Running Head: Authoritarian (Autocratic) Leadership Style 1

Education 538: Foundations of Leadership

Authoritarian (Autocratic) Leadership Style Research Paper

Katrich C. Williams

Education 538

Spring 2014

Dr. Emma Cody – Mitchell

Carson – Newman University

Running Head: Authoritarian (Autocratic) Leadership Style 2

Abstract

There is no organization, school, or place of employment that can run smoothly without

leadership. Being a good manager and a good leader are sometimes indescribable, as can be

seen by the demise and malfunctioning of many organizations around the world. (Dubrin,

2010). When success or failure occurs in an organization, the “buck stops somewhere”. Usually,

leaders and managers take the blame or claim the success.

Running Head: Authoritarian (Autocratic) Leadership Style 3

A leadership style is the way a leader gives direction, the way they put plans into play,

and the way the motivate people. There are a lot of leadership styles that are used. These styles

are showed from the school system all the way to employment. The leadership styles include:

authoritarian, paternalistic, democratic, laisse-faire, transactional, and transformational.

The Authoritarian (Autocratic) Leadership Style is a type of leadership style that is

similar to transactional leadership. In that type of leadership, the leaders overpower the people

that work for them. Those workers have very little say so when it comes to making suggestions.

It doesn’t matter if what they say can help others or not (Burns, J. M. 1978). The leader has the

final say so.

One thing that is beneficial of being an authoritarian or autocratic leader is that it is very

well-organized. The leader doesn’t have to wait on others to do their part. The leader makes

their decision rather quickly and he can ensure that the work gets done. More times than not,

the authoritarian or autocratic leader are the smartest and most determined person in the

group, so pretty much what they say goes. The people that work for authoritarian or autocratic

leaders are well organized. They are able to meet deadlines and they too learn how to lead at

some point.

One thing that is not so helpful with being an authoritarian or autocratic leader is that

the people that work for them really hate to be treated as such. This type of leadership style

results in workers not doing their work as best as they can. Some people even quit. (Burns, J. M.

1978). The workers that work under this type of leadership style may become bored and they
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may take a little longer to get the job done because they find no interest in it. Many workers

could possibly end up hating their boss.

The best time to use the authoritarian or autocratic leadership style is when there is an

emergency or a problem that needs immediate attention, simply because, as mentioned

before, things will get handled immediately (Martin, 2004). The leader runs everything so they

don’t have to wait on the help of others. When the leader makes the decisions, the workers are

kept busy doing their tasks that have been assigned to them. This way they cannot and will not

distract the leader from handling the problem at hand.

Those leaders that are authoritarian or autocratic, are very clear and precise in what

things they want done and how one should go about doing those things. The leader knows

what he wants and he very rarely asks for the opinions and inputs of the workers that work for

him. The leader also is mainly concerned with the job being done. (Diamond, M., 2006). They

really don’t have a concern for whether or not their workers are happy. The authoritarian or

autocratic leader doesn’t mingle much with his workers, because as mentioned before, his main

goal is getting the job done. The leader chooses to motivate his workers by simply threating

them than rewarding them. He may tell them that if the job isn’t done in a decent timeframe,

the exact way I want it done, you will be fired. Of course no one wants to be fired, so the

workers of these type leaders do their job as told.

It is said that it is hard to become a democratic leader after being an authoritarian or

autocratic leader. It’s really hard for a person who has controlled all of his workers, to all of a

sudden be very friendly and open to everyone’s opinion. Although it may be hard becoming an
Running Head: Authoritarian (Autocratic) Leadership Style 5

authoritarian or autocratic leader after you’ve been a democratic leader, it can be done easier.

You can portray to be mean to someone, but eventually you’ll become nice. Many people

would love to work for a nice person rather than a mean one.

In the military world, autocratic leadership is very present because those that are trying

to be in the military actually can focus on the task at hand. Their only responsibility is being told

what to do, which is probably what they want. If those that are in the military can do their job

the way it is told to them, it makes things go better for their entire group (Dubrin, 2010)

When it comes to the mental view of an authoritarian or autocratic leader, they do not

like when they can’t handle a situation. They really want to be successful in whatever they do.

They can be viewed as aggressors because they quickly blame others and they also try to get

back at others. However, despite how driven and controlling they are, they are still very highly

motivated and they normally are very successful in their work (Diamond, M., 2006). Workers

that are fairly new to their job and have little training should work under an authoritarian or

autocratic leader.

In closing, if someone is considering being an authoritarian or autocratic leader, and

they really want to be successful in the position, there are some things that must be taken into

consideration. The leader should make sure that every worker is where they need to be to

ensure that the job gets done. It is already hard enough being a leader, but if one wants to be a

good authoritarian or autocratic leader, there has to be an equal balance. The leader doesn’t

want to be too direct or over aggressive, because at the end of the day, you don’t want to run

anybody off, although that may happen. That is not the mission of the authoritarian or
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autocratic leader. The leader has to respect all that work under them. The leader should always

be fair to keep workers from being angry. The rules should be explained thoroughly so that

everyone will understand what they are doing. This type of leader should always be fair and

just, and consistent. (Froschheiser, 2010). It should never be said that the leader changes their

style on a weekly basis. The authoritarian or autocratic leader needs to make sure that all

workers understand what is being asked of them. This can help with miscommunications and

misunderstandings. This leader should always listen to others, even if they don’t use the

suggestion.
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References

Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper and Row.

Diamond, M. (2006). The Evolution of Training. Reeves Journal: Plumbing, Heating, Cooling,

86(8), 78.

Dubrin, A. (2010, April). Leadership Styles. Retrieved from http://www.arthurmazhambe.

net/files/6213/4696/3870/Leadership_Styles.pdf

Froschheiser, L. (2010). GOOD LEADERS ARE GOOD ACTORS. Today's Insurance

Professional, 67(4), 30-32.

Martin, A. J. (2004). The Role of Positive Psychology in Enhancing Satisfaction, Motivation, and

Productivity in the Workplace. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 24(1/2),

113-1333.