Democratic Leadership Style
Democratic leadership style is also referred to as participative leadership. This is because all employees and organizational members have an equal say in the administrative decisions affecting their lives. The style values affirmation and collaboration of members and candidates. Democratic leadership allows equal participation of people in reposing, developing and creating laws. Democratic style can be described as an institutionalized principle because it applies social order and cooperation in the management of the human behaviour. Institutions managed through democratic style are chosen depending on the permanence and social order. The style transcends the individual human lives and intentions through
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The democratic process is characterized by free and fair elections. Democratic elections are governed by electoral rules. The elective rights are characterized by eligibility and suffrage i.e. the freedom to run for an elective post and the right to participate in voting. Democratic style is most effective when the leader is willing to keep employees informed on matters affecting their welfare (Caruso and Mayer, 2004; Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee, 2002; Spector, (2005)). The style is necessary when it is necessary for employees to share problem-solving and decision-making duties. The style is also effective when the leader is willing to develop a sense of personal progress and job satisfaction. Enormous or complex problems may require the intervention of democratic solutions for them to be ardently solved. The style is perfect when the leader is planning to encourage team building and participative role play among employees.
However, democratic leadership style should not be applied when the time is not sufficient to include everyone’s input. According to Grint (2005), democratic decisions are not suitable if the managers can easily and cost-effectively make decisions. It is also not advisable for the leaders to apply the style if they feel threatened by the democratic leadership
The theory of leaders can be autocratic, a person who doesn’t consider the person undertaking the task only getting the results. A democratic leader takes opinions of the staff and understands how they believe the best results can be achieved, whereas Laissez-faire style leaves the experienced staff to implement the work processes.
The democratic style which allows the team to develop options and decide actions may be appropriate for a well trained team who perform at a high level. Leadership functions may be shared with the team and individuals have a greater say in decision making and the implementation of actions and procedures. Advantages of this style may include securing team commitment to decisions and their implementation, which can be an aide to the development of the team and individuals, and increased morale. Disadvantages; in situations where team roles are unclear it can lead to communication failures. And there is the possible
A democratic leader generally accept any opinion and voices which means that the team would feel free to voice their opinions and ideas without them being dismissed straight away. The positive side to this style is that the team/workforce can be highly motivated, skilled and experienced members can be used in decision making which makes them feel more committed and could less resistant to managerial changes it also help with communication between the workforce and the managers. The negative side to this style is that individuals can dominate participation or make disruptive contributions it can also be very time consuming for the leader because of the two communication it can also result in actions that are the most effective and also people may view this style as incompetent to handle the job responsibilities.
An advantage of the democratic style involves a considerable job satisfaction of subordinates, through augmenting their responsibilities which results in more interesting and diverse work (Ribbins, 1997). Bush (2008) agrees; when responsibility is shared the self-confidence of group members is enhanced, as they have a key role in planning and decision-making. The democratic leadership style provides high quality expert knowledge and skills are identified and implemented towards achieving targets (Dimmock and Walker, 2005). Grace (1995) supports this, and claims that goals are more likely to be reached since; they have been established by group consensus.
An authoritative leader addresses the end but generally gives workers freedom to innovate, experiment and take risks. The authoritative style works best for organizations that are off track, it helps in creating a new course and fresh long-term vision. The affiliative style strives to keep employees happy to create harmony among. The style has a positive effect on communication. People who like one another a lot talk lot. They share ideas, inspirations leading to flexibility, innovation and risk taking. This style should only be employed when trying to build team harmony. The democratic style allows leaders to build consensus through participation. By spending time getting people’s ideas, a leader is able to build trust, respect and commitment. This style works best when a leader is uncertain about best direction however, it does not make sense if employees are not competent. Pacesetting is a leadership style that expects excellence and self-direction. The leader is obsessive about doing things better and faster, and expects the same of everyone around
Democratic leadership style is where the leaders and members work together to make decisions. Its 'shared leadership'. Everyone in the team is involved
Leaders are the ones we turn to when life gets to be too much. Good leaders set examples and provide guidance through education (Huber, 2014). As a new nurse I can understand how important it is to have a leader you turn to when you are unsure. Furthermore, in the business of health care we are managing people 's lives and one wrong move can be deadly. Therefore, it is important to collaborate with other health care professionals to ensure a safe competent method of delivery. Ideally, the role of a leader in health care is one that is knowledgable, firm, and confident, with the ability to deviate from the plan to assist with an emergency. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to reveal three key behaviors successful leaders exhibit, assess my personal leadership style, referencing theories, while determining an optimal work environment based upon the aforementioned.
the one that provides no guidance to the members of the team and fully let them make their own decisions. The fact that the author turned out a democratic leader was not surprising because the author believes this approach to be the most effective and focused on the members of the team rather on the leader.
In a democratic leadership style, the decision making process and overall responsibility among team members is shared. Decisions are made by the leader consulting each member of the team; therefore the outcome becomes a group effort. In the democratic leadership style, tasks are delegated to employees effectively, where the implementation is mostly in their hands. As opposed to the authoritarian leadership style, the democratic leader welcomes feedback from every team member. Team members are also encouraged to function as a
Leadership has many definitions, is multifaceted, and involves numerous aspects, such as identifying goals, providing support, inspiring and motivating people to act, and promoting the values of a group or organization (Giltinane, 2013). Some of the characteristics an effective leader possesses are honesty, creativity, emotional stability, energy, flexibility, conceptual skills, perseverance, and knowledge (Huber, 2014). Based on the Leadership Style Survey, my leadership style is determined to be participative, also referred to as democratic. This approach places emphasis on people, relationships, and teamwork. The leader shares responsibility by involving workers in group discussions and decision making, is able to recognize strengths and encourage workers
When using an authoritarian leadership style, close adherence to regulations and policies are the fundamentals of this leadership style. Workers are held to a specific standard, and the relationship is purely professional. In a democratic leadership style, the decision-making ability is shared. The superintendent relies on feedback from the foremen when making decisions.
Leadership can be defined as the ability to lead a group of people successfully in an organization. Hall, et al (2008) have mentioned that an effective leader has to be visionary, motivating and responsible in order to successfully run a business organization. In business the two key leadership styles, which are widely used in today’s corporate world are autocratic leadership and democratic leadership (Johnson, n.d.). Autocratic leadership may be explained as “a leadership style where the manager sets objectives, allocates tasks and insists on obedience” (Hall, et al 2008 p.g 401). Conversely, democratic leadership encourages “participation in decision making” (Hall, et al 2008 p.g 402). Whilst many people would consider autocratic
Autocratic leadership is a classical leadership style with the following characteristics: manager seeks to make as many decisions as possible, manager seeks to have the most authority and control in decision making, manager seeks to retain responsibility rather than utilise complete delegation , consultation with other colleagues in minimal and decision making becomes a solitary process managers are less concerned with investing their own leadership development, and prefer to simply work on the task at hand. Whereas Democratic Leadership is the leadership style that promotes the sharing of responsibility, the exercise of delegation and continual consultation. The style has the following characteristics: manager seeks consultation on all
Democratic leadership is a style of leadership that when the leader takes any decision, he would discuss with his employees and then cooperation to work together. Nestle focus on man power due to its corporation needs attract more labor to easily achieve a long term success. In Nestle, they emphasize on respect and faith. So, they adopt democratic leadership. When leader decide any decision, leader would listen the suggestion which provide by its employees. However, democratic leadership is a good leadership style but also is a significant issue in Nestlé’s management. Nestle adopt democratic leadership needs total trust between the employee and manager Most of the time, the employee think that this
The control of all operation by the Autocratic management style is the use of power over employee and staff and forces them to deal with the customer. This type of leadership makes the decision alone and converts it to the employee which the employee has to work, for example, to deliver the best customer service manger instruct all employee to follow his guidelines for this process. The Democratic leadership style is an important way to give the opportunity for the employee in making decision in the