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The term leader has a Greek root which is associated with verbs archein meaning to begin, lead and pratein meaning to pass through, achieve and finish. In this context, leader is the beginner of any activity and work is finished by the followers.
The different roles of a leader are identified as follows:
- Group Harmonizer
Different social groups headed by leader, have both similarities and differences of opinion relating to interests and certain issues. It is important that all these social groups should have a harmony within them, which can be established by focusing upon the similarities among the members, rather than the differences of opinion among them. Thus, the leader functions as a group harmonizer within the group to promote harmony and resolve the differences peacefully to avoid the conflicting situations.
- Group spokesman
| As the leader represents the group, hence, he has the responsibility of speaking for the group’s interests and position accurately. He/she is fully knowing the group’s consensus of opinion and communicates them as and when required. He has the full freedom to act as a group spokesman and may consult his group incase of uncertainties, so that the desired opinion is expressed by him.
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 Village Leader as a Group Spokesman |
- Group Executive
As a group executive, a leader is responsible for attaining consensus of opinion on issues that arise and that the activities conducted are carried out according to democratic principles. Group leaders keep a continuous watch that the agreed upon policies of the group are put into action, committees may be set up to discuss the details and to monitor that the committees finish their assignments on time. For any plan of action, formulated by the group, it is the leader who ascertains that the roles of individuals are performed as planned by them.
- Group Planner
Leader as a group planner is better able to visualize on the problems of the group and plan their possible solutions, in meeting the needs of people, than other members of the group. He/she is the one to act as initiator of activities with novel ideas, but the decision is taken collectively by the group. Group planning helps an organization to last longer than when the planning is solely done by a leader.
- Group Educator/Teacher
In many groups, the leader serves the role of an educator or a teacher, which means he/she has more knowledge, training and experience than most of his/her group members. He/she is responsible for teaching and educating his group members for certain new issues or techniques that are emerging, so as to enhance their level of understanding. While teaching, the leader shares his/her knowledge and experiences with the group people and also knows their level of understanding, which helps to ease the process of teaching.
The teaching imparted by the leader results in slow learning by the group members as learning takes time and patience. Through group education, the group leader fulfills his/her duty of maximizing participation of the people and enhances their morale. The leader serves as a facilitator of human learning by being a keen listener, observer and a team player. He/she plays an active role in observing the process, directing the flow of activities stimulating for deep thinking as well as problem solving and sharing experiences.
- Symbol of Group Ideals
Persons accepted as leaders serve as a symbol of group ideal and they have to adopt these norms and follow them. The group expects its leader to embody ideals of the group.
- Group Discussion Chairman
As nowadays, the group discussions, panel discussion, a forum or group thinking are being widely used; the leaders should be trained on these aspects.
- Group Supervisor
The leaders also supervise and guide the activities of different social groups in a village such as youth clubs, co-operatives, mahilamandals and farmer’s associations. They also advise them on the matters involving changes.
- Manager
| A leader is greatly involved in the managerial roles such as planning, organizing and allocating responsibilities to people. They help to generate plans according to the needs of the people and resources available, co-ordinate a number of activities and keep liaison with various partners and organizations to run activities smoothly. No doubt, monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the programme conducted at village level, is also a significant role of the leader.
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 Village Leader in a Managerial Role |
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Participants