Question

Would you prefer to work for a leader with an autocratic, democratic, or laissez-faire style? Are there any conditions where autocratic leadership might be preferable and more efficient? Are there instances where laissez-faire leadership might be the appropriate style? Provide examples where appropriate.

Answer 1

I would rather prefer to be a democratic leader in my leadership style. But yes, there could be certainly few conditions where autocratic might be preferable and more efficient. In the modern era, strictly adapting a particular leadership style shall not be enough. Autocratic leadership works when the decision-making process is crucial and lacks time for implementation. For example, I worked in a group with diverse members. There was a call for Organizational change. However, our group being culturally diverse as well, we experienced various conflicts initially. Here, in order to bring about an innovative change in an activity and to achieve the goals, the most effective leader was that of Autocratic leader. Actually, this leader was especially appointed at the time when such conflicts were at peak. Democratic leader, earlier to the Autocratic one, could simply not help us arrive at a consensus. Here is when the Autocratic leader worked the best for us. Autocracy helped in reaping results though in long-term, it was not enduring in nature. Fear and threat got the activities accomplished by our Team effectively however, the autocratic leader was not well-regarded to owing to the approach but still the leadership style worked. Continuing with the same example, prior to the Autocratic leadership, the earlier model of Leadership was that of Laissez Faire style. Under this leadership style, the leadership would involve the subordinates in the decision-making process. Although the overall responsibility would still rest upon me, the delegation of authority would still form a part of the leadership style. Communication could flow, both upwards and downwards. But owing to the group diversification, this approach failed however, had the group been on the same page, it would had been absolutely a welcoming idea to have a Laissez-Faire style leader to establish a sense of leniency yet responsibility upon the employees.