Styles of

leadership
Who is a Leader?
 The person who leads or commands a
group, organization or country
 Has a vision and leads the group
towards a common goal that needs
to be achieved (Cherry)
 Styles of Leadership

Autocratic Democratic Laissez-faire

Autocratic Leaders
 Characterized by individual control over all decisions
and little input from group members
 Provide clear expectations for

what needs to be done, when it should be done, and

how it should be done. Steve jobs leadership is
the perfect example of the
 Best applied to situations where impact of autocratic
there is little time for group decision-making or where leadership style on the
organization.
the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the
group (Cherry)

 Example: Steve jobs

Autocratic Leaders: Effects on Teams
Positive
-Helps New Members by teaching them
how to perform a task so they have a set of
clear expectations
-allows knowledgeable members to direct
new members in terms of appropriate
behavior until the new members are
capable of making decisions on their own
Negative
-decision making is less creative
-doesn’t develop good relationships between
group members
-lessened commitment: the leader takes credit
for all the success
-high stress: members feel stressed due to
high expectations and a low feeling of
worth
Managing: Autocratic
Effective Not Effective

-In businesses/companies where the -In work places where work involves
tasks are more independent (ex. everyone’s input and decisions are
Construction Companies) influenced by the whole group (ex.
-Certain decisions, such as those that Magazine company)
affect worker safety, should be handled
by experts and should not be open to
discussion
Democratic Leaders
 Generally the most effective leadership style
 Offer guidance to group members, but they also participate in
the group and allow input from other group members
 Encourage group members to participate, but retain the final say
over the decision-making process.

Ratan Tata is a
 Members in this group were less
democratic
productive than the members of the authoritarian group,
leader because
but their contributions were of a much higher quality.
decision come
from the
collective mind of
 Example: Ratan Tata the group.
 Democratic Leaders: Effects on Teams
Positive Negative

-inspires better creativity, cooperation, motivation and -not a lot of work may
communication among employees. be accomplished due
-invites workers to discuss the factors that will influence a
to the amount of time
spent on discussion
particular decision, workers have a better understanding
of the reasoning behind the decisions that are made.
-Workers are more committed to their group’s goal
because they feel that their input has importance
-Democratic leaders often work with their employees to set workable goals rather than
dictating what might be unobtainable goals.
Managing: Democratic
Effective Not Effective

-In work places where work involves -Where the leader is the expert in that field
everyone’s input and decisions are and they don’t need the input of their co-
influenced by the whole group (ex. workers
Magazine company)
Laissez-faire or Free-rein leadership

 Least productive of all three groups

 Offer little or no guidance to group members
and leave decision-making up to group
members.
Laissez-faire: Effects on Teams
Positive Negative

-While this style can be effective in -It often leads to poorly defined roles and a
situations where group members are highly lack of motivation.
qualified in an area of expertise (Cherry) -More demands on the
leader
-Little cooperation and were unable to work
independently (Cherry)
Managing: Laissez-faire
Effective
-If the leader monitors what is being
achieved and communicates this back to
the team regularly
-When individual team members are very
experienced and skilled self- starters
Not Effective
-When time is limited and there are urgent
deadlines to meet
-Need someone to take charge and the
workplace requires direction
Scenarios
You’re in a company meeting and the leader is talking about ways to
achieve their goals.
1) What would an autocratic leader do?
2) What would a democratic leader do?
3) What would a laissez-faire leader do?
Scenarios: Autocratic
 The autocratic would not consult the
rest of the team and set their own
goals and assume that the group
members would achieve them up to
their expectations
Scenarios: Democratic
 A democratic leader would discuss with
the group members, goals that would
be obtainable. An example of these are
the SMART goals - specific,
measurable, achievable, relevant and
timely.
Scenarios: Laissez-faire
 Would not set long term goals
for the group to achieve and
allow members to work at their
own pace and independently
 Leadership vs. Management
Leadership Similar Management

• an original. • involve influence, working • a copy

• a leader innovates with people, concern about • a manager
and develops. effective goal accomplishment. maintains.
• a leader has a long- • • a manager has a
range perspective. • short range view.
• a leader challenges accepts the status.
the status. controls or directs
• Leadership is setting a new people/resources in
direction or a group according to principle or
vision for a group values that have already
that they work with.
been established.
THANK YOU