Leadership

Attribution theory in psychology provides explanatory models for recurrent strategies of simplistic description of complex social contexts in industry and society. The anthropological attempt at justification claims that

1. people have to be led and that
2. People want to be led.

This first justification excludes people who do not want to be led and who also express themselves in this way. It overlooks the fact that individual self-determination in no way implies striving or even having to strive towards a superior goal declared by third parties.

The second attempt to explain the emergence of the leadership phenomenon is functional. It is first assumed that many problem solutions require joint action. In the context of such an interaction, however, a need for coordination arises which increases with the number of people involved in the joint problem-solving. In addition to the possibility of cooperation through action coordination with discussion and consensus building, "leadership" as action coordination is offered to cope with the given need for coordination. The functional justification attempt consists in leadership from a given coordination need of people in the context of common problem solving attempts. However, this overlooks the differentiation of motivation theory into leadership and guidance.

Especially when it comes to people management in organisations, a more precise understanding of leadership is of central importance. Leadership is different from a managerial position. The supervisor (or leader) has rights and responsibilities simply by virtue of his position as opposed to a leader. This requires recognition and acceptance by those being led. Leadership only exists when the attempt made by the leader to influence those to be influenced is accepted by them and is reflected in their behaviour. Leadership is not the attempt to influence itself, but must be expressed as an "accepted attempt to influence" in the behaviour of those to be influenced.

The criterion of recognition and acceptance is what makes it possible to distinguish between a headship and a leadership. Any person can formally be the superior of another person, but does not necessarily have to be accepted as a leader. Acceptance can result from a corresponding charisma or be earned through performance.