Authoritarian leaders typically make decisions on their own and tell other group. Authoritarian leadership, also known as autocratic leadership, is a management style in which an individual has total decisionmaking power and absolute control over his subordinates. In this guide, we will examine the main concepts behind authoritarian leadership and study the core characteristics of the style and the leaders. The intended purpose of this threepart essay is to further explore the various styles of leading. Sage books authoritarian leadership and participative.
It represents the leaders philosophy, skills and attitudes in practice. An individuals leadership style refers to the manner in which she leads. Often, larger groups require some kind of leadership. Autocratic leadership is generally understood to reflect a particular style of leadership where power and authority are concentrated in the leader, whereas authoritarian leadership reflects a domineering style that generally has negative implications e.
Unflinching focus the most notable advantage of this style is that the task at hand gets done. Compare and contrast autocratic and democratic leadership. Authoritarian leadership is a leadership style in which the leader dictates and controls all decisions in the group and task. As the name suggests, authoritarian leaders issue orders and assigns tasks. After reading this article, you will understand the basics of this powerful leadership style.
List of books and articles about leadership styles and. As with any leadership style, those practicing the authoritarian leadership style bring a series of advantages and disadvantages worth considering. The role of leadership style in organisational change management has been investigated considerably in this article. Leadership styles affect on the employee performance.
Authors have made efforts to cover and present wideranging literature on the role of leadership style in organisational change. Authoritarian leadership is a now outdated form of management that, especially in recent decades, is sure to create a lot of resistance among employees. The concept originating from psychological thought has an impact on other disciplines like sociology and political sciences. When it makes sense to be a more authoritative leader. A colloquial way to understand these three leadership style is an authoritarian leader takes charge, a democratic leader includes others before acting, and a laissezfaire leader is hands off. With full control over his team, leaving low autonomy within the group, the leader should have a vision in mind and should be. The theory of totalitarian leadership amor mundi medium. Bureaucratic leaders work upon official rules fixed as duties by higher authorities and go strictly by the book to apply. The leader wont involve or even consult the team when it comes to deciding the next course of action.
Impact of leadership style on organisation performance. Finally, someone with a toxic leadership style is a person who has responsibility over a group of people or an organization, and who abuses the leader. Autocratic leaders typically make choices based on their ideas and judgments and rarely accept advice from followers. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The authoritarian personality is a personality type characterized by extreme obedience and unquestioning respect for and submission to the authority of a person external to the self, which is realized through the oppression of subordinate people. Authoritarian leadership, a powerful leadership style toolshero. In secondary groups there are two types of leadership functions, with expressive leaders focused on emotional health and wellness, and instrumental leaders more focused on results. Well also delve into the advantages and disadvantages of the framework, before looking at examples of authoritarian leaders with their weaknesses and strengths. Autocratic leaders and authoritarian followers revisited.
Authoritarian, or autocratic, leadership tends to be viewed rather negatively, even though it is among the most common leadership styles in the business world. The authoritarian personality is a psychological syndrome of traits that correlates highly without group prejudice. Become a more effective leader and manager by understanding the pros and cons of each style. Asia covers a vast area encompassing many diverse cultures and sociological features. Negative reinforcement and punishment are often used to enforce rules.
In addition to these leadership functions, there are three different leadership styles. Pdf kurt lewins leadership studies and his legacy to. They work hard to build consensus before choosing a course of action and moving forward. An authoritarian leadership style is exemplified when a leader dictates policies and procedures, decides what goals are to be achieved, and directs and controls all activities without any meaningful participation by the subordinates. The first, authoritarian leadership, involves a primary focus on achieving group goals and on rigorous compliance with group rules and penalties for noncompliance. This leader will check and punish their employees more severely and quickly. Group dynamics and behavior introduction to sociology. You might say it is a request that induces compliance or obedience. Jan 16, 2020 while authoritarian leadership certainly is not the best choice for each and every situation, it can be effective and beneficial in cases where followers need a great deal of direction and where rules and standards must be followed to the letter. The authoritarian personality describes a type of person who prefers a social system with a strong ruler the authoritarian person is comfortable being the strong ruler but if the individual is not the strong ruler then he or she will demonstrate complete obedience to another strong authority figure.
Autocratic leaders typically make choices based on their own ideas and judgments and rarely accept advice from followers. Transformational leadership is a stronger predictor of both job satisfaction and overall. Dec 30, 2017 in this guide, we will examine the main concepts behind authoritarian leadership and study the core characteristics of the style and the leaders who use it. These leaders focus on the instrumental tasks of the group and demand compliance from others. Autocratic leadership also known as authoritarian leadership relies primarily on the use of authority in groups and in organizations goethals, 2004. The role of leadership style in organisational change. Authoritarian leadership is a leadership style in which, without accepting participation, the authoritarian leader makes all the decisions themselves and delegates the tasks.
There are number of recognized versions, or styles, of leadership, some of which have been shown to be more effective than others. On reflection, the authoritarian leadership style was appropriate in the first few stages of our team working since this ensured that tardiness and absenteeism were prevented belbin, 2010. It is necessary to study the different leadership styles from which an appropriate style can be selected, depending upon the situation in which leadership is to be exercised and. The communication in the autocratic leadership can be considered as oneway the manager say something and staff comply this leadership style, has some advantages but many disadvantages and is considered as an old way of manage people. Another often overlooked benefit of the authoritarian style is the ability to maintain a sense of. Authoritarian style of leadership psychology and pedagogy. Authoritarian leadels make all major group decisions and assign tasks to members. The concept of the book, the status of authoritarianism and polarization in american politics is interesting. Feb 29, 2020 in secondary groups there are two types of leadership functions, with expressive leaders focused on emotional health and wellness, and instrumental leaders more focused on results. Even though authoritarian leadership used to be a very popular style of leadership, it has dropped out of preference in todays age, with of course, some exclusions.
While autocratic leadership is one of the least popular management styles, its also among the most common. Sage books the ultimate social sciences digital library. Three primary leadership styles exist on a continuum. After all, most families dont take a vote on who will rule the group, nor do most groups of friends. In contemporary sociological thought and practice, laissezfaire. The methods of the art of management are effectively applied in such an important aspect of managerial activity as the style of leadership, i. This leadership style can be problematic when overused because it can come off as domineering and tyrannical. Culture is influenced by leadership style and consequently, leadership style affects. Consequently, we believe that autocratic leadership is more likely to be. An authoritarian leadership style is exemplified when a leader dictates policies and procedures. The total pattern of leaders actions as perceived by their employees is called leadership style.
Authoritarian leadership and participative leadership sage books. Pdf kurt lewins leadership studies and his legacy to social. There is an expectation that they will be followed all the time. While authoritarian leadership can be beneficial at times, it is often the case that its more problematic. Theories of leadership attempt to put this interplay into specific frames, although not all theories encompass all three factors and their components. Distinguish between laissezfaire, autocratic, and democratic leadership. Leadership with a primary focus on achieving group goals and on rigorous compliance with group rules. It is something we are conscious of and see played out in elections and the daily news. Nowadays, the organizational culture is moving towards flatter structures and horizontal communication. In different circumstances, each of these leadership styles can be effective and successful. The authoritarian style was first described by psychologist kurt lewin in a study that identified three key styles of leadership. Here are the authoritarian leadership style pros and cons. In 1939, a group of researchers led by germanamerican psychologist kurt lewin identified three major leadership styles. Authoritarian personality sociology of race iresearchnet.
Further, the authoritarian leadership style was also appropriate since our assigned task was not complex and was of shorter duration bishop, 2009. When it makes sense to be a more authoritative leader an authoritative leadership style is best used in situations when a company seems to be drifting. Leadership styles autocratic democratic laissezfaire. Leadership styles like autocratic, democratic, and laissezfaire styles in the workplace have different strengths and weaknesses. Authoritarian is a type of government which the ruler demand unquestioning obedience from its people that they govern. This article explains authoritarian leadership in a practical way. In secondary groups, leadership is usually more overt. Aug 04, 2017 the authoritarian style was first described by psychologist kurt lewin in a study that identified three key styles of leadership. Authoritarian leadership, a powerful leadership style.
Authoritarian leadership also referred to as autocratic. All leaders do not possess same attitude or same perspective. To begin this discussion, let us first define the key terms needed. Such a leader has full control of the team, leaving low autonomy within the group the leader has a vision in mind and must be able to effectively motivate their. People with an authoritarian leadership style make decisions without consulting anyone else on the team. The tension between participative and authoritarian leadership has been. Leadership style can be defined as the technique and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and method of motivating people. In contrast to the servant leadership style, the authoritative leader will only think of their employees as a means to. Authoritarian leadership is best applied to situations where there is little time for group decisionmaking or where the leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group.
These leaders are clear instrumental leaders with a strong focus on meeting goals. There are times, however, when this style of leadership can be required. Every type of leadership or style has its share of advantages and disadvantages. In key concepts in leadership, 914, sage key concepts series. An authoritarian leadership style occurs when a leader controls and directs all activities, dictates procedures and policies, and decides what objectives are to be achieved without any meaningful participation by his subordinates.
A colloquial way to understand these three leadership style is an authoritarian leader takes charge, a democratic leader includes others before acting, and a. Because knowledge is seen as power, critical information may be. Its fascinating to me that authoritarian leadership is a recognized leadership style, while authoritative leadership seldom if ever makes it into the discussion except at sensei leader workshops. This style is necessary within organizations and companies that demand errorfree outcomes. Think of a scenario where an authoritarian leadership style would be beneficial. Often, entrepreneurs fall into this mold, like facebook founder mark zuckerberg. Authoritarian leadership and participative leadership. This book certainly gets into the reality of the subject but i found it. Give an example of a time you were in a position of leadership and what function and style you expressed. Gosling, jonathan, stephanie jones and ian sutherland. While the preceding chapter focused on leadership processes incorporating all variables of significance, the present one selectively picks up only those that fit into the specific. Leadership styles and frameworks you should know by.
List of books and articles about leadership styles and theory. Also known as the autocratic leadership style, the authoritarian style is characterized by the fact that the leader himself will answer the what, when, and how questions, without any considerations from his subordinates. Authoritarian leaders focus on efficiency, potentially seeing other styles, such as a democratic style, as a hindrance on progress. Short answer introduction to sociology 2e openstax. Such a leader has full control of the team, leaving low autonomy within the group. The authoritarian or autocratic leadership style is demonstrated when a leader makes all decisions without considering input from staff. Often referred to as autocratic leadership, authoritarian leadership is about control, organisation and discipline and while it still has a place in the leader s toolbox, it was regarded as the most prominent style almost one. Democratic leaders encourage group participation in all decision making. Conceptually, the term authoritarian personality originated from the writings of erich fromm, and usually is applied to men and women who exhibit a. A leadership style is a leaders method of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. While both of these examples highlight the need for participation in leadership, a leadership style that is overly. The images are directly translated into the world of leadership, even though authoritarian leadership can have much to offer. Authoritarian leaders, also known as autocratic leaders, provide clear.
One of the advantages of this style of management is the rapidity of decision making. Discover some of the most common leadership style frameworks. Thus, all of the leaders do not get the things done in the same manner. An noun autocratic leader or noun authoritarian leader uses an noun authoritarian style to lead. In small, primary groups, leadership tends to be informal. Leadership styles and theory leadership is the process of motivating a group of people to act towards accomplishing a common task. No one in the team has any power to decide anything. The resulting typology was authoritarian leadership, democratic leadership, and laissezfaire leadership. Authordate chicago manual of style 16th edition bell, kenton, ed. Nov 25, 2014 autocratic leadership is vital in many workplace environments. Some effects of close and punitive styles of supervision. State, nigeria, bangladesh ejournal of sociology, 42, july. Abuse of this style is usually viewed as controlling, bossy, and dictatorial. Kouzes and posners 2002 popular books on leadership, unlike.
Hannah arendt answered all these questions, yet her theory of totalitarian leadership is among the. Authoritarian leadership is also called autocratic and sometimes even dictatorial. This type of leadership is defined as the type of leadership where leaders provide a direct and unambiguous approach to their followers. Not surprisingly, the authoritarian leader risks alienating the workers.
As discussed earlier, few leaders adopt the carrot approach and a few adopt the stick approach. In human psychological development, the formation of the authoritarian personality occurs within the first years of a childs life, strongly influenced and shaped by the parents personalities and the organizational structure of the childs family. Three personality traits in particular characterize the syndrome. Kurt lewins leadership studies and his legacy to social psychology. Identify differences between leadership styles associated with males and. Do you embrace different leadership styles and functions as the situation changes. Lippitt and white 1958, while white and lippitt 1960 in their book. An authoritarian leader makes decisions on policies, procedures and group objectives with little or no input from his or her team members or followers.