Leadership Style Flashcards
What is a leadership style?
This is when employees respond well to different managers. This is because all managers have a different style of leadership.
What is autocratic leadership?
Authority and control is retained by the leader. Managers tell employees what to do.
What are the advantages of autocratic?
- There are clear expressions of what needs to be done.
- Decisions can be made quickly.
- This works well when manager is the most skilled or knowledgeable in the team.
What are the disadvantages of autocratic?
- There’s no opportunity for delegation or empowerment, demotivating some staff.
- There’s a lack of creativity in decision-making as it is retained with senior management.
What is democratic leadership?
This refers to communication and employee participation are key. Managers let employees have to say in decision-making.
What are the advantages of democratic?
- Employees feel motivated as they have a say in decision-making.
- The manager has the final say but employees can contribute, which can encourage creativity and help solve complex problems.
What are the disadvantages of democratic?
- Mistakes can be made if workers are skilled or experienced enough to participate in decision-making.
- Some employees can be less productive than they would be under an autocratic manager.
What is laissez-faire leadership?
This refers to when managers do not issued instructions or supervise staff, they just let staff carry out their jobs.
Leaders only step in if they are needed/asked.
Also, laissez-faire leadership can be effective in situations where employees are highly skilled, motivated and capable of working on their own.
What are the scenarios affecting leadership style?
- The task
- Time available
- Skills of staff
- Motivation of staff
- Leader’s own personality
- Group size
- corporate culture
- Availability of finance
What is ‘the task’?
The task refers to a complex task, such as deciding on a new company policy will require more direction from management (autocratic); a creative task, such as designing a new packaging, would benefit a hands-off approach (laissez-faire).
What is ‘time available’?
Time available refers to that there may be little time to complete a project which means less time for discussion on how to achieve it, so a more autocratic style will be required.
What is ‘Skill of staff’?
Skill of staff refers to highly skilled and competent staff will need less supervision and direction, so ademocratic approach will work.
What is ‘Motivation of staff’?
Motivation of staff refers to when highly motivated employees can be trusted to have the self-discipline to make their own decisions and complete tasks without instruction and supervision.
What is ‘Leader’s own personality’?
Leader’s own personality refers to when leaders may lack personable qualities and automatically lead in an autocratic style, Similarly they may be too friendly and nice to be autocratic.
What is ‘Group size’?
Democratic styles can lead to confusion if the number of staff in a group is too large. Large groups benefit from the clear directions autocratic leaderships.
