Internal And Social Factors : The Importance Of Participative Leadership

In todays work environment with undoubtedly constant business changes and ever-changing goals and objectives, it’s important to understand a groups normalcies and how the group interacts with each other. There are a variety of different leadership styles and characteristics that make up these styles. In this essay we will discuss a Participative leadership style and its affect on teams. We will review the specific tenets a Participative leader follows in order to reach goals. And how this leadership style may be very effective and what possible affects does it foster. How does this leadership styles encourage group conformity and relieve possible pressure of fitting in to a group or team.

My leadership style assessed by the Kent tool is participative style of leadership. (University of Kent (n.d). Participative style of leadership is the type where the entire team works in collaboration. Each of the team members contributes their valuable ideas, but the final decision is made by the leader (University of Kent. (n.d). This is truly the leadership style that I love to exhibit. Participative leader always encourage inputs from the members to assist in decision making. For example, in a code blue situation, team leader directs the code, but each member has designated roles and communicates throughout the situation, aiming towards a single goal. Participative leadership builds consensus through participation. Individuals with different skills and knowledge working towards common summit will take them to a level of synergy where whole is definitely greater than sum of parts. (Koen, M.P.,&

When you think of a leadership participation method, most people often think of or refer to the Path-Goal Theory method; where the leader does what he or she can do to clear a path and identify areas for employees to act or to perform their assigned duties. Using the annual Performance Appraisal (DeCA 50-3) as one document, it clearly states the objective of what needs to be done, and it helps to remove any and/or all any obstacles in place in an effort to accomplish the goal, and rewarding those who perform well with either a monetary or Time Off award, of course depending on current budget constraints. The levels in intensity a leader may do these things will vary according to the circumstances. Dependent upon the employee or follower in this sense, they may be more motivated or capable, or the work to be done could be easy or difficult. Leadership styles in this method can vary from being dictatorial to the leader being a participant. Experts in the field say that these styles include support, directive, participative, and achievement-orientation. “A leader facilitates the group by appealing to a group member 's self-esteem and making the task enjoyable or at least more palatable”. (House, 1971, revised in 1996). A leader simply may direct the employee to do the task, give simple instructions of how to achieve the goal or at some points, a leader may engage in a participative leadership style, where he or she takes suggestions from the employees within a particular

Participative Leadership is one of the recent unconventional leadership styles and is wonderful of promoting professional and personal growth for the employee and leader. However, I recommend placing time constraints (deadlines) on the process of decision making, in order to avoid prolonged or delayed action on deliverables. These time constraints with develop individuals cognizance to time-sensitivity, focus on increase productivity through problem-solving and developing the blueprint for future goals and plans for the organization.

According to How to Find Out Your Style of Leadership (n.d.), participative leadership is also called democratic or consulting leadership, the example which How to Find Out Your Style of Leadership (n.d.), used is Nelson Mandela. This kind of leadership includes building consensus through participation, but the leader makes the final decision after the team has given ideas through the decision-making process. Also, according to How to Find Out Your Style of Leadership (n.d.), a participative leader asks opinions from their teams and uses those opinions to make decisions in the future. Also through this process, the team is kept informed and encouraged to come to the leader and discuss or propose changes they think should be made to the policy. This kind of leadership isn’t a sign of weakness; it is a sign

The next fundamental style is achievement oriented leadership. This calls for the leader to set specific work related goals for employees to strive for. This usually results in a reward for successfully reaching these goals, a bonus being a common example. Next is supportive leadership behaviour; this is the concern for his or her employees well being. In cases where tasks are stressful, and sometimes distressing this is an important style for a leader to possess. An effective leader must pay attention to the psychological needs of those working below them. Lastly, there are the participative leader behaviours style. This aspect entails that a leader is mindful of his or her employees and their input in situations. A leader that displays this style will ask for employee participation before making any final decisions. These behaviours can all be used interchangeably depending on the situation.

The simple act of making decisions is an essential task leaders must perform effectively to succeed. Behavioral theories of leadership focus on how leaders approach a situation and whether they dictate orders or involve others to encourage support. Research into decision-making behavior has identified three broad categories of leaders: autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire (Changing Minds, 2011). This paper will focus on these behavioral theories of leadership, primarily concentrating on participative leadership.

When a leader deal with certain situations such as, unmotivated followers, and unchallenged work, a leader will set challenges to the followers, yet the leader will also provide support and tips of improvements, which will lead to the team’s success.

One of the most important creations of using the participative leadership method is that it leads to the practice of empowering participants psychologically. According to a study by Xu Huang (2012), participative leadership is an effective way to provide team members with a strong sense of control and motivation. This in practice can secure a high level of group motivation and interaction through effective efforts. Psychological empowerment makes members feel they can influence and through encouraging participation leaders can often retain personal talents, which can lead to the creation of new ideas. Behaviours that incentivize

3. Participative – the leader shares decision making with the team and encourages and takes their opinions and suggestions into account when making a decision. When team members are autonomous, need control and clarity and are heavily involved in their work this style can be used.

Northouse (2013) describes Participative leaders as those who are open to discussion with subordinates and uses the suggestions to accomplish tasks. The leader uses the opinion of the workers when setting up procedures and practices. Northouse (2013) suggests that the Achievement oriented leadership style is based on setting up challenging expectations and high standards. The leader demonstrates confidence in the ability of the follower to succeed at complex tasks.

In transition; Managers do present leadership qualities as well as Leaders do operate management tasks. “The term leadership is a word taken from the common vocabulary and incorporated into the technical vocabulary of a scientific discipline without being precisely redefined.” (Yukl, 2013). To clarify; the behavior of leadership, tend to be more charismatic with the central focus of motivating the group towards the success of what they are apart of. The ability to lead; influences and motivates the team, work group, etc. to contribute towards the effectiveness for the overall achievement. While maintaining a focus and vision of influencing the team, Leaders are more people oriented. Leadership behavior brings a high level of influence that inspire creativity among the followers, implementing ideas and the willingness to take risks are major attributes of a leader. Creating an environment of people first primarily leads productivity. “Supportive leadership (or “supporting”) includes a wide variety of behaviors that show consideration, acceptance, and concern for the needs and feelings of other people. Supportive leadership helps to build and maintain effective interpersonal relationships.” (Yukl, 2013). To extend on supportive leadership, the behavior instills confidence while also motivating production. Providing praise and recognition can inspire the effectiveness of the group as well, Leaders have these types of

The second aspect relates to your own communication style. You need to develop enough clarity in your speech to convey the message. A participative leader must be able to share his or her knowledge with others, without causing confusion. You also need to communicate in an authoritative, yet empathetic manner.

Participative style is where the leader and the subordinates shares their views and opinions in decision making process. This can be seen in Roger Eaton where he provides group of interactive sessions and open conversations. This is to enhance open communication and give employees the opportunity to express concerns and their ideas.

For this group I will select a participative style of leadership. “Participative leadership is a managerial style that invites input from employees on all company decisions. The staff is given pertinent information regarding company issues, and a majority vote determines the course of action the company will take. Participative leadership can sometimes be a slower form of decision-making, but it has several advantages that may make it the right managerial method for your business.” (George N. Root III) I have selected this leadership style since I will have no decision making power.