What is your primary leadership style? (Part 2 of 6)

Autocratic/Authoritarian Leadership

We’re back with the second installment of the “What is Your Primary Leadership Style?” series. Last week, we discussed affiliative leadership.

This week, our focus shifts to autocratic or authoritarian leadership. Used interchangeably, you may have heard one or both terms as part of the 24-hour news cycle and prevailing political discourse. We’ll leave those discussions to the commentators, pundits, and elected officials. Instead, we’ll provide you with general background on this leadership style.

Description: The hallmark of autocratic leadership is the leader’s ultimate control and their employees’ obedience and acquiescence. Autocratic leaders use their formal authority to accomplish tasks in their desired way. These leaders make decisions on their own, largely independent of input from others. Although less common than other leadership styles, autocratic leadership can be particularly effective to ensure quality and productivity among inexperienced or unengaged teams.

Advantages: The autocratic leader’s lack of consideration of others’ perspectives expedites the decision-making process. While a negative at first blush, this approach eliminates the often long, drawn-out process of seeking feedback, securing multiple approvals, and reaching a consensus. This leadership style fosters an environment of certainty for employees. Employees know what is expected of them and they know exactly how to execute on their assigned work. Further, there’s less confusion among the team members. All communications and decisions are funneled through one leader, lessening the perils associated with mixed messaging.

Disadvantages: Unlike affiliative leaders who have a people-first orientation, the more dictatorial style of autocratic leaders can negatively impact the feelings of psychological safety of their employees and colleagues. In addition, the autocratic leader’s’ “my way or no way” approach tends to stifle employee creativity. Employees may hesitate to challenge the status quo or suggest novel ideas when the environment created by their leader engenders fear or defensive silence. Finally, an autocratic leader’s innate unwillingness to delegate tasks or relinquish control can lead to their own increased stress and burnout, which adversely impacts their ability to effectively lead.

Examples: A few well-known figures who have exhibited characteristics of autocratic leaders include Henry Ford, Travis Kalanick, Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin, and Margaret Thatcher.

Note: We inadvertently omitted examples of affiliative leaders in the previous post. Here you go: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Winston Churchill, the 14th Dalai Lama, Joe Torre, and Sam Walton.

Check back next week for Part 3 of this series, where we’ll explore charismatic leadership.

Source: The Niagara Institute Leadership Styles Handbook

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