Classic leadership styles: authoritarian, democratic, permissive

Authoritarianism is a manner in which the boss alone makes decisions, gives orders and controls the process of their implementation. Drawing a parallel between the well-known saying, an authoritarian boss motivates his employees with a stick rather than a carrot, using, as a rule, material levers of pressure: issuing and depriving a bonus, a fine, etc., administrative measures are also used.

Just as most modern political scientists believe that authoritarianism is the most common management mode, modern researchers of corporate culture attribute an authoritarian management style to most managers. Many bosses are guided by their own goals and knowledge; this position is often motivated by the fact that the manager believes that only he “from above” can see the full picture of what is happening inside and around the company. The reason may also lie in the fact that the head of the company is its founder and is not morally ready to entrust part of the responsibility for what he has created to anyone else. The consequences of such management can be the most disastrous. A manager who does not listen to advice and is fixated on one point of view may not see the right decision in time and lead the company to stagnation, since fresh ideas are always needed for development.

Leadership concept

There is no exact definition of the concept of “leadership”. Some say it is a way of influencing and controlling, others say it is the ability of one person to motivate others to work hard. First of all, leadership combines:

strength of character,
the will to win,
wonderful gift of persuasion,
active desire for success,
willingness to take responsibility for the actions of others,
ability to interact with people, etc.

The advantages of leadership are that it gives freedom of action, respect from other people, and the joy of doing what you love. It provides spiritual and personal growth. Gives a person satisfaction and self-esteem, because people trusted him, confidence in their capabilities and strengths.

Leadership manifests itself in different areas of life - politics, business, sports. This is part of family life, because there should always be a leader in the family. Leadership is especially important in extreme situations, since only an organizing principle (leadership) can ultimately lead to control over the situation.

A leader can have both positive and negative influences

Democratic management style

In this style, the leader must be a highly professional manager, psychologist, teacher, and production worker. He, of course, makes decisions on his own, but arranges general discussions. Moreover, he himself considers the final version of the decision both before and after general discussions. The decisions made are clear to all employees; even during their implementation, proactive proposals are accepted and adjustments are made. Monitoring of implementation is carried out not only by the manager, but also by the employees. From the director, subordinates see understanding, goodwill, and a desire to develop their personalities together with the company. A manager with a democratic management style observes the inclinations and talents of employees, tries to train, guide, even changing the type of activity and position.

This style is quite effective and promotes healthy growth and development of the company's areas of activity. Labor productivity and sales volumes increase, employees become proactive, active, they turn into a real team. There is one danger in this style of management - if control is weakened, it can turn into anarchy. The manager must closely monitor that discipline is not violated and that there is organizational order in the team. A leader in this management system must be very professional, efficient, and an example in everything for his subordinates.

Types of Leaders

A leader is a person who is capable of analyzing a real situation and making quick decisions. Often the fate of the entire team depends on his actions. He knows how to distribute responsibilities and functions, knows who and how to motivate.

But leaders are different in type of character, actions taken, etc. Therefore, they are classified according to different criteria.

Classification according to E. de Bona

British psychologist E. de Bonet uses as a criterion the roles played by leaders in a team. According to his classification, the types of leaders exist as follows:

Leading the way. These are the ones who like to accept even complex and risky offers. They agree to be responsible for the employees' performance. Usually such people have innate leadership skills.
Idea generators. Focus on their own and team tasks. They study the situation and possible risks in advance. When making decisions, they are guided not only by their knowledge and experience, but also rely on intuition. Their ideas are creative, unusual and unconventional, which often allows them to solve difficult problems.
Sellers of ideas. These leaders are enterprising and creative, with a creative type of thinking. But they often find it difficult to take radically new actions. They usually make decisions based on other people's ideas, but adapt them to suit the needs of their team.
Synthesizers. Their peculiarity is the ability to highlight the main thing among the secondary and unnecessary. Before doing anything, they re-read a lot of literature and get acquainted with different ideas of other people. They are constantly improving their people management skills.
Explainers. Able to explain complex things quickly and easily. They are excellent at conveying important information to team members.
Reactors. They react quickly to changes and are able to adapt to market conditions. Actively and constructively criticize the actions of other people when they are sure that they are doing wrong. They give practical, good advice. As a result, they make these people their followers.
Communicators. Their advantage is that they love to communicate with people. They can find an approach even to a particularly difficult client or employee. Know the basics of manipulation. They know how to listen and hear. Capable of conducting coaching sessions.
Researchers. They are able to quickly and efficiently process information. They monitor market trends and actively implement new management systems. They love to analyze facts and conduct experiments.
Pathfinders have the ability to act independently. They can study the actions of competitors for a long time before making a decision. They listen to the advice of others, but implement what they consider to be the best and most effective.
Keepers of information. They know how to collect information, know where to find it and how to use it.

Classification by function

Characteristics of leadership styles by predominant functions divides leaders into subtypes. Among them are the following:

Organizers of groups or crowds. Before doing anything, they make a detailed plan. They always know the sequence of decisions. They know how to quickly establish contacts with other people. Best suited for organizing events or work purposes in small groups. They gain recognition due to their constant optimism and faith in their team. They are trusted because they almost always offer the best way out of the situation.
Creators. They are representatives of the most rational type of leader. Characterized by a high level of activity and energy. They always know what they need and how to achieve it. They know how to overcome barriers. They create a cohesive, friendly team. They are able to formulate a current problem in such a way as to interest others in solving it.
Wrestlers. They are distinguished by willpower, strong character and self-confidence. They are not afraid of any obstacles. They know how to make important decisions instantly. Always ready to attack, defend personal and collective interests. The only disadvantage of a leader-fighter is that he is not always able to foresee in advance the consequences of his actions, which are often impulsive.
Diplomats. They prefer to have trusting relationships with colleagues. Choose a soft method of influence. They actively use manipulation skills if they need to achieve important goals. Stay up to date with all events. They rarely talk about their plans until they achieve what they want. They are able to conduct successful negotiations in a short period of time even with people of difficult character types.
The last type of leader is the comforter. These people are always ready to support, help, and advise something. The atmosphere in the team is important to them, so they actively work in this direction. Comforters are characterized by politeness, understanding, compassion, kindness and empathy.

Type of leader, his characteristics and examples

Advantages of the management technique

An authoritarian leadership style is a combination of a certain set of management tools and methods, which are based solely on the leader’s own knowledge, principles and goals. Despite this formulation, one cannot say one-sidedly that authoritarianism is very bad.

In most cases, in the long term development of business relationships, it often demonstrates its inconsistency and low efficiency, and, nevertheless, in some situations and circumstances, this leadership style can be justified and effective.

This applies, for example, to the implementation of specific projects, where the final result depends on the presence of a strong-willed leader, or work under extreme circumstances, when it is important to be able to make decisions quickly.

Thus, the advantages of this type of guidance are:

the presence of a strong-willed leader capable of making decisions and being responsible for them;
clear hierarchy;
speed of decisions;
the existence of strictly regulated frameworks (deadlines, liability for non-fulfillment).

Difference between a manager and a leader

Remember, a manager is not always a leader. There are teams where the leader is informal, he was simply elected by a group of people or employees. This means that leadership is informal and management is a manifestation of formal business relationships.

Management is social in nature, and leadership is psychological. If a person with leadership qualities is a manager, then the efficiency of the team will be very high. But if the leader is a person without leadership manifestations, then productivity may decrease.

Other differences between the concepts:

the leader usually does not manage, does not command, but simply leads people, and the task of the manager is to organize work,
the manager builds relationships in the team based on the regulation of rights and responsibilities, the leader builds on personal connections,
a person with leadership qualities does not control team members; work is built on trusting relationships, while a leader requires submission.

What is leadership style

The idea of rational distribution of human resources arose at the stage of tribal communities. Then the foundations of management were born. Management science today is, of course, very different from resource allocation back then. Gradually, another science emerged - management psychology, which studies the styles and characteristics of management and leadership, their influence on the team.

Leadership style is the individual and personal characteristics of the system of methods, techniques and means of influencing the leader on the team in order to ensure the effectiveness of its work. This includes the manager’s communication style, behavioral norms, and the nature of the activity.

The main characteristics of leadership style include:

activity/passivity;
collectivism/individualism;
instructiveness/connivance;
positive/negative stimulation;
contacts with subordinates/maintaining distance;
centralization/decentralization of information flows;
feedback from the team/lack thereof.

A mixed leadership style or the predominance of one over the others is possible. Then several contradictory features occur at once.

The leadership style incorporates the characteristics of the leader as a person and personality (temperament, character), the specifics of this particular activity (field of work), and the characteristics of relationships with each member of the team.

Typology of leadership styles

The world situation is constantly changing, which requires changing types of leadership and management. Therefore, today there are a large number of them. But the main types of leadership are classified according to style, nature and content of activity.

According to K. Levin (or according to style)

One of the most popular concepts remains the typology of individual leadership styles, developed back in the 30s of the 20th century by the German psychologist Kurt Lewin. Each type of leadership has its own formal and substantive characteristics. Formal ones define management techniques and methods. Content characterizes decisions that are proposed by the leader and accepted by the group.

Directive

Another name is authoritarian leadership style. Based on the principles of delivering clear, precise, short commands, briefly and to the point. He does not waste time on long discussions, but acts quickly and effectively. May voice threats or prohibitions if a team member does something not according to plan.

He has a very unfriendly tone. Rarely gives praise, ignores emotions and requests. Sets clear evaluation criteria. This makes it easier to work with the team, because colleagues know exactly what is required of them and what the punishment will be for non-compliance with the rules.

The authoritarian type of leadership is characterized by detailed planning of the volume of work of the group for a short period of time. Further prospects are considered based on the results of production activities.

A directive leadership style is effective in the following cases: A

in crisis situations,
when specific tasks are set from top management,
when any initiative is punishable (you just need to adhere to the guidelines of senior managers),
in dealing with incompetent, slow employees.

An authoritarian leadership style is ineffective in cases where extraordinary decisions need to be made. In this case, the rule applies: the more complex the task, the lower the effectiveness of this management style.

It is also ineffective in the long term. Not suitable for a creative team where the originality of ideas and the uniqueness of each employee are valued.

Leadership styles: authoritarian, democratic and liberal

Democratic

One of the best leadership styles. A democratic leadership style involves tactful behavior and objectivity towards employees and colleagues. For such a leader, the human factor is important; he often makes concessions.

The democratic type of leadership has its own characteristics:

Constant exchange of information. For this leader, it is important that employees are kept up to date with all developments. But he shares that part of the information that he considers important. Likes to hold meetings where he brainstorms. It is important to him that employees are not afraid and know how to exchange information.
Meeting on democratic principles. During the conversation, anyone can speak, and the leader will voice his opinion only at the end. A leader knows how to get a silent employee to talk or calm down an overly active subordinate. He is patient, tolerant and respects the ideas of others, even if they completely contradict his judgment. Knows how to listen. If he begins to criticize someone, he does it carefully and constructively.
Involves employees in decision making. With a democratic management style, the manager considers himself part of the team, and not a separate element. He often arranges something like a referendum, where every employee can influence his decision.
He really appreciates other people's work. He always rewards his subordinates for excellent work. This manifests itself in material or moral stimulation.

In psychology, this type of management is considered the best, because employees are rarely under stress. They are less susceptible to irritability, depression, and anxiety.

The democratic leadership model is especially effective in teams where employees are highly specialized and are true professionals in their field. It often happens that when a manager does not know what type of management to use, he prefers democratic management.

This leadership style should not be introduced in teams where employees are not interested in the development of the company. They are incompetent, have poor knowledge of the state of affairs at the enterprise, or need constant motivation. Another circumstance when the democratic method of leadership will be ineffective is a crisis situation when there is no time for lengthy discussions.

Permissive or passive

This leadership model is characterized by a lack of praise from subordinates. A purely business relationship is formed between the manager and employees. In some situations, delegation of basic powers between employees of different departments or positions is actively used.

Other concepts on which the passive management style is based:

there is a leader, but he is not visible (the leader is on his own, the employees are on their own),
lack of interest in each other's successes,
employees discuss and make decisions themselves,
the psychological climate in the team is unfavorable, which negatively affects the performance of creative people,
The team rarely deals with the issue of motivation.

This leadership style has no positive qualities. With it, the quality and volume of work will be low. There is no team cohesion. Employee initiative is not valued - no one takes it into account.

By nature of activity

According to this criterion, leadership styles are distinguished as universal and situational. Universal, also called standard, assumes that a person acts the same way in different situations. Situational – the manager’s actions directly depend on the specific situation.

Universal

His main goal is brilliant performance of work. Such managers themselves set an example of quality work for their subordinates.

They strive to get the job done, not always wanting to interact with colleagues. Friendships are made only with those with whom communication can bring some benefit.

Such managers want employees to work just as hard, but are very afraid to trust them with difficult tasks. They can finish some work for them. They do not interfere in the work of their subordinates until they themselves ask for it.

They create conditions in which employees can perform at their best. May require outstanding achievements. If a subordinate cannot cope with some task, then he is given another task.

By adhering to this type of leadership, managers always maintain a high level of professionalism. They demonstrate themselves as highly competent employees and motivate employees to become the same.

A universal, or reference, management style will be effective in the following situations:

the main employees are highly qualified specialists,
the situation is crisis, but not critical,
you need to manage the work of one department,
subordinates are purposeful, proactive,
it is necessary to achieve rapid development of the organization,
It is necessary to improve the professional level of especially promising employees.

It is better not to use it if the company is on the verge of bankruptcy or if there is a sharp decline in the success of its activities. It is better not to use this leadership style if the manager himself cannot cope with his responsibilities.

Versatile leaders are goal-oriented

Situational

In this case, the leader focuses on a specific situation. He learns the peculiarities of the organization of work of different groups of subordinates, and if the team is small (up to 15 people), then their character traits. Gives preference to working with subordinates who are at the same level of development.

Possible situations:

Low level of preparedness of workers. It is necessary to introduce strict rules and announce clear guidelines. Subordinates are specifically explained what is required of them and given advice on how to achieve this. Literally every step of employees is monitored, which allows you to quickly identify a possible problem. If a subordinate makes a deliberate mistake, he is punished. If he tried and successfully completed the task, he should be praised and rewarded.
The second, or average, level of employee development. It differs in that employees already have an incentive to work and a desire to develop, but they do not have sufficient experience to perform all tasks efficiently. In this case, a mentoring approach is used, when the manager helps employees and gives recommendations. Monitoring the execution of tasks is constant and very strict. In a team, psychological aspects gradually gain value. But even in this case, the leader does not forget to give clear instructions and demands precise execution of all tasks.
The third level of collective cohesion implies the presence of a friendly atmosphere in the team, excellent work organization, and professional experience. The manager and employees are one team, united by a common goal. Employees bear greater responsibility for their actions. Initiative is welcomed and encouraged.
The fourth level is characterized by a very cohesive team, where employees know how to distribute responsibilities, and the leader only manages the process. In this case, the authority of the boss can be delegated to the employees when the need arises.

According to M. Weber

M. Weber saw in the leader a tough, authoritarian person who likes to give orders. The basis of his typology is the concept of “authority”.

He identifies the following leadership styles: traditional, rational-legal, charismatic.

Traditional style is based on adherence to traditions and habits. Weber believes that the relationship between leaders and followers is based on the latter's personal devotion to their leader, partly due to tradition, partly due to the arbitrariness of the leader, who is allowed freedom of action based on tradition.
The rational-legal style is based on the rationality and legality of the procedure for electing a leader. The actions of a leader are always controlled by legislative acts and regulations. Creativity and individuality are not taken into account or applied in this type of management.
Charismatic leadership is based on faith in the individual, his individuality. When electing a leader, his characteristics, professional skills, and unusual character traits are taken into account. Such a leader is very important in crisis situations. He is able to mobilize many people to achieve common goals. Such leaders were Lenin, Stalin, F. Castro.

Three types of leadership according to M. Weber)

Authoritarian style, or “As I said, so it will be”

Gennady Pavlovich P. has been leading the team for many years. Just as he became a manager back in Soviet times, he still manages. It is clear that after so many years his style has already been formed and is not subject to change. But it should be: Gennady Pavlovich is one of those bosses who firmly believes in the instructions from the joke: “Point 1. The boss is always right. Point 2. If the boss is wrong, see point 1.” Yes, yes, there are still such things. It is not surprising that there is a turnover in his team : young people come, brought up in a new society, who are not afraid to offer their ideas and are very surprised when they come across the boss’s principles. They are surprised and leave - to more loyal managers. Only the main core remains in the team - people who have been working for decades and have long been accustomed to Gennady Pavlovich’s quirks. And everything would be fine, only this backbone is almost entirely pensioners. Modern methods of promotion are alien to them - the company has no development, everything is going on the old fashioned way. The company is not doing well.

Do you know such Gennadiev Pavlovichs? They are also found among the younger generation of entrepreneurs. As a rule, they are very authoritarian, harsh in their judgments, and recognize only their own opinions . They do not allow the slightest deviation from instructions, regulations, charters and the established order of the company. They carefully observe subordination - they do not take liberties with the common people, this is not a lordly matter. Here's the paradox: they don't trust their own employees, but at the same time they want work tasks to be completed flawlessly.

Disadvantages of an authoritarian style

You can throw out the baby with the bathwater: those who are accustomed to not listening to the opinions of online store employees risk not hearing valuable ideas that will bring profit to the company . Anyone who does not allow informal relationships with subordinates may not notice the love of his life or someone who could become his best friend. Human relationships sometimes go beyond the chain of command.
Stubbornness is not yet persistence. Fanatical adherence to instructions, a step to the left - a step to the right equals execution - a disastrous position for the company . Read the biographies of great entrepreneurs: they all admit that you need to deviate from the rules, think more broadly, and allow creativity.
Not everyone agrees to work with a dictator - in companies where an authoritarian management style reigns, the percentage of dismissals is higher. And, as a rule, the most talented ones leave. The ones who survive in such a team are opportunists or conservatives who don’t care.
Employees in such companies do not develop, do not offer ideas, and do not learn new things. Maybe they would be happy - but why, because it will still be as the local god ordered. And since initiative is punishable, why show it at all?

Pros of an authoritarian style

Iron discipline. You can't indulge a dictator: either you fulfill all his demands, or the door to the street is open. As a rule, in such a team fines for the slightest violation bloom in full bloom. Total submission makes employees obedient and agreeable to any demand from management.
Clarity and transparency of all business processes. The dictator boss knows exactly how and what is happening in the company at every stage, what tasks are being solved and who is performing them.
In a crisis or stressful situation, employees will not be confused, but will strictly follow the orders of their superiors - they are no strangers to this. With a democratic or liberal leadership style, this is more difficult to achieve: in the event of force majeure, both management and employees can be stormy like a ship in bad weather. And this is fraught with hasty and erroneous decisions.

Liberal-anarchist style

This is the most neutral management style, one might even say conniving. This is what democracy grows into, for which no one watches and builds its framework. In this atmosphere, everyone expresses their opinion, defends their point of view, and does not hear others. And even if a certain policy is adopted to a common decision, everyone continues to act at their own discretion. The leader of the liberal-democratic style does not have the necessary professional and psychological knowledge and skills, does not hide this, and does not enjoy respect.

And besides, such a leader doesn’t care much that they treat him like that, he does his own thing, doesn’t really bother anyone, and everyone feels comfortable about it. It turns out that tasks are set, completed, there is a result, but all this is done at full speed, and often the movement does not lead exactly to where it was planned, and even to the wrong place at all. The psychological climate in such a team is not conducive to work; it is unfavorable for creativity and for establishing order. In such companies, motivation is very rarely done; there is no sense of encouragement from other team members. There is no benefit from this style in any situation, only harm to work.

A competent leader is the basis of a successful business

The word “leader” is formed by merging the phrase “leading by the hand.” Each company has an employee who is responsible for monitoring the operation of all mechanisms. The workforce is precisely the mechanism on which the future fate of the company depends. This means that management's first priority is to monitor all employee activities. The company administration must make every effort to achieve the goals outlined by its owner. To accomplish this task, it is necessary to establish competent communication between management and the rest of the team.

Management style is the model of behavior chosen in relation to employees.

The term "style" has Greek roots. The word was originally used to refer to a metal rod that was used to write on wax tablets. A little later, this word began to be used to refer to unique handwriting. Based on the meaning of this word, we can conclude that management style is a unique method of communicating with subordinates. Leadership style may vary depending on the personality traits of the individual. The formation of “handwriting” occurs in the process of working in a managerial position. Many experts in the field of psychology note that all people have a unique behavior pattern, despite the fact that they follow the same norms and rules.