Text Four

According to sociologists, there are several different ways in which a person may become recognized as the leader of a social group in the United States. In the family, traditional cultural patterns confer leadership on one or both of the parents. In other cases, such as friendship groups, one or more persons may gradually emerge as leaders, although there is no formal process of selection. In larger groups, leaders are usually chosen formally through election or recruitment.

Although leaders are often thought to be people with unusual personal ability, decades of research have failed to produce consistent evidence that there is any category of “natural leaders”. It seems that there is no set of personal qualities that all leaders have in common; rather, virtually any person may be recognized as a leader if the person has qualities that meet the needs of that particular group. 

Furthermore, although it is commonly supposed that social groups have a single leader, the research suggests that there are typically two different leadership roles that are held by different individuals. Instrumental leadership is leadership that emphasizes the completion of tasks by a social group. Group members look to instrumental leaders to “get things done”. Expressive leadership, on the other hand, is leadership that emphasizes the collective well-being of a social group's members. Expressive leaders are less concerned with the overall goals of the group than with providing emotional support to group members and attempting to minimize tension and conflict among them. Group members expect expressive leaders to maintain stable relationships within the group and provide support to individual members.

Instrumental leaders are likely to have a rather secondary relationship to other group members. They give orders and may discipline group members who inhibit attainment of the groups goals. Expressive leaders cultivate a more personal or primary relationship to others in the group. They offer sympathy when someone experiences difficulties or is subjected to discipline. They are quick to lighten a serious moment with humor, and try to resolve issues that threaten to divide the group. As the differences in these two roles suggest, expressive leaders generally receive more personal affection from group members; instrumental leaders, if they are successful in promoting group goals, may enjoy a more distant respect.

What does the passage mainly discuss?

The passage mentions all of the following ways by which people can become leaders EXCEPT________.

In mentioning“natural leaders”in Paragraph Two, the author is making the point that________.

Which of the following statements about leadership can be inferred from Paragraph Two?

The passage indicates that instrumental leaders generally focus on ________.