The democratic leadership style is a very open and collegial style of running a team. Within these categories, there are specific subtypes of management styles, each with its own pros and cons. Selection of an approach and a leadership style is based on the conflict, team, organization, and project situation. On the other hand, using the transformational leadership style, you focus on inspiring subordinates but leave the details of decision-making to the workers themselves. If this style is warranted (but it seldom is) the PM must be very diplomatic and use a personal authority style which will not alienate team members. Democratic Leadership Style . The nature and culture of an organization specify which leadership style fits the company best. The key is to use each style at the right time. Democratic leadership is most useful when you’re stuck on a certain problem and need fresh ideas. Somewhere along the line, it was determined that not everything old was bad and not everything new was good. Democratic leaders emphasize collaboration and the free-flow of ideas. Like the authoritative and affiliative styles, the democratic style tends to produce positive results. Among the subordinates, democratic leadership style stood out as the most popular method and the style that achieved the most effective results. Some of the most common leadership styles for a project manager include: ... Activity Management Styles Directive Tells others what to do. 2. Based on interviews with business leaders and employees, Lewin, Lippitt and White concluded that the democratic leadership style was the most popular among subordinates. Management researchers Jiing-Lih Farh and Bor-Shiuan Cheng define a paternalistic style of leadership as one that’s characterized by “strong discipline and authority with fatherly benevolence and moral integrity.” In other words, it’s similar to the relationship a parent has with his or her child. By ensuring that everyone is heard and by building relationships, the democratic leader pulls in the team’s commitment to work towards the project’s success. There are six distinct leadership styles that were identified by Daniel Goleman. This project is on the effect of democratic leadership style on corporate performance in an organization, a study of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Abakaliki. A democratic leadership style is an open approach to leading, where decision making is shared and the views of a team or group are valued and contribute to the vison, goals and decision that are made. 4) Democratic Management Style. The suggestions and opinions of the subordinates are given importance. There is also the potential conflict of different viewpoints playing a role in the decision making and as a result, employees can feel less valued if their input is not taken, leading to decreased morale and productivity. Democratic leadership, which is also known as participative leadership or shared leadership, has more control than the delegating leadership style which will be covered later in the article.This leadership style involves strong participation from team members in decision-making.Everybody can participate, discussion and debate are encouraged and ideas flow freely. The methodology used in the data collection was survey design. Democratic Leadership, also known as Participative Leadership, is where individuals who would typically be considered unequal by hierarchal standards have shared power in making decisions. This type of management became popular in the late 20th century. Otherwise, you run the risk of completely ignoring your own thoughts. Anyone can practice this leadership style. Disadvantages. Democratic leadership style is the inverse of the autocratic leadership style. Using the democratic leadership style, leaders may make all decisions but they consult the workforce before taking action. There are six project management styles that Jennifer identified in the video. This style involves all the team members in decision making by considering all the inputs given by them. Here the leader’s role is more facilitative – like that of a chairperson. Just be careful not to overuse this style. Democratic leaders value listening, collaboration, and investment. The main objective of the study is to analyze the effect of democratic leadership style on corporate performance. She used Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence, as a guide. Whilst some people share certain basic characteristics which make them natural leaders, the characteristic of their leadership style may be very different. There are three broad categories of management styles: Autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. Management or leadership style is the manner in which managers exercise their authority in the workplace and ensure that their objectives are achieved. Each leader has own leadership style and the style differs from person to person, which depends upon their experiences, philosophies and their personalities. Leadership styles is the behavior of the leaders towards the team they are leading. He likens these styles to golf clubs in a seasoned professional's bag; you choose the correct club ('style') for each shot ('situation'). This type of management follows a top-down approach, with one-way communication from bosses to employees. To achieve the best results in more situations, project managers should lean more to the visionary and participative leadership styles. Project Management Styles. With his leadership, our communication – both upward and downward – was active. When and how to use the democratic leadership style. The 7 leadership styles most common in the workplace are; Autocractic, Charismatic, Transformational, Laissez-faire, Transactional, Supportive, Democratic. Definition. In the project management community, surveys show that many project managers rely on the directive leadership style most often. Application Democratic leadership also creates transparency in the workplace by allowing employees to know how and when decisions are made that affect the entire company. This typically leads to high rates of employee satisfaction and morale. management experts have undergone a revolution in how they define leadership and what their attitudes are toward it. It was then a behaviorist Kurt Levin conducted group experiments in order to establish the advantages of a participatory category. Democratic Leadership Style . There was likewise high employee commitment because we were able to participate in the decision-making process of our team. Ideas move freely amongst the group and are discussed openly. Also, the goals and targets of a company play important roles in specifying leadership styles. This style is needed in dynamic and rapidly changing environments where very little can be taken as a constant. Everyone is given a seat at the table, and discussion is relatively free-flowing. The most well-rounded of the leadership styles is the democratic leader. In "Leadership and Group Life," Lewin and his colleagues Ronald Lippitt and Ralph K. White cite democratic, laissez-faire and autocratic as the three primary leadership styles. An effective Project Management Professional (PMP) is able to invoke various leadership styles. Together, you will generate and evaluate alternatives until you reach an agreement. Leadership Styles in Management. Democratic leadership is available to anyone, and because some of the burden of decision-making is transferred from the leader to the team, there is a potentially lower level of entry. A democratic approach to management can also be one of the more effective conflict management styles, as it encourages everyone to contribute to the conversation, to participate and to own their part. They have gone from a very classical autocratic approach to a very creative, participative approach. They allow people time and space to create the best possible products and services. According to the studies, under the more autocratic style, the subordinates eventually started rebelling against authority, whilst the laissez faire leadership didn’t lead to coherent results and objectives weren’t achieved efficiently. The democratic leadership style, which is also referred to as shared leadership or participative leadership, encourages members of a team to take on responsibilities in decision-making. Democratic – When using the democratic leadership style, the leader shares the problem with the relevant team members as a group. Consultative style. Paternalistic Leadership Style. Simply put, democratic leadership involves getting everyone’s consensus on decisions. The Greek roots of the word democratic suggest people are participating in power or control. Learn More → The democratic leadership style, which is also sometimes referred to as participative style, actively involves employees in the decision-making processes of the organization. The democratic style With this style, you can gain buy-in for ideas by sharing the problem with the team and reaching consensus on the way forward. In this instance, a democratic, transformational, or supportive leadership style in conjunction with collaborating, competing, or compromise could be the best conflict approach. The sample size was all the staff of NTA Abakaliki. He was a democratic leader who held the final responsibility whilst delegating authority to others. The primary aim of the democratic leadership style is to build commitment and generate new ideas. Accordingly, the understanding of project management broadened from project management being merely a task of planning, organizing, and controlling, to a situation where project management is about managing people to deliver results instead of managing work (Turner, 1999). A team with an autocratic bellwether performed tasks well, as long as the leader was present and exercised control. Autocratic Management Styles. This project manager draws on the team members’ knowledge and skills and is able to create a group commitment to common goals. Indeed they are frequently consulted, on different matters. Disadvantages of the democratic management style are the time it takes to make a decision due to the gathering of ideas and opinions. The leadership style which involves the considerable amount of participation of the employees in the decision-making process and organisation’s management is known as participative or democratic management. Leadership styles like autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire styles in the workplace have different strengths and weaknesses. It is a leadership style that can be used by any leader in any industry, from corporations to educational facilities to government positions. Different types of leadership styles exist in organizations. What It Is. It covers how managers plan and organise work in their area of responsibility and, in particular, about how they relate to, and deal with their colleagues and team members. This style of management can also affect the company’s longevity. Management and Leadership Styles. Whilst autocratic and democratic styles of leadership were considered to be viable leadership options in the 1980s/1990s, today’s business environment demands a more aspirational, visionary approach to leadership driven by dynamism and the rising power of employees. Autocratic management styles. 1. Together they generate and evaluate alternatives and attempt to reach agreement (consensus) on the solution. While the leader maintains control of the decision-making process and has the final say, workers are given a voice in the decision-making process. The term is called situational leadership. As previously stated, the directive style is least effective in most situations. It refers to using different leadership styles, based on the people and project work he or she is dealing with. Despite this, higher competence is associated with better success. A project manager needs to use multiple leadership approaches throughout the life cycle of a project. 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