Gypsy Camp Blog

Leadership is the topic for this part of our guide to organizational management…

There are three generally-accepted leadership styles that organizational leaders will use to carry out their duties and responsibilities – autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire, or a combination of any of these styles.

Autocratic leadership is where a leader exerts high levels of power over his or her team. People within the team are given few opportunities for making suggestions, even if these would be in the organization’s interest. Most people tend to resent being treated like this. Because of this, autocratic leadership usually leads to high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover. For some routine and unskilled jobs, however, this style can remain effective where the advantages of control outweigh the disadvantages.

Democratic leaders, on the other hand, will seek input from staff prior to making a decision, even though the democrat will ultimately make the final determination. Employees appreciate being provided with an opportunity to contribute, which, in turn, results in greater job satisfaction. This approach, however, can slow things down a little more than an autocratic approach, but results in better employee retention, increases employees’ knowledge and skills, and overall, has a more positive benefit to the organization.

In situations where an organization has a team of workers who are highly skilled and experienced, and who are self-motivated, a Laissez-faire leadership style can be very effective. French for “leave it be,” laissez-faire leaders do not typically micro-manage their employees, but instead allow them to work toward organizational goals on their own. A good laissez-faire leader will continually monitor staff’s progress and achievements and provide good communication to his or her team. The downside is where a laissez-faire type leader does not exert sufficient influence and loses control over where his or her team is heading.

An organization’s structure and environment will dictate the most effective style of leadership, and there really is no cookie-cutter answer for which type of leader works best. In fact, the leaders who consider all the factors (skill and experience level of workers, the type of work being performed, and the culture of the environment, whether stable or in flux, bold or conservative), will have the best impact on productivity.

The best leaders will frequently toggle among leadership styles, employing the best style for the situation in front of them and the personalities with which they are working.

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