DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP
- Ideas move freely and are open to everyone both the leader and the subordinates
- All the subordinates are given a chance to present their ideas to the other workers and the leader
- The leader is responsible for encouraging conversation and to start a flow of ideas and then the leader makes an informed decision at the end after hearing the ideas of all the subordinates
- Leader gathers all the information and ideas from the subordinates and evaluates the information and ideas in order to make the right decision
- The leader is also responsible for communicating the decision back to the subordinates in order to tell them what decision has been taken.
Areas Utilizing Democratic Leadership:
Creative Groups: Creative ideas need to flow in order for the leader and the subordinates to come up with new concepts and design
Consulting: When exploring a solution to a problem, the purpose is to explore the possibilities, which requires discussion between the subordinates and the leader in order to discuss all the possible solutions and choose the best solution to the problem.
Much of the Service Industry: New ideas and concepts allow to companies to deal and serve the changing demands of customers
Advantages of Democratic Leadership:
- Active participation of others means higher productivity and satisfaction
- Employees have higher self esteem because importance is given to their ideas
- Employees are more committed to change as they are a part of it
- Higher employment morale
- Communication gap is reduced between the leader and the employees
- Positive work environment is created
Disadvantages of Democratic Leadership:
- Ideas might be taken in from the employees but not implemented
- Decision making process is very time consuming as the ideas of every employee is considered
- It is believed that individuals want to fuse their personal goals with organizational goals which is not always valid
- Some employees might feel that they are being manipulated
- Employees might feel alienated if their ideas are not considered