and establish a professional workspace where people are very focused on executing their instructions properly. Well, at least that’s how it should be in well-functioning organizations.
Since formal leaders have authority, they have certain rights and privileges that differentiates them from their subordinates. For instance, formal leaders are able to wield power over the group, maintain discipline, and punish members who fail to adhere to the rules. Unfortunately, sometimes instead of using their power and authority wisely, leaders are actually expressing negative leadership.
Informal Leadership
Conversely, an informal leader is someone who is not given any official authority to control a group of people. Instead, the group itself decides to follow the guidance of a member whom they associate with and begin following their instructions willingly, without giving them an official title.
In most cases, informal leaders are formed due to their charismatic and friendly personalities which makes people agree to listening to them. Informal leaders tend to be emotionally intelligent, having traits like empathy and being extremely easy to approach. These qualities make people in the group associate with the informal leader, making the leaders’ position increasingly important and influential.
Interestingly enough, informal leaders are usually given the leadership role naturally instead of formally being appointed. In certain cases, this type of leadership proves to be more efficient as subordinates can connect with the leader directly instead of only working under their command.
Since informal leaders do not have direct authority or control, they become influential in organizations by making use of three main bases of power: This includes referent power or leading by example, expert power or charming others through their knowledge and skills; and reward power, where they may recognize and appreciate the efforts of other members in the group.
Formal or Informal Leadership: What’s the Big Difference?
When it comes to choosing one leadership style over the other, things begin to get a little complicated. While formal leadership might be suitable in certain situations, it is likely that informal leadership would prove more effective in other situations.
Of course, in hindsight, everything makes sense. The informal leader in the company ‘A’ was a huge success, and the formal one was a disaster, and vice versa. But in order to make this leadership decision a better and more educated one, it is important to rule out the main differences between these two styles of leadership:
The Role of the Leader
Apart from the basic difference of official authority between formal and informal leadership, there is a much bigger disparity between the kind of role played by the leader itself. While formal leaders mainly direct the group towards achieving a specific set of goals, informal leaders are more likely to follow their own instinct.
In such a situation, the roles played by a formal leader and an informal one may be in striking contrast. The formal leader views the group from the perspective of authority, whereas the informal leader views the group as his own team. These differing perspectives could result in separate objectives of both leaders, which may as well be in direct competition with one another.
The Question of Loyalty
Once a formal leader has been appointed, his/her loyalty lies within the organization in order to ensure that their goals are achieved efficiently. Contrastingly, the informal leader often remains loyal to the group itself and prefers to protect the interests of the people within the group instead of the organization. As the group ‘appointed’ him, he feels a kind of commitment that the formal leader does not feel.
While both the interests of the group and the organization should be the same, there could be situations where the two collide and create conflict.
In order to avoid such situations of chaos, it is important to determine whether formal or informal leadership should be pursued to guide a certain group of people. While both may be the best leaders from their own perspectives, it is important to understand which style would be more effective in a certain situation, depending on a given market, economy, and social conditions.
Comparative Analysis: A Summary
Now that it has been established that formal and informal leadership styles differ in more ways than one, the question of which leadership style to pursue becomes increasingly difficult. However, to put things in simpler terms, following are some of the basic pros and cons of each style of leadership:
Formal Leadership: Pros
- Official appointment, such as being positioned by a superior, results in a sense of authority and control over subordinates.
- Group members are more likely to respect and follow the commands of a formal leader.
- Could make use of informal leaders to maximize support of the group
- More commonly seen in society, such as presidents, CEOs, and teachers.
- Formal leaders are far more experienced to lead a group of people.
Formal Leadership: Cons
- Formal leadership creates the impression that employees are being controlled instead of being part of the decision-making process.
- Group members may not associate with the leader, making it difficult to achieve goals efficiently.
- Can be perceived as intimidating and not fully honest with the group members regarding the organization’s interests.
Informal Leadership: Pros
- Informal leaders are usually very charismatic with very strong interpersonal sensitivity abilities, making them easier to communicate with and develop productive relationships within the group.
- Group members are drawn towards informal leaders as they associate with him/her also being part of the group.
- The team has a sense of belonging and feels like they are an integral part of the organization, and see its interests more as their own.
- Informal leaders tend to be the most emotionally intelligent of the entire group, inspiring others to do better.
- The high level of intimacy that informal leaders have with their team enables them to know the true status of the team’s progress at any given point.
Informal Leadership: Cons
- Group members may choose a leader based on superficial reasons instead of the important leadership qualities required to lead.
- Informal leaders are unable to exercise authority to get a project done.
- The entire group may not agree on one informal leader, thus creating internal conflict.
Final Thought
Conclusively, it can be stated that no single leadership style would be appropriate in all situations. The decision of whether to appoint a formal leader or to give way to an informal one remains one that is entirely subjective, depending heavily upon the goals to be achieved, and on the momentum that is being maintained within the members of the group, both on the personal and on the professional level.
In many cases, organizations tend to have both formal and informal leadership styles demonstrated by different individuals. In such cases, cooperation between the two leaders using different leadership styles become necessary.
While the two of them may have different visions and can it can be challenging to successfully connect them, it is mutually beneficial for them to work together and protect the interests of not only the organization, but the members of the group too.
