In this installment of our guide to organizational management we look at leadership…
Leaders of organizations normally carry out their role in one (or a combination of) these three leadership styles: autocratic; democratic; laissez-faire.
An autocratic leader supervises in a manner that denies employees an opportunity to provide input or make suggestions, even those suggestions that could be of benefit to an organization. Autocrats lead by exerting unchallenged power over their staff, and, while this may be warranted in situations where staff is providing routine or unskilled labor, generally, most people resent being treated in such a manner. Such resentment will typically result in a high turnover rate and a higher-than-usual employee absentee rate.
Employees who are kept abreast of what’s going on in an organization, and who are invited to participate in the decision making process, are more likely to have a higher level of job satisfaction. A democratic leader will seek input and recommendations from his or her team before making a final decision. Thus, democratic leadership has a tendency to slow down the process somewhat, but on the whole results in more satisfied staff with better skill sets and less turn-over.
The term “Laissez-faire” is French for ‘leave it be,” and is used to describe those leaders who take a hands-off supervisory approach. This style of leadership works best in situations where staff is skilled, experienced and really does not need that much supervision, and is most effective when the leader stays abreast of results and provides regular feedback to his or her employees. The term laissez-faire is also used to describe leaders who do not exert enough management control over staff.
No leadership style is right, wrong, or best for all situations. The most effective approach for a particular organization being dependent on: the skill levels and experience of the members of the organization; the type of work involved; the organizational environment (stable or radically changing, conservative or adventurous).
In practice though, a good leader tends to find him or herself switching instinctively between styles according to the people and work they are dealing with.