Peculiarities of Interrelations in the Structure of Leadership Competence of Students Mastering Helping Professions
Author(s)
Elena A. Sukneva, Senior Lecturer, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6302-7559, AuthorID: 1016629,
Faculty of Psychology, Irkutsk State University
1 Karl Marks St, Irkutsk, 664003, Russia, tel: +7 (3952) 202349, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Abstract: Introduction. The purpose of the article is to construct a component model of leadership competence for future helping professionals and to evaluate the correlation relationships between its components both in a universal form (for future helping professionals in general) and from the perspective of specific features of students mastering different helping professions. The lack of this model prevents us from fully assessing and effectively developing students’ leadership competence during their training in helping professions, posing a significant challenge for modern education in preparing a large portion of specialists. The article presents the results of a study of correlations in the structure of leadership competence of three groups of students (future psychologists, social workers and doctors) based on a component approach to this competence.
Materials and Methods. The sample consisted of 120 students studying to become psychologists, social workers and doctors. The following psychodiagnostic methods were used: 1) the ITO method by L.N. Sobchik; 2) the methodology for determining leadership qualities by V.V. Travin; 3) the questionnaire “Servant Leadership” (SLQ) by R. Liden; 4) the dispositional stability scale DRS-15 (P. Bartone); 5) the “I am a leader” method by A.N. Lutoshkin; 6) the method for assessing the leadership style by R. Bales.
Results. The hypothesis was proven that the connections between the components and parameters of the leadership competence for future helping professionals can be both universal and specific. Based on the three identified components of leadership competence, they were filled with content corresponding to the professional tasks of helping professionals. Three correlations are specific to future psychologists: between emotional healing skills and socio-emotional leadership style (r=0.39, р≤0.05), between focus on human rights and opportunities and supportive skills (r=0.36, р≤0.05), and between focus on human rights and opportunities and socio-emotional leadership style (r=0.58, р≤0.01). Only one correlation was found to be specific to future social workers: between the creation of prosocial values and attention to people (r=0.51, р≤0.01). Three specific correlations were found among future doctors: between the business style of leadership and influence on others (r=0.34, р≤0.05), between the business style of leadership and the use of power (r=0.39, р≤0.05), and between cognitive control over their state when interacting with people and influence on others (r=0.48, р≤0.01).
Discussion and Conclusion. The following should be considered core parameters in the structure of leadership competence for future helping professionals: the ability to put others first, support skills, socio-emotional leadership style, creativity, emotional involvement, extroversion. Future psychologists have the parameters “emotional healing” and “focus on human rights and opportunities” in their correlation structure of leadership competence. The correlation between the creation of prosocial values and attention to people turned out to be specific to future social workers. All parameters of leadership competence in medical students included in the specific correlations meaningfully reflect their desire for influence, power, and psychological control.
Keywords: leadership, service leadership, leadership competence, leadership abilities, leadership qualities, leadership in helping profession
For citation: Sukneva E.A. Peculiarities of Interrelations in the Structure of Leadership Competence of Students Mastering Helping Professions. Pedagogicheskiy IMIDZH = Pedagogical IMAGE. 2025; 19 (3). Pp.444-461. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.32343/2409-5052-2025-19-3-444-461
DOI: 10.32343/2409-5052-2025-19-3-444-461
UDС: 159.922:378
The article was submitted to the editorial office on 21.07.2025, approved after review on 09.09.2025, and accepted for publication on 20.09.2025.