Study Notes Management Styles in a Business (GCSE) Study Notes Leadership Topic Videos Leadership Styles: Blake Mouton Managerial Grid Topic Videos - There is a clear division between the followers and the leaders. Authoritative leaders are most consistent in their approaches and systems. However, this is not feasible for the majority of decisions taken by a business- indeed one of the criticisms of this style is that it can take longer to reach a decision. Autocratic leadership style is commonly associated with excessive employee turnover (employees leaving an organisation). There is just one person in charge. When the leader is the only person in the organization who makes decisions and determines the companys strategy, they can easily feel overwhelmed. The following are some of the instances because of which autocratic leadership is not suitable. - consultative although the manager will have the final say. Autocratic leaders do not appreciate any inputs from their team members. 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 2.1.1 Advantages of Autocratic Style of Leadership By the time the information reaches the front-line employees doing most of the work, the entire original message could be lost. In this article, we outline some essential autocratic leadership pros and cons. The employees need not wait for the thumbs up from seniors or ask for a deadline extension if they can get all the approvals and data on time. There are high levels of frustration often found in an autocratic environment, even if workers are inexperienced. - the leader respects other peoples opinions and feedback. And they are accountable for the outcomes. Disadvantages of Autocratic or Authoritarian Leadership. One of the primary characteristics of autocratic leadership is a clearly defined chain of command. Likewise, as an autocratic leader is not necessarily the same as being a fascist, there are people with certain personalities, who may indeed work well under this type of leadership style (Murphy, 2019). 4. List of the Disadvantages of a Democratic Leadership Style. Employees feel motivated and devote their maximum effort when they feel valued for their presence and contribution. There are two reasons why the autocratic leadership style encourages an overall lack of accountability. The manager will however make the actual decisions (in the best interests of the workers) as they believe the staff still need direction and in this way it is still somewhat of an autocratic approach. It removes the pressure on the employees. Inexperienced employees need a detailed layout and instructions to complete taskstraits an autocratic leader is known for. This can be achieved by reviewing autocratic leadership examples. 1. For example: When quick decisions are needed in a company (e.g. According to IPL.org, autocratic leadership is an extreme form of another kind of workplace leadership known as transactional leadership. That means a decision is made on the timetable of the leader and no one else. Advantages The pros of this approach include: Decisions can be made rapidly which may keep the team agile and very quick to respond to challenges. There are many qualities that are needed to be a good leader or manager. It motivates staff by appealing to their personal desires and on instrumental economic transactions. Autocratic Leadership. There are some work environments which require a high level of control. It is one of the best. When an autocratic leader becomes burnt out and cannot fulfill their duties, the rest of the team is often ill-equipped to step in and take the lead because they have never been in that position before. . Autocratic leaders have imperious or commanding personalities. To be effective, people need to work in an environment where there is a trusting partnership. Did you know that autocratic leadership is great when it comes to handling crises? They may sometimes ask their team members to provide feedback, however, the feedback is highly unlikely to change the decisions. The idea here is that with a centralised control, giving guidance and direction to employees is relatively easy. The employee doesnt have to worry about anything beyond performing their job duties properly, and for many employees, this is much less mentally taxing than an environment where they're expected to pitch ideas and weigh in on business strategies. Cons of autocratic leadership. What is the cons of autocratic leadership? But rarely do employees know that there are several. One of the hallmarks of autocratic leadership is that the leader comes to his decisions quickly. Although this kind of leadership can sound harsh at first, it can be very effective. When a company crisis occurs, a leader with authoritative traits can begin to call the shots to make immediate changes. While the advantages and disadvantages of leadership styles are not always readily apparent, one thing is certain - being decisive while avoiding autocratic leadership tactics is necessary for successful leaders and negotiators alike. Good leaders can produce great results. Autocratic leadership Advantages And Disadvantages. Advantages and disadvantages of autocratic leadership pdf It would be a great world if everyone could work together cohesively, pushing a business to its desired goal. The leader is the only one who is in charge of the situation. Autocratic leadership involves absolute, authoritarian control over a group of people. Managers deal with their employees in different ways. Whatever approach is predominately used it will be vital to the success of the business. * Very limited or no input at all from the subordinates. As such people working under autocratic leaders are supposed to accept the guidance or orders of their leader without any disagreement. Khan et al. Find out more. Autocratic leaders are in charge and they make this fact known. While employees who need clear directive and feedback from their leader tend to do best under an autocrat, more experienced employees often do well in a more autonomous environment. This leaves little room for miscommunication and messages getting lost in transit. Contrast this with an autocratic leader, who does not ask their team for their input when making a decision. There Is No Room for Flexibility. This allow for a quick turn-around of the issue, helping the company to begin pursuing its mission once again. Contrary to popular opinions, many organisations are well suited to the autocratic leadership type at some degree. Disadvantages: Although some managers adopt democratic leadership, it is just to please their subordinates but they do not follow the technique fully. Unfortunately, they might not appreciate the advice of their team members. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Autocratic Leadership, Poor Relationship Between the leader and Followers, Not Suitable for Large and Diversified Organizations, What is Organizational Change? To bring in information to the group members. Productivity levels can see increases with this leadership style. Only the leader will weigh the pros and cons of every option instead of the entire C-suite. ", 100 Best Side Hustles for Teens to Make Money, 10 Proven Psychological Pricing Strategies with Examples, 100 Office Etiquette Rules You Need to Know, 50 Best Business Letter Closings of All-Time. Because of the vertical or one-way communication channel subordinates do not get the opportunity to share their ideas and thoughts. 8. It also creates hardships for the leader because they may get blamed for the actions of a worker when that worker was told to do something completely different. However, excess control can also result in low employee morale and employee engagement. One of the benefits of autocratic leadership is that it can help an inexperienced team achieve goals that they wouldn't be able to do alone. The main characteristics of autocratic leadership style are as follows: * Autocratic leaders make all the decisions and pass them down to the people under them for implementation. This process may create a powerful and positive impact on their performance. - increases employee satisfaction and motivation. Most autocratic leaders do not consider the opinions or abilities of their staff members while making decisions. Autocratic - cause frustration and resentment because the system is so dependent on the leader and because of the non-participation if workers . 6. Task 2.3 - Comparison of leadership style Autocratic Leadership Style: Mr. Worth took on a more autocratic approach to leadership by operating his office from the top floor of the company, and rarely interacting with his employees. Autocratic leadership is defined by a top-down approach when it comes to all decision-making, procedures, and policies within an organization. The autocratic leadership style means that the person in charge has the entire control upon all decision making. The Disadvantages of Impulsive Management, Management Styles That Elevate vs. Devalue Employees. 2. Autocratic leadership refers to a form of leadership in which a leader takes choices without consulting others. That means leaders using this style tend to be busier than other leaders. There is also less feedback from various levels of management which must be processed. Advantages of charismatic leadership style. Many companies have been forced to completely reset their under-performing teams because the leadership in place formed the identity of everyone involved. Leaders are of different types. 10. We hope the article Advantages and disadvantages of autocratic leadership style has been helpful. Every crisis or decision lies on their shoulders. Decentralisation and Leadership Styles (AQA Paper 1 2019, Q20) Exam Support What is leadership? But, this lacks in autocratic organizations. Many leaders use autocratic leadership style to establish centralised control in exercising the decision-making authority and use that control to accomplish the desired results. 1. Do you have a team of inexperienced employees? If yes, then the best way to manage such teams is through autocratic leadership. Workers are less likely to stop their projects or ask for later deadlines because they receive timely decisions and communication from their leadership. Even if low-skill tasks need to get done, it is the leaders responsibility to make sure someone makes copies, gets coffee, or files documents properly. Many say the autocratic leadership style is unfit in todays business environment. Faster decision-making is the key to attaining organizational goals. For long-term issues, the autocratic leader can direct traffic in specific ways with more efficiency than a C-Suite, creating solutions that can quickly move an organization out of a troublesome state. That means workers tend to not take ownership of the work they do because there is no incentive to do so. This is yet another of the several advantages of autocratic leadership style. There is no doubt that laissez-faire can bring significant disadvantages to an organisation - especially where conditions are not conducive to such a liberal style of management. Autocratic leaders are like the captain of the ship. The quality of a team, structure, or organization practicing autocratic leadership is dependent upon the ethics of the leader in charge. They can easily manage these issues because they're the only ones who get to call the shots. The communication in the autocratic leadership can be considered as "one-way" ( the manager say . After all, this is what good leadership is all about. Both leadership styles are very well known and are often used due to . This can mean the only employees who remain working with the company are unmotivated and even lazy individuals. Some employees dont like the idea of being asked to make an important decision about the future of the company. According to Startingbusiness.com, a significant drawback to working with an autocratic leader is the lack of flexibility in the workplace. They wont get blamed if it fails and they wont get credit if it succeeds. Workers are forced to rely on the autocratic leader for all their feedback, instructions, and work duties. for the employees, too. By providing clear instructions, oversight, and guidance, autocrats can speed up turnaround times and improve quality standards. 1. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. December 28, 2021 by Raj Verdhan. However, there are some advantages of autocratic leadership as well. Autocratic leadership is one-directional, top-down leadership. The lack of flexibility in environments headed by autocratic leaders can drive creative and motivated employees away. A review of the teams work falls on their shoulders. 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. In addition, normally, inexperienced employees are rules followers. But rarely do employees know that there are several benefits of autocratic leadership. Instead of there being a democratic process for teams, there are no group positions of leadership with the autocratic style. Likewise, this style is also very effective when astringent synchronisation of processes is essential to productivity. SWOT Analysis of Kelloggs (Kellogg Company), https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2019/11/24/does-anyone-actually-like-autocratic-leaders-new-data-says-yes/?sh=bd0ef4e10de5, https://hbr.org/2002/10/the-leadership-journey. These types of interactions do not create a sustainable working relationship, which ultimately creates productivity problems as workers experience lower morale levels. And what are autocratic leadership pros and cons? Full potential of subordinates and their creative ideas are not utilized. They can switch back to a more delegative approach as team members gain more experience. When there are multiple levels of leadership within an organization, a command from the top becomes like a childhood game of Telephone. In, laissez-faire leadership leader gives all power to his subordinates to act on their own. Autocratic style leads to frustration, low morale and conflict among subordinates. That need is generated by an overall lack of trust. They, therefore, make all the strategic decisions without any or extremely little inputs from the people who work under them.