Democratic leadership is when the
leader allows for group members to
participate more in the decision making
process. In a situation where democratic
leadership is used, group members offer
input and advice to the leader. The leader
then uses this information to make
decisions on behalf of the group.
Advantages:
More input from group leads to more ideas
and more creative solutions.
Group members feel more involved in the work,
giving them a higher sense of purpose and raising
productivity.
Disadvantages:
Inexperienced group members can lead to
poor decisions.
Getting input from more group members can
mean decision making takes longer.
Communication failures can lead to poor
decisions.
Autocratic leadership is defined
as a leadership style in which one
person has control over all decisions,
and allows for little group input.
Advantages:
Useful when leading people who are inexperienced.
Allows quick decision making.
Useful when leader is extremely knowledgeable.
Works well in situations where clear, direct instruction is needed.
Disadvantages:
Doesn't allow for group input, which can lead to missed opportunities.
Can leave group members feeling untrusted and unimportant, leading to resentment.
Laissez-faire leadership is when a leader
lets the group members handle decision making,
often within a set of loose guidelines set by the
leader.
Advantages:
Allows group members to become more skilled
and knowledgeable at their jobs as they learn
themselves and gain experience.
Leads to members coming up with creative and
innovative solutions.
The lack of supervision and
micromanaging leads to faster decision making.
Disadvantages:
If group members are inexperienced, poor decisions will be made.
Some laissez-faire leaders can come off as uninvolved,
causing some group members to lose interest and slack off.
Less accountable leaders can use this style to shift blame onto
group members when failures occur.
Lack of clarity can make members confused about their roles and duties.