Question

Explain these nursing leaderships styles: Autocratic

Democratic

Laissez-Faire

Answer 1

LEADERSHIP STYLE

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is the process of influcing the thoughts and actions of other people to attain the desired objectives.

LANSDALE ,defined leadership as the ability to influence other people.

TYPES OF LEADERSHIP

AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP

It is characterized by insistence on obedience to authority.The leader assumes complete control over the decisions and activities of the group.

There are two types of autocratic leaderships

*Strict autocratic:A strict autocrat is one who relies on negative influences and gives order that must be obeyed by the subordinates without questions.

*Benevolent autocrat :A benevolent autocrat is one who uses a positive motivation style.He disperses reward to his group. This type is effective in getting higher productivity and in developing good human relationships.

Merits of autocratic Leadership

1.Can increase quality of work,save time,and get fast results, especially inemergency or crisis.

2.The paternalistic form of this style of leadership works well with employees who feel insecure with freedom and even minor decision making requirements,have low tolerance for ambiguity and flourish under clear, detailed and acievable instructions.

Demerits od Autocratic Leadership

1. The autocratic manager is alone in decision making process.he or she get little or no information   fromemployee.This is dangerous particularly in todays enviornment of technologicaland organizational complexity.

2.These days people dislikes autocratic rulewhich exclude them frominvoivement and result them to machine like cogs  witout human dignity or importance.Their resentment is shown by low marale,low productivity and massive resistance.

DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP

This is known asparticipative or person -oriented leadership,the whole team is involved and accept responsibilities for setting and acheiving desired goal,

Merits of Democratic leadership.

1. The whole people get involved and heil in formulating a decision,they support it and work hard to make it work, because it is theire idea.

2.The leaders regularly gets the benefits of the best ideas,suggessions,information,talent and operating experience of his people.

3.The style of leadership allows and encourage people to develop ,grow and rise in the organization.

4 It reduce resistence to change and increase the acceptance of management ideas.

5. People are highly motivated, as theire ideas and suggessions are considered for decision making.

6.Increase employee productivity.

7.It seeks to develop a self -deciplining and self-regulating mechanism.

Demerits of democratic leadership.

1.Participation of each member may takeenormous amount of time,and if not excercised properly,may degenerate into a complete loses of the leader's control.

2. This style can be used by some leaders as a way of avoiding responsibility.

LAISSEZ-FAIRE LEADERSHIP

This is the type of leadership ,the leader has absolutely no control.

Characteristics of laissez -faire leadership.

1. This leadership encourages independent activity by group members.

2.Group members are free to set theire own goals and determine theire own activites

3.This style may choose by the leader or it may evoive because;

• The leader is too week to exert any influence on the group.
• He attemot to please everyone to feel good
• He fails to function as an leader.

4.This leadership style is effective in highly motivated professional groups.

5.This style is not useful in a highly structured health care delivery system or any institution.

REFERENCE-TEXT BOOK OF MANAGEMENT OF NURSING SERVICE AND EDUCATION,I.CLEMENT,2nd EDITION,PAGE NO;332-337.