Empirical models of the structure of personal qualities of leaders: a radicalist type of social action (results of applied research)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the methodological and methodological foundations of the study of the personal qualities of managers and ordinary employees of organizations. In contrast to the author’s previous works devoted to the study of the personal qualities of leaders, including civil servants, in the works of Plato, Aristotle and M. Weber, where empirical models of the structure of the personal qualities of leaders of goal-rational, value-rational, affective and traditional types of social action were presented (according to M Weber), this publication presents the combined results of research conducted at different times in different organizations on empirical models of the structure of personal qualities of managers and ordinary workers of the “radicalist type of social action”, which expands the understanding of the conceptual approach about the four types of social action by M. Weber. And the empirical models themselves can be useful for solving applied problems in the field of organization management. The more the work of collecting empirical data continued, the more interesting the theoretical and practical question became. How common are people of the radicalist type of social action? In what types of social institutions, in what professions is the radicalist type represented most vividly? What in the structure of personal qualities distinguishes the radicalist behavior of representatives of peaceful professions (civil servants, doctors, teachers, etc.) from certain categories of professional military personnel? If radicalist behavior is a professionally important quality of workers, then how to measure the propensity of an individual to engage in radicalist behavior? The analysis showed that on this scale, conservatism–radicalism, the features are located at different, opposite “poles of the same coordinate axis”. Therefore, as in the study of traditional behavior, the following areas of sociological research of radicalist behavior are distinguished. Within the framework of the first direction, the main attention in the structure of personal qualities is paid to the traditional component, fidelity to “following the habit” (according to M. Weber); in the structure of this type of personality, conservative traits are dominant in comparison with those who are inclined to a radical, radical change and breakdown of established orders and traditions. Within the framework of the second direction, the main attention in the structure of personal qualities is paid to adherence to traditions, which is equally combined with a radicalist attitude, a willingness to innovate. Within the framework of the third direction, which is important for the tasks of our new study, in the structure of personality traits, radicalistic traits dominate over conservative ones; Distrust of authorities, a tendency to break habits, a willingness to innovate, and a radicalist attitude towards change are clearly manifested.