What is your primary leadership style? (Part 4 of 6)

Democratic/Participative Leadership

We’re back with the fourth installment of the “What is Your Primary Leadership Style?” series. In the previous installments, we discussed:

• affiliative leadership 

• autocratic/authoritarian leadership

• charismatic leadership

This week, our focus shifts to democratic or participative leadership.

Description: Democratic leaders are open-minded, eager to surround themselves with people with different viewpoints who can challenge their perspective. Not concerned with always being “right,” they regularly seek feedback from their team members, whom they view as equals. Creating a safe environment where employees can speak up in team meetings and share their ideas and thoughts is important to democratic leaders. Within these safe spaces, they foster opportunities for creativity, collaboration, and brainstorming.

Unlike an autocratic leadership style where power is vested exclusively in one leader, democratic leaders are not interested in having all the power. Instead, they empower the people around them and seek ways to support their teams. Although democratic leaders delegate tasks and trust their team members to take charge, they do retain formal authority and responsibility to make decisions that align with the best interests of the team, client, and organization. Finally, these leaders are known for their fairness and emphasis on transparency, sharing information, and maintaining an open-door policy.

Advantages: Leaders with a democratic leadership style create a sense of belonging within their teams by fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture where everyone feels heard. Their team members feel trusted and valued. It comes as no surprise that engagement on teams led with democratic leaders is typically extremely high. Democratic leaders demonstrate their genuine interest in developing the skills of their team members by giving them additional responsibility. This challenges them to use their initiative and creativity to make decisions and find solutions. All these factors contribute to greater employee job satisfaction, high productivity, increased retention, and organizational success.

Disadvantages: The democratic leader’s natural desire to solicit different perspectives can slow down or overly complicate the decision-making process. This leadership style is not well suited to crisis situations where problems require immediate attention and decisions need to be made quickly. As a multitude of ideas are shared and discussed, some team members may feel devalued if their idea is not adequately considered or ultimately chosen. Further, not everyone’s input should be weighted the same, particularly if they lack the experience or expertise to make the right decision.

Examples: A few well-known figures who have exhibited characteristics of democratic or participative leaders include Lyndon B. Johnson, Dwight Eisenhower, Tim Cook, Muhtar Kent, and Larry Page.

Check back next week for Part 5 of this series where we’ll explore laissez-faire leadership.

Sources: Characteristics of the Democratic Leadership Style, Democratic Leadership Style: How to Effectively Use It at Work, The Niagara Institute Leadership Styles Handbook

---

4N Learning Consultants provides comprehensive Learning & Development services. As your trusted instructional design partner, we will work closely with your team to provide original content for your sessions. We facilitate interactive in-person and virtual learning experiences for groups of all sizes, focusing on leadership development, talent management, and power (soft) skills. Use our end-to-end strategy consultation services for guidance on everything from alignment with strategic priorities to training program design, launch, and implementation. Finally, use our training program evaluation services to receive a detailed analysis of its strengths and opportunities and a blueprint with specific recommendations to help close gaps in employee performance. Contact us to schedule a free consultation today.