Development of Leadership and Team Building in the Activities of Educational Institutions

Abstract. Introduction. Changes occurring in the political space of Ukraine, military actions, economic crisis have a significant impact on the activities of educational institutions of various levels, which require new approaches to management. In today's world, soft skills in addition to hard skills are gaining more and more importance in professional activities. Critical and creative thinking, emotional intelligence, time management, oratorical skills, flexibility, ability to solve problems, etc. are singled out among the important soft skills in educational activities. However, as scientific research and practical experience show, leadership and team building are the key ones, because in order to achieve high final results in education, an effective leader and a successful team are needed. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to analyze the development of leadership and team building in the activities of educational institutions, to evaluate their role and to find ways to solve existing problems. Results. The importance of soft skills in the activities of managers and employees of educational institutions is considered. The concepts of �hard skills� and �soft skills� are clarified. A comparative characterization of hard skills and soft skills is carried out. The interpretation and essence of the concepts of �leadership� and �team building� in educational activity are analyzed. The results of a sociological survey of managers and employees of educational institutions of various levels regarding the state and development of leadership and team building are summarized. Based on the results of the survey, the presence of leadership qualities among the employees of educational institutions is evaluated, the leadership qualities are evaluated according to a 5- point scale of the heads of educational institutions, the presence of an informal leader in the team, the influence of leadership qualities on the final work results, the presence of teamwork in the professional activities of the respondents and the feeling teams The main ways of achieving leadership in the educational sphere are given and ways of building a successful team in an educational institution are suggested. Conclusions. In order to ensure the effective operation of educational institutions of various levels, considerable attention should be paid to the development of leadership and team building, which will enable the achievement of all set goals and formed missions. In the course of the conducted research, the positive influence of the leadership qualities of both the manager and the employees of educational institutions, as well as the presence of effective teams on the final results of activities, is established.