the Inca Empire was and is still found today in modern Peru: the desire of power by individuals who put individual gain first over collective gain. This, made it easier to the Spanish conquerors to take advantage on the situation by offering power to the less loyal individuals in the empire( Mcintosh, T., p. 13).
After the defeat of the Inca Empire, the second historic event that heavily affected the Peruvian society was the Spanish conquest and the adherence of Peru to New Spain. As in the empire, Spanish conquerors follow the approach of centralized government, which refers to the control of power only by few individuals( Mcintonsh, T., p. 15). In this period, as well as during the Inca Empire, Peruvian society was divided into classes where a big gap was present between Spanish rulers and the Incas of lower classes. Similar to this historic period of the country, modern Peru is still control by a centralized government. It is divided into classes that suffer from a great distance between the high and lower levels. As a result of this gap, 31.2 % of the population lives under the poverty line( The World Fact Book, Peru’ s Economy).
In addition, the leadership style that Peruvians had, which was a reflection of the one during the Spanish conquest period, up to the following periods before the country’ s independence is called“ caudillo” or“ caudillaje”. This style refers to a political-military leader who is the head of an authoritarian power. This type of leadership, which might seem as a negative approach, can still be found in Peru’ s modern government according to many. Both periods in the history of Peru have become the pillars of what Peru’ s society is today. Modern Peru combines aspects of the previous leadership and management styles with new approaches.
LEADERSHIP STYLES IN PERU
The Leadership style in Peru can be considered a consistent one over the years, because it has been following the same path for a long period. However, some aspects have evolved and have made leadership to develop a more positive view. Additionally, Peruvian leadership is characterized by a specific set of attitudes that the majority of leaders share in common. The first attitude that can be found in Peru’ s leadership is Authoritarian / Unethical / No-Team-Work. This attitude is the result of the enjoyment of Peruvian leaders to concentrate all the organizational power in themselves. In addition, the desire of possessing all the power for oneself is a typical caudillo trait, which proves the high influence of historical events in the attitude of present leaders. Second, the lack of planning and discipline is another attitude found in Peruvian leadership. Problems in many organizations are often related to the lack of planning and poor time management by their leaders. Also, people do not take punctuality as important and as a result, tardiness is a common aspect in politics and church( Mcintosh, T., p. 106).
On the other hand, leaders in Peru also possess positive attitudes that are key in leadership practice. Being persuasive is one of them. Peruvian leaders tend to have the ability or facility to use words. In Peru, people who convince others in the field of religion, politics, and social work are view as having superior leadership ability in the society( Mcintosh, T., p. 107). At last, resourcefulness is another attitude that can also be found in Peruvian leadership. This means that leaders in Peru are ingenious, capable, and full of initiative in moments of getting results( Cox, A.). However, many consider that these skills are used negatively and only to obtain individual gains.
Moreover, Peruvian leaders also shares a specific type of character that have allowed them to gain the position of important figures. On one hand, Peruvian leaders are considered to be charismatic, meaning that they easily appeal to the popular sectors of the population. This charisma is also an important trait to organizational leaders who need to build strong relationships with their followers in order to get the results they are want to achieve. On the other hand,
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