Three leadership styles advantages and disadvantages
Coaching leaders are very effective in places where performance or results need improvement. They help others to advance their skills; they develop bench strength and provide game-changing supervision. The coaching leadership style becomes more productive if employees act responsibly, and cooperate as per experience, and agreeable.
Renowned German-American psychologist and the modern pioneer of social, organizational, and applied psychology in the United States, Kurt Lewin who is also considered to be the modern pioneer of social, organizational, and applied psychology in the United States recognised that one of the factors that determine a leader’s preference for a particular leadership style is the requirement to make decisions.
In 1939 Kurt Lewin and his co-workers classified three styles of leadership decision making:-
The autocratic, the democratic and the laissez-faire
Effective leaders manage to use all the three styles with an emphasis on one particular style, while incompetent and mediocre leaders tend to rely on one specific style, refusing themselves and the workforce the advantages implicit in the other three.
So what are the advantages and disadvantages of the three leadership styles one would want to know?
Autocratic or Authoritarian
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. This form serves well when the time is at a premium, and the leader has all the information necessary to complete a task, and his workforce is well motivated. However, the authoritarian style is negative when the leader might profit or avail from the ideas of others. In fact, neglecting the information of intelligent and responsible subordinates can turn counterproductive in any situation.
Democratic or Participative
A democratic or participative leader approaches for problem-solving ideas from his/her employees. He tends to involve his workforce in the overall decision-making process. A leader is an ultimate authority in all matters, however, his tendency to engage his workforce not only supplies the leader with ideas he might not have had but also instills in his/her workforce a sense of confidence, purpose and value. The participative leader is also bestowed with love and respect from his subordinates because he/she has the strength to be collaborative instead of being insular and controlling. However, this leadership style is not appropriate, when the time is short, and the problem needs to be solved at once.
Laissez-faire or Delegative
The laissez-faire or delegative leader leaves the task along with the means of accomplishing the task entirely upon his workers. Though the leaders remain responsible for the completion of the task, however, the decision making and problem-solving is delegated to subordinates. This leadership style heavily depends on a well-motivated and skilled workforce that knows how to get the things done. This form is based on the concept that a leader is not capable of doing everything and thus he/she must sometimes delegate duties. But this style is not suitable when the workforce is inexperienced or unskilled and also when the leader has all the required information, and the task has to be accomplished immediately.
So in the real world of business, leaders must meet diverse circumstances with the suitable leadership style and approach. A particular style may not be the most convenient. However, a good leader has to be capable of switching styles, depending on the need and situation.
Trust is the major factor that often dictates which style is appropriate. The level of trust shared by employees and their supervisor, stress levels in the manager/supervisor and subordinates, level of employee discipline and level of mutual trust and respect between the manager and his employees plays a crucial role in dictating the style of leadership to be adopted by the managers/leaders.