Dizionario di Politica

Authors: Bobbio, Matteucci, Pasquino
Summary: The entry first examines different aspects of leadership, and then defines the term. Drawing on the typology of Gerth and Mills (1953), the entry distinguishes different kinds of leadership depending on how innovative the leader is. A routine leader accepts as given both his role and the context in which he acts, and can be considered as merely representing an already extant institution. An innovative leader reshapes the role of leading an extant institution. Most original of all, a promoter leader creates both his role and the context in which he acts.
The importance of a leader's personality depends on the context in which the leader acts. More important is the relationship between the leader and his followers. Followers may be analyzed as either faithful-involved for moral reasons-or mercenary-involved for instrumental reasons.
The entry ends with a definition of the term leader: he or she who, within a group, holds a position of power that lets him decisively affect strategic decisions. The leader's power is legitimate to the extent that it corresponds with public expectations.