Leaders in institutions of higher education have been observed to be exhibiting autocratic leadership style. Autocratic leader the autocratic leader makes as many decisions independently as possible and maintains control of the decisionmaking processes. Other analyses of leadership style in a classic paper, tannenbaum and schmidt explored how a leadermanager might be democratic in some situations and autocratic in others. All processes operate under rigid rules and procedures, creativity and freethinking are not a priority.
Autocratic leadership is a polarizing topic in places that favor democratic governmental structures. The study was conducted to investigate the impact of autocratic and democratic leadership style on job satisfaction with a sample of 205 teachers both male and female of public and private schools. Autocratic leadership style unl digital commons university of. Like other leadership styles, the autocratic style has both some benefits and some weaknesses.
A definition and illustration of democratic leadership john gastill2 renewed calls for demaracy make it imperative that we understand the nature of democratic lcadcrship. Autocratic leadership, also known as authoritarian leadership, is a leadership style characterized by individual control over all decisions and little input from group members. This video discusses the concept of autocratic leadership, its various characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. Authoritarian leadership, a powerful leadership style. Surprisingly, most workers have already worked for an autocratic leader and therefore have little trouble adapting to that style. After reading this article, you will understand the basics of this powerful leadership style what is authoritarian leadership. Jul 11, 2017 the difference between autocratic and democratic leadership can be drawn clearly on the following grounds. An autocratic leadership style is considered ideal in emergencies situation as the leader makes all decisions without taking into account the opinion of staff. The autocratic leadership style should not be used when.
Employees become tense, fearful, or resentful employees expect to have their opinions heard employees begin depending on their manager to make all their decisions there is low employee morale, high turnover and absenteeism 2. A comparison between collaborative and authoritative. Leadership style 1 jobrelated tension and 2 psychological sense of community in work organizations manufacturing organizations lagos state, nigeria results shows that workers under democratic leadership style do not experience higher jobrelated tension than. Autocratic leaders rely on specific rules, policies, and procedures to govern all processes within the workplace. Autocratic leadership also known as authoritarian leadership relies primarily on the use of authority in groups and in organizations goethals, 2004. It isnt necessary that all managers adopt such a style, he. As there is no consultation with subordinates, confidential matters can be kept secretly.
Mar 06, 2016 authoritarian leadership is a leadership style in which the leader dictates and controls all decisions in the group and task. Well study the contexts in which it was born and look at how it is shaping the modern world. That means there is a priority on consistency, with each. Group members are not allowed to be in positions of leadership, so all rests with. Autocratic leadership is centered around and focused on the leader. The studies identified the autocratic leadership style and the democratic leadership style as the two basic leadership styles lussier and achua, 2007. Chief librarians that autocratic leadership style, no matter the colour it is painted remains a leadership style that. Often referred to as autocratic leadership, authoritarian leadership is about control, organisation and discipline and while it still has a place in the leaders toolbox, it was regarded as the most prominent style almost one hundred years ago. The author takes a contrary look at the perception that in order to be effective, managers must use a participative leadership style. The paper aims at detecting relations between participative management and rewarding strategies as well as employees job satisfaction in. In the workplace, some conditions may simply call for urgent action, and in these cases an autocratic style of leadership may be best style to adopt. The paper studies democratic style of leadership and how the style influences the practices of leadership. Autocratic leadership is vital in many workplace environments.
Autocratic leadership is a classical leadership approach, and the corporate equivalent of dictatorship or tyranny. Difference between autocratic and democratic leadership. In this guide, well examine autocratic leadership and what it has meant in the past. An autocratic leadership style is similar to an authoritarian leadership style. Influence of autocratic leadership style on the job. Its important to understand though, that the problems below are much more likely in low power distance cultures. Moreover, mistakes are not tolerated within the blame put on individuals. Autocratic leadership is more efficient to tackle intra organizational conflicts including the distribution of scarce resources. Leadership style on employee motivation and commitment. Impact of leadership styles on organizational performance.
In order to determine the impact of the leadership style. Leadership style is the manner in which people are directed and motivated by a leader to achieve organizational goals. They cannot criticize or question the leaders way of getting things done. Authoritative leadership is considered one of the most effective leadership styles in the event of an emergency where quick decisions need to be taken. Downsides of autocratic leadership while autocratic leadership can be beneficial at times, there are also many instances where this leadership style can be problematic. Autocratic style leadership meaning, advantage, disadvantage. Autocratic leadership is also known as authoritarian leadership. Jul 26, 2016 the core characteristics of autocratic leadership. The autocratic leadership style is determined by the leader s power due to the fact that the leader. While those who rely on this approach to heavily are often seen as. A lack of consultation with subordinates may cause that opportunities are missed and risks are underestimated. While autocratic leadership is one of the least popular management styles, its also among the most common. Three leadership styles advantages and disadvantages. Autocratic leadership style, however, shows a significant negative impact on employee performance.
Autocratic leadership is a management style wherein one person controls all the decisions and takes very little inputs from other group members. Motivation the democratic leadership style gave the highest level motivation from children and their work continued even when the teacher left the room, in contrast, work from the children ceased altogether under the autocratic leadership style. Autocratic leaders typically make choices based on their ideas and judgments and rarely accept advice from followers. In lewins experiments he discovered that the most effective style of leadership was democratic. A comparison between collaborative and authoritative leadership styles of special education administrators leadership is the ability to get men to do what they dont like to do and like it harry s. According to daft 2008, an autocratic leader is one who tends to centralize authority and derive power from position, control of rewards, and coercion. Overly autocratic styles led to revolution, whilst under a laissezfaire approach, people did not work together and did not work as hard as they did when.
Leadership can be categorized based on the level of involving team members and participating in the decision making process. This type of leadership style is seen mostly in businesses. A definition and illustration of democratic leadership. Overly autocratic styles led to revolution, whilst under a laissezfaire approach, people did not work together and did not work as hard as they did when being actively led. Autocratic leadership can be defined as a leadership style, wherein a clear line of demarcation between leader and follower exist, as the leader has got the absolute power of commanding and decision making. Oct 14, 2017 an autocratic leadership style is considered ideal in emergencies situation as the leader makes all decisions without taking into account the opinion of staff. The team cannot put forward their views even if they are best for the teams or organizational interests. Sep 20, 2017 in lewins experiments he discovered that the most effective style of leadership was democratic. Even if this isnt your normal leadership style or a type of leading that you feel comfortable with, knowing the situations where this type of leadership can. Autocratic leaders make choices or decisions based on their own beliefs and do not involve others for their suggestion or advice. To be effective, the leader must be able to have proven competencies in their field, as they are responsible for making most of the decisions in the workplace. Autocratic leadership is a form of management style in which one leader or member of the organisation takes decisions on behalf of the company.
Leaders in institutions of higher education have been observed to. Difference between autocratic and democratic leadership with. An autocratic or authoritarian leadership style will comprise of dictates and orders like telling aides what is to be done and how is something supposed to be done. Autocratic leadership style works well if the leader is competent and knowledgeable enough to decide about each and every item under their control. Instrumental leadership has a negative influence on effectiveness in small organizations. The difference between autocratic and democratic leadership can be drawn clearly on the following grounds. Mostly subordinates like to work under centralized authority and strict supervision 3. This is an older form of leadership, often considered outdated, but this style remains common because. The autocratic leadership style does not instill learning mentality which is crucial to stimulate proactive attitudes among employees sauer 2011. Mostly subordinates like to work under centralized authority and strict supervision. A critique of the autocratic leadership style characteristics. Aug 24, 2018 an autocratic leadership style is similar to an authoritarian leadership style.
Wellins, and byham 1994 categorized autocratic leadership, international journal of leadership studies. This leader also tends to retain responsibility and limit delegation and consultation with others. Chua, abdul basit, and hassan 2018 identified that the autocratic and democratic leadership style have significant positive or negative impact on employees performance, while the laissez faire. In a study conducted by okoroji, anyanwu, and ukpere 2014, a democratic leadership style was found to be the most effective style because student. You might say it is a request that induces compliance or obedience. Motivation the democratic leadership style gave the highest level motivation from children and their work continued even when the teacher left the room, in contrast, work from the.
Jun 29, 2018 this video discusses the concept of autocratic leadership, its various characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. The first and foremost advantage of this type of leadership style is that it helps the company in making a quick decision as the decision is centralized with the leader. Authoritarian leadership is a now outdated form of management that, especially in recent decades, is sure to create a lot of resistance among employees. Autocratic leadership is very similar to the authoritarian leadership style. Importance of leadership style towards quality of care. The data was collected through questionnaire and the collected data was analyzed through computer software spss version. Well examine the core characteristic of the leadership style and provide you with the traits of an autocratic leader. The lessons of exemplary models for democratic governance. In this type of leadership, the rules and procedures that teams use are quite rigid. People who abuse an autocratic leadership style are often viewed as bossy, controlling, and dictatorial, which can lead to resentment among group members. While autocratic leadership does have some potential pitfalls, leaders can learn to use elements of this style wisely. Nov 25, 2014 autocratic leadership is vital in many workplace environments. Under this type of leadership style there is no delay as decision rests with single authority and in times of crunch situation where a.
Democratic leaders, on the contrary, involve employees. While a number of studies have shown that autocratic leadership can increase productivity, this positive result usually lasts only in the short term as it is normal for employees to work harder when placed under tight control. In this style of leadership, a leader has complete command and hold over their employeesteam. It provides for quick decisionmaking because here only one person i. Before we examine the core characteristics of autocratic leadership in terms of the four key characteristics of the theory and the way autocratic leadership can manifest, its auspicious to consider the theoretical basis of the leadership style. Pdf the paper aims at detecting relations between participative management and rewarding strategies as well as employees job satisfaction. This type of leadership can apply to any organization, from private businesses to schools to government. Pdf the study focused on the impact of autocratic leadership style on job performance of subordinates in academic libraries in port harcourt. Successful instructional leadership styles in education. Is democratic leadership the best style of leadership.
Advantages and disadvantages of autocratic leadership. Those who over rely on the autocratic leadership style tend to experience many different types of people problems. With this style of leadership, all of the decisionmaking resides with the leader, and decisions are made by the leader without consulting subordinates. Democratic leadership, also known as participative leadership or shared leadership, is a type of leadership style in which members of the group take a more participative role in the decisionmaking process. Autocratic leadership is the coercive type of leadership in which power concentrates in the hand of one person or a group of individual. The impact of autocratic, democratic and laissezfair leadership. The impact of autocratic and democratic leadership style on. Existing definitions of dcmwrstic lcadcrship are inconsistent and inadequate, so this essay provides s clear delinilion that applies lo social groups both large and small. Autocratic leaders typically make choices based on their own ideas and judgments and rarely accept advice from followers. This article explains authoritarian leadership in a practical way. This style is necessary within organizations and companies that demand errorfree outcomes. The text is informative and educational, and it is written for easy reader understanding at any level. Introduction the approach the librarian managers adopt in directing, guiding and controlling the staff under them determine the pace of progress in their libraries.
Authoritarian leadership is a leadership style in which the leader dictates and controls all decisions in the group and task. It discusses this management style while exploring its advantages, examining its disadvantages, citing famous business people who adhered to its concepts, and predicting its future. For example, an autocratic style can be used effectively in situations where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group or has access to information that other members of the group do not. The impact of autocratic and democratic leadership style. In areas where creative thinking is a key, people are empowered to make decisions, and leadership is decentralized, the autocratic direction will likely be unpopular. Leadership style 1 jobrelated tension and 2 psychological sense of community in work organizations manufacturing organizations lagos state, nigeria results shows that workers under democratic leadership style do not experience higher jobrelated tension than workers under autocratic leadership style. Leadership styles autocratic, laissez faire, participative. The competencies of the leader matter tremendously, as most of the decisions are made by the individual.
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