Laissez-faire or Free-reign Leadership

In this type of leadership, the leader is just a figure-head and does not give any
direction but delegates the authority to subordinates so that they must plan, motivate,
control and otherwise be responsible for their own actions. The leader acts
principally as a liaison between the group and the outside elements and supplies
necessary materials and information to group members. He lets the subordinates
develop their own techniques for accomplishing goals within the generalized
organizational policies and objectives. The leader participates very little and instead
of leading and directing, he becomes just one of the members. He does not attempt
to intervene or regulate or control and there is complete group or individual freedom
in decision-making. This type of leadership is highly effective when the group
members are intelligent and are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities and
have the knowledge and skills to accomplish these tasks without direct supervision.
Advantages
(i) It creates an environment of freedom, individuality, as well as team spirit.
(ii) It is highly creative with a free and informal work environment.
(ii) This approach is very useful where people are highly motivated and
achievement oriented.
Leadership
NOTES
Self-Instructional
130 Material
Disadvantages
(i) It may result in disorganized activities which may lead to inefficiency and
chaos.
(ii) Insecurity and frustration may develop due to lack of specific decisionmaking
authority and guidance.
(iii) The team spirit may suffer due to possible presence of some uncooperative
members.
(iv) Some members may put their own interests above the group and team
interests.