Participative Leadership : Strengths And Weaknesses Essay

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.

Grojean, Resick & Diskson (2004) suggest that leaders are responsible for facilitating their follower’s to become capable and guide them to improving their capabilities and strengths. Differentiating between different leadership styles can be done in a number of ways. It was determined that the traditional styles of leaders include authoritian (autocratic), democratic, permissive (laissez-faire) and bureaucratic (Viinamäki, 2009).

There are four main leadership styles, the first being Autocratic style which the manager retains as much control and decision making authority as possible, the manager does not give employees any input or consultation. The next is Bureaucratic which is where the manager manages ‘by the book’ which is where everything must be completed according to procedure and protocol. Mangers using this style will only consult with those above them in the chain of command. They simple enforce the rules of the workplace. The next style of leadership is Laissez-Faire which is also known as the ‘hands off’ approach to management. The manager usually provides little or no direction and give employees as much freedom as possible. All power is given to employees and they are to dictate their own work ethics. The last leadership style is the Democratic style which is also known as the participative style and this is where employees are encouraged to be a part of the decision making process. The democratic manager keeps their employees informed about everything that affects

Furthermore, there are different theories which give insights about why some leaders lead the way they do. One of these theories is the behavioral theory, it emphasized on what leaders do and their leadership styles. The behavioral theory explains three different types of leadership styles namely: autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. An autocratic leader makes plans, gives direction on how to execute them, and makes decisions for the group. These type of leaders are highly power control. They give little or no freedom to the members. Whatever they say is final. On the other hand, democratic leaders allow members to participate in the decision making. They seek opinions of the members. On the other hand, laissez-faire leaders allow members to do whatever they like. This type of leaders does very little planning or decision making thus fail to encourage others to do it (Weiss and Tappen, 2015 p.

My preferred leadership style is the democratic style. I like to see things done the right way no matter how long it takes. To achieve this style I plan to practice my critical thinking skills so that one day I will be able to make a decision in the spur of the moment. But at the end of the day no matter how long you had to brainstorm to come to the conclusion, as the correct decision is made I am happy.

In participative leadership, the leader of a group usually makes the final decisions, but only after consulting other team members for their input. Team members are inspired and motivated by this type of leadership which helps the leader’s decisions to be more widely accepted and adopted by the members (Reilly, 2011). In 1978, James Burns wrote a book about leadership styles in which he described the participative leader style as a type of

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

My leadership style is problem solver; this leadership style offers me the opportunity to utilize the knowledge and experience of my followers. I believe that I am more of this leadership style because I tend to accept input from group members when making decisions and solving problems. I do this because I feel that everyone in the group have something tangible to contribute to the group, and sometimes they might have access to key information that can help in my decision making. I take the information and put them together to use in reaching a decision, because I know that I will have the final say as the leader of the group. I believe that the group is put together

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

There are three generally accepted styles of leadership and management. The first of which is an authoritarian approach. This approach leaves little in the way of discussion and communication beyond what is dictated and mandated by the leader. The second style is participatory where a democratic approach that involves discussion and teamwork is embraced. The final leadership style is referred to as the laissez faire approach. The laissez faire leadership style is a very hands-off scenario where leadership only becomes engaged when they are engaged to do so by the followers. ("Lewin’s Styles,"

In saying this, if I had to choose a leadership style that I believe I most closely align with and follow would be transformational leadership. Researcher Bernard M. Bass developed what is referred to as Bass’s Transformational Leadership Theory and stated “Transformational leadership can be defined based on the impact that it has on followers. Transformational leaders are those who stimulate and inspire followers to both achieve extraordinary outcomes and in the process, develop their own leadership capacity. Transformational leaders help followers grow and develop into leaders by responding to individual followers' needs by empowering them and by aligning the objectives and goals of the individual followers, the leader, the group, and the larger organization.” (Bass, Riggio, 2008)

I regard myself a participative leader. In the words of DuBrin (2008, p.348), "a participative leader is the one who shares decision making with group members." In the past, I have held various leadership positions. During those brief stints as a leader, I have found it prudent to consult widely before making decisions. In my opinion, it is by consulting widely that we make the most viable decisions. It is also by consulting widely that we motivate others to achieve set goals (Pride, Hughes, and Kapoor, 2011).

The key strengths of participative leadership style are increased productivity and job satisfaction. When employees are afforded an opportunity to be involved in the organization’s decision making process, they are likely to develop a strong sense of commitment to the organization as well as increase their performance. Job satisfaction is another key strength of this leadership style. Most employees display high levels of job satisfaction when they notice their suggestions and/or recommendations are taken seriously and in some instances implemented within the organization. Additionally, this

In providing leadership guidance to employees with the purpose to motive and influence employees, I would use the Participative Leadership Style. The Participative Leadership style addresses the improvements for increasing the productivity of employees as well as providing satisfactory to the employees. A leader can certainly appreciate the Participative Leadership Style because it is orientated to empower the employees by encouraging participation in the decisions process that directly affects the employees. As a manger if I utilize this style I will have the benefits of building trust with the employees, being able to have open communication with the employees and promoting job

Murphy (2005) maintains that leaders are accountable for helping their follower’s to become efficient and support them to develop their strengths and abilities. Distinguishing and categorising between different leadership styles can be done in several ways, (Gopee and Galloway, 2009). In this essay traditional classification of authoritian (autocratic), democratic, permissive (laissez-faire) and bureaucratic styles of leaders will be discussed.