Authoritarian leadership style - the boss is always right!

When building relationships in a team, each leader adheres to a certain policy of influencing people or, in other words, a certain leadership style. This is a way of building relationships between a manager (manager, director) and his subordinate employees.

There are authoritarian, democratic and liberal leadership styles, and their mixed forms are also quite common. Each of them has its own characteristics, but they all have the same goal - to influence employees and motivate them to act for the benefit of the organizations.

What is an authoritarian leadership style?

An authoritarian leadership style is a combination of various managerial measures of influence on subordinates, based on the strict authority of the leader. This style is characterized by rigidity and uncompromisingness, when orders and instructions given by superiors are not subject to criticism, objections from subordinates are not accepted and their opinions are not taken into account.

With such a system, decisions are made individually, and the task of subordinates is only to accurately fulfill the assigned task. This style of leadership can be effective under any extreme circumstances, in cases where there is poor labor discipline in the team.

Such leadership often develops into command-and-control management, which leads to abuse of power and the development of corruption.

In pedagogy

A certain leadership style may not only manifest itself in the workplace or political power. In teaching, each teacher also chooses his own way of influencing the class or audience. With an authoritarian teaching style, the teacher builds a personal relationship without feedback with students, based on his strict, unquestionable authority.

Under such a system, he often demands compliance with the rules he has established, without the right to criticize them. He single-handedly sets goals and does not consider it necessary to explain or comment on his actions.

An authoritarian teacher is characterized by:

• excessive demands;
• categoricalness;
• neglect of student initiative and opinion;
• non-acceptance of any objections;
• manifestation of one's own superiority;
• lack of empathy and compassion for students.

Students, pupils or pupils are perceived by such a teacher only as objects of pedagogical influence. When communicating with them, a cold, commanding, commanding tone is chosen.

This helps to distance yourself from them as much as possible and clearly define boundaries. All requests come from the teacher in the form of teachings, orders, instructions, and sometimes shouts. Relationships with wards are built on the principles of unconditional subordination and strict discipline.

In such educational groups, an unfriendly atmosphere reigns in the classroom and a difficult psychological climate is established.

As a result, the authoritarian style of teaching practice does not contribute to the development of student potential, inhibits the development of activity and initiative, and contributes to the formation of inadequate self-esteem in students. An insurmountable emotional and semantic barrier appears between the teacher and students.

In personnel management

When managing labor resources, authoritarian managers do not consider it necessary to consult with team members when making absolutely all decisions. This management method is effective in the short term, when there is a need to make decisions quickly, for example, when establishing companies or during a crisis.

In other cases, such strict management has a negative impact on the working environment - employee demoralization occurs, violations of labor discipline are common, and staff turnover increases.

An authoritarian leader will not consult with his subordinates before making decisions and will not be interested in their opinions. He takes an extremely tough position and imposes his will on employees, using administrative levers, both punitive and rewarding.

Such strict authoritarian management of human resources has a number of negative consequences:

• a difficult psychological climate develops in the team;
• employees become uninitiated;
• the level of irresponsibility is also increasing;
• employees do not stay in their positions for a long time;
• Pessimistic moods, passivity, and indifference prevail among people.

When building relationships with subordinates, authoritarian leaders use administrative methods of influence - charters, instructions, orders and instructions. Such managers decide all work issues individually and never consult with the staff, who for them is only a means to achieve their goals.

As a result of such management, subordinates become withdrawn, passive and lazy, and negative trends are clearly visible in their working life:

• people lose the desire to improve the work process and product;
• hiding real problems becomes the norm;
• the quality of work decreases:
• instead of increasing work efficiency, employees begin to engage in sycophancy and servility, trying to win over the manager;
• People’s ability to solve even simple issues is lost, as a result of which the boss himself pays a lot of attention to small matters and wastes time.

With an authoritarian leadership style, all responsibility for decisions made lies with the leader, and people take a passive role as executors. This is not as good for him as it might seem at first glance.

Often, he may simply not be aware of some problems and not understand something well enough, and his subordinates, fearing punishment, will deliberately hide the true state of affairs. Therefore, by resorting to an authoritarian style of governance, a leader can pay dearly for the wrong decisions he makes.

What is authoritative parenting?

An authoritative parenting style is an approach to a child that combines warmth, sensitivity, and setting boundaries. Parents use positive reinforcement and reasoning to guide children. They avoid threats and punishment.

Boys and girls raised by moms and dads who set positive examples are more likely to become independent, confident, socially acceptable, academically successful, and well behaved.

They are less likely to report depression and anxiety, and are also less likely to engage in antisocial activities such as crime and drug use.

Research shows that having at least one family member who takes parenting seriously and serves as a role model for growing children can make a big difference.

But what exactly makes an authoritative parenting style different?

Here's what parental controls define:

Permissive parents are reluctant to impose rules and standards, preferring that their children regulate themselves.

They do not demand blind obedience, but adopt a different, more moderate attitude that emphasizes setting high standards, being caring and responsive, and respecting them as independent, rational beings.

A wise parent expects maturity and cooperation, and offers children much of the emotional support.

So what is the main difference between authoritative parenting and authoritarian parenting?

It's all about the exercise of power. An authoritarian parent is like a drill sergeant. Do it now, otherwise...! The drill sergeant tries to get his way through threats and coercion.

In contrast, an authoritative parent seeks to inspire cooperation by fostering positive feelings and teaching children the basics of rules.

He transfers a lot of warmth to his children. The use of harsh or arbitrary punishments is avoided. They are less likely to shame their children or try to control them by withholding love.

And when their children make mistakes or behave badly, they talk to them about it, listen to the concerns of their children and take them into account. They help you understand what went wrong and explain the consequences of good and bad behavior.

Encourage the child's sense of independence. Want children to develop self-discipline, maturity and respect for others. And they approach those goals by offering specific advice and emotional support.

Some researchers describe it this way: Authoritative parents are very demanding (as are authoritarian ones), but they are also very responsive to their children's needs.

How do you practice authoritative parenting?

Do you tend to agree with the following statements:

• I take my child's wishes and feelings into account before asking him to do something,
• I encourage my child to talk about his feelings.
• I try to help when my son and daughter are scared or upset.
• I give my child a basis for the expectations I have for him.
• I respect my child's opinions and encourage them to express them, even if they differ from my own.

How do authoritative parents discipline their children?

This is called "inductive discipline", the idea is that instead of trying to enforce good behavior through threats and punishments, you provide children with internal tools for self-regulation:

• Shaping behavior through reasoning.

For a very young child, this may mean simply explaining why they can't touch something. It's not for you! Too hot! It can burn you! But for older children, this means talking about the reasons for our policies and rules.

• Emotion training.

What should your child do when he gets angry? Or sad? Or scared? Inductive discipline depends on one's ability to deal with strong emotions, so one aspect of inductive discipline is being a good "emotional coach."

• Emphasizing empathy and concern for others.

Inductive discipline focuses on the consequences of a child's behavior on others. What happens when you push your brother? How does he feel about this?

The goal of inductive discipline is to develop the child's intrinsic motivation to cooperate and behave with kindness.

Research shows that even very young children feel empathy and want to be helpful. So we can help develop moral reasoning skills by talking to them about how our behavior affects others.

For every region of the globe, the researchers found that an authoritative parenting style was associated with at least one positive child outcome. On the contrary, authoritarian upbringing had a detrimental effect and had negative consequences for the future generation. The authors conclude that the authoritative approach is worth recommending everywhere.

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).

Advantages and disadvantages

As you can see for yourself, an authoritative style of family education is the most harmonious for a still small growing individual. It allows you to reveal her characteristics, talents and become more mature, conscious, and with self-esteem.

The downside is that adults who choose this particular path need to make a lot of effort to develop. Deal with your own limitations and be a role model.

And there are not always resources to seek a compromise and offer cooperation. Instead of the usual order, which should be strictly followed because “I said so.”

Flaws

An authoritarian leadership style may be justified in some cases , however, this management model does not always allow for effective organization of the work of the team, as it has significant drawbacks.

Namely:

• a manager cannot be equally knowledgeable in all matters;
• management that is limited to one person for a long time leads to ineffective work;
• Without the instructions of the person in charge, even the smallest issues are not resolved, which leads to their accumulation and the independent activity of the team is paralyzed;
• an unfriendly atmosphere is established in the team;
• people do not stay at their jobs for long, there is a high staff turnover;
• people are poorly motivated, are not interested in working for the result, their stay at work often comes down to formally serving working time.

Permissive style

No requirements + satisfaction of all needs

These are hippie parents, they are very good-natured, never punish and allow you to do whatever you want. It would seem like paradise? But no. For a child this is hell. The absence of at least some boundaries and rules contributes to the growth of anxiety and uncertainty. A little person is not able to bear such a burden of responsibility for his behavior, he lives in chaos, without any direction, forced to set boundaries himself, by touch, without support and a confident adult nearby who can be relied upon in making a decision. It would not be a big mistake to say that a commanding parent who adheres to an authoritarian style is better than a good-natured adult, next to whom the child feels only anxiety and uncertainty.

Authoritarian-democratic style

As the historical path of human development has shown, authoritarianism is effective in an unstable, unfavorable environment. In such situations, an authoritarian leader can quickly make decisions and prevent the destabilization and collapse of a company or country. It allows you to maintain or seize power or markets and consolidate your position.

The democratic leadership style is more suitable in situations where there is no need to fight with someone, but there is a need to develop through internal growth. This allows you to create stability in the company and avoid stagnation (stagnation), which often happens with an authoritarian management style.

The strength of the democratic type of government is the diversified consideration of various issues.

This feature was noticed back in Ancient Rome, where, during periods of crisis, dictators were elected who exercised authoritarian rule. After the situation was stabilized, democracy was restored in the country.

In fact, the existence of leadership styles in their pure form is rare. As a rule, the authoritarian-democratic style is present to varying degrees in different companies.

For a long time, leaders in the post-Soviet space adhered to an authoritarian management style. Business, based on past experience, assumed that people were lazy, unorganized, and needed to be forced to work and controlled.

Today the picture is gradually changing. Companies with democratic views on personnel management come to the markets, which leaves an imprint on changes in management styles and authoritarian-democratic rule, combining the features of both styles, is replacing authoritarianism.

With this approach in companies, some issues are given to subordinates themselves for decision-making; they get more opportunities to express themselves. However, when making important decisions, the leader still plays a dominant role, who can consult with subordinates.

Liberal style

Relationship

in a family they are like a fairy tale: a lot of love, few demands, no expectations and discipline: “If only the child is healthy and happy.”

Approach to education

is completely aimed at the interests of children, they are given complete freedom of expression. Parents strive to develop the creative sides of the child’s personality and individuality, trying not to limit them in any way.

Child

in such a family, oddly enough, he is often unhappy, which amazes those around him, because he seems to have everything he needs to be happy. What is he missing? And there is not enough understanding of the boundaries of what is permissible and safe - that is, discipline that will make his life more predictable.

Teenager

He is more prone to depression and various kinds of phobias than his peers, and is often aggressive. It is easy to involve him in bad company, to persuade him to use drugs and alcohol, early sexual activity, and crimes.

Result.

A person who has received a liberal upbringing struggles with a lack of discipline in his own way. He tries to establish his own control, suffers from unmet psychological needs, becomes vulnerable and is unable to confront daily problems.

A parent does not have to become a tyrant and torturer in order to set rules for a child. Here are 10 techniques that will help you achieve discipline without yelling and threats.

How does authoritarianism develop?

An authoritarian leadership style is the result of the rule of an individual who is prone to making individual decisions and does not take into account the position of other people. The development of authoritarianism is associated with the formation of a person’s personality, as well as the traits inherent in him from birth. It is no secret that cruel, despotic leaders had tough characters from an early age.

However, a tyrant is formed not only under the influence of inherent inclinations, but also under the influence of external conditions and various situations. Such people tend to be aggressive, have high ambitions and demands on themselves and others, at the same time, they do not have developed reflection, and their thinking is stereotypical.

At the same time, authoritarianism as a character trait manifests itself not only in solving work issues, but also in personal life. Authoritarianism is a negative character trait. Such people are despotic in the family and at work, do not tolerate objections and tend to impose their vision of the world on others.

Under certain circumstances, an authoritarian person who has gained access to power can hold his position for a long time, which is especially clearly seen in the histories of countries where authoritarianism and totalitarianism once reigned or currently reign.

Authoritative style

Relationship

In such a family they are warm, but quite restrained. Moderate discipline is established for children. Parents expect them to develop and achieve.

Approach to education

built on a balance of trust and control, while parents believe in the child and emotionally support him in everything.

Child

respects himself, his parents and family traditions, obeys established rules, and expects justice from them in relation to himself.

Teenager

knows that he can search for and offer his own solutions for any situation. Feels responsible for his actions. I am confident that I can take on and fulfill obligations.

Result.

With this approach to education, a mature child is less susceptible to negative influence from peers and more successfully builds his relationships with people and the world.

What does the management methodology provide?

Although the authoritarian control system is inflexible and despotic in nature, it allows for:

• discipline in the team;
• clear hierarchy;
• making important decisions in the shortest possible time;
• stable growth during the crisis period;
• clarity of assigned tasks for subordinates.

An authoritarian management technique allows the manager to be aware of everything, even the smallest issues, and fully control the work of the team.

Basic mistakes

At the same time, authoritarianism in personnel management has many controversial issues, since in practice, in the process of leading people, many authoritarian leaders make similar mistakes.

4.Indifferent

The most catastrophic type of upbringing is lack of demands + ignoring needs

Essentially, these are single children. Parents don’t care about them at all, and they avoid raising them in every possible way. Often these are depressed mothers, or parents who didn’t really want children and are not interested in caring for them. Children irritate them, so they are not interested in their needs, feelings and desires, sometimes they punish, but not with the goal of showing right and wrong behavior, setting boundaries, but because of their own momentary emotions.

When is the technique most effective?

An authoritarian management style shows maximum effectiveness at the stage of development and formation of an organization, as well as in extreme situations. During this period, the team should really be led by a strong, strong-willed manager capable of making quick decisions on his own.

Also, in the early phase of development of a company or organization, it is important to formulate among employees the goals and objectives of their work, as well as ways to achieve them. In addition, authoritarianism in management is justified when crisis situations arise, when there is no time for discussions to make important decisions.

The use of an authoritarian leadership style over a long period will not lead the company to prosperity, since the administrative methods used inevitably lead to a decrease in the creative initiatives of employees, staff turnover, deterioration of the socio-psychological microclimate and stagnation.

Rejecting parenting style

By their behavior, parents demonstrate obvious or hidden rejection of the child. For example, in cases where the birth of a child was initially undesirable or if they wanted a girl, but a boy was born. The child initially does not meet the parents' expectations. It happens that at first glance a baby is desired, he is treated attentively, he is cared for, but he has no emotional contact with his parents.

As a rule, in such families, children become either aggressive or downtrodden, withdrawn, timid, and touchy. Rejection gives rise to a feeling of protest in the child. Traits of instability and negativism are formed in the character, especially in relation to adults.

Examples of authoritarian leadership type

One of the most prominent autocratic leaders is Henry Ford. He built his empire based precisely on the principles of authoritarianism. When recruiting personnel, he personally studied the biography of each candidate and conducted interviews.

The strengths of this approach were the efficiency of the company’s established production process, thoughtfulness and careful attention to detail. At the same time, with age, Henry Ford became uncompromising and made many management mistakes, as a result of which he himself suffered losses.

For example, he almost destroyed his own company when in the mid-1910s. fired many capable managers. Over time, he began to disdain people, did not trust them and made decisions based only on his intuition.

Also, today there are a number of countries in the world in which an authoritarian leadership style predominates.

This:

• countries of the former Soviet Union (Belarus, Kazakhstan);
• some Latin American countries (Venezuela, Argentina);
• 3rd world countries (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Nepal).

In many of these countries, authoritarianism does not exist in its pure form. Also, each state has its own reference point on which authoritarianism is based - religion, martial law, nationalism.

Most managers and psychologists are very critical of authoritarian leadership styles. This is due to a number of negative consequences that arise during long-term directive rule - high staff turnover, low personal motivation of employees, and a formal approach to responsibilities.

At the same time, in extreme situations, such leadership can lead the organization out of a crisis. Today, as a rule, authoritarianism in its pure form does not occur very often; it is usually combined with the manifestation of democracy and liberalism.