Leader and Leadership from a psychological perspective

Abstract The issue of leadership is one of the most topical. The focus of the research is on identifying the characteristics a person must possess to be a leader, where the term indicates anyone who has a role in coordinating and guiding a group of people. In a globalised world in which production processes are carried out by teams of people, the possibility of identifying people with leadership skills or, better still, of training people to be leaders acquires fundamental importance. The article attempts to identify the intellectual, personality, emotional and relational characteristics of a leader and suggest ways to 'educate' for leadership, highlighting the centrality of psychology in the study, identification and enhancement of these characteristics.