Autocratic Leadership: This type of leadership can also be referred to as authoritarian leadership and is described as an individual who has complete control of decision making in the group while everyone else has very little if at all input. They don't take well with advice from others and move forward based on their own thoughts. Although this sounds like a tough and unfair way to lead, sometimes it can be beneficial. Certain projects need that one person that has the ability to control an entire group without wasting time on discussion. If a group is very disorganized, an autocratic leader will come in handy.
Some of the downsides from this come from abusing their power. Leaders may seem bossy an controlling resulting in a team that refuses to listen to orders. You need the right kind of group for this to be successful. |
Democratic Leadership: This type of leadership can also be called participative leadership where all members of a group make an equal contribution and discuss before moving forward on an idea or task. This type is usually a more effective and provides better productivity as everyone is putting forward something. Group members are encouraged to put forward their opinion and everyone feels more engaged. Results are generally more creative as more people have put forward an idea. Some of the downsides to this type of leadership is that if the group fails to communicate, there is nobody there to step forward, resulting in an unfinished project. For this type of leadership to work, you must have a group of individuals ready to share their opinion.
|
Laissez-Faire Leadership: Also known as delegative leadership and this is where leaders of a group give their workers full control and responsibility over a certain task. This usually results in lower productivity as the leader is almost neglecting the situation providing little or zero input although they still usually will give feedback and how they are doing. Group members are required to complete the assigned task on their on and the leader's job is basically to provide the team with the resources they need to complete the task. This type of leadership can still be very beneficial if the fellow group members are very high skilled and don't like or want any guidance by someone else. Without the right team, members can lose track of time, fail to meet deadlines and have a difficult time solving problems.
|