. Bad leaders can put a company out of business. Although the autocratic leadership style is often viewed as being a directive relationship between the leader and the team member, there are two other varieties found with this style. To bring in information to the group members. Instead of there being a democratic process for teams, there are no group positions of leadership with the autocratic style. send our content editing team a message here, 11 Office Closed Due to Inclement Weather Messages, 50 Most Asked Nursing Interview Questions with Answers, 20 Best Answers to Why Do You Want to Leave Your Current Job, 10 Best Answers to Why Do You Want to Be a Manager, 11 Best Answers to What Does Leadership Mean to You Interview Question, 50 Most Asked Front Desk Interview Questions with Answers, 10 Best Ways to Answer Sell Me This Pen in an Interview, 10 Most Asked Integrity Interview Questions with Answers, 25 Most Asked Confidentiality Interview Questions with Answers, 50 Most Asked Phone Interview Questions with Answers, 10 Best Answers to What Are Your Interests and Hobbies. Find out more. - There is a clear division between the followers and the leaders. But, what is autocratic leadership? Did you know that autocratic leadership is great when it comes to handling crises? 2002-2023 Tutor2u Limited. Required fields are marked *. Inexperienced employees lack the ability to understand the outlined rules and regulations of the organization. Autocracy has many benefits as well as some drawbacks. Whatever approach is predominately used it will be vital to the success of the business. This approach has limitations (as highlighted by other motivational theorists such as Mayo and Herzberg) but it can be effective in certain situations. Decentralisation and Leadership Styles (AQA Paper 1 2019, Q20) Exam Support What is leadership? An autocratic leader is well-equipped to deal with a crisis situation. Inexperienced employees generally need a lot of hands-on guidance from their supervisors to learn their roles, learn how to perform their job duties effectively and learn how to work well within the organization. Increased autonomy 2. 1. The result is a more consistent and accurate output. 9. Therefore, they may not contribute to the team efforts as they should. Good leaders can produce great results. What leads to a successful working relationship is an ability of workers to have trust in their leaders, and vice-versa. The free reign approach can prove an effective type of leadership when the team has achieved identity and cohesion, resulting in motivated and resourceful team members. There are many qualities that are needed to be a good leader or manager. It allows for fast decisions to be made. Nevertheless, autocratic leadership is one of the least popular management styles and certainly not suitable for each organisation. The idea here is that with a centralised control, giving guidance and direction to employees is relatively easy. The autocratic leadership style is highly dependent upon the leader. Authoritative leaders are most consistent in their approaches and systems. That means a decision is made on the timetable of the leader and no one else. According to IPL.org, autocratic leadership is an extreme form of another kind of workplace leadership known as transactional leadership. It is one of the best advantages of autocratic leadership. If there is a short-term problem, the expertise of the leader can be used to create a solution. When there are multiple levels of leadership within an organization, a command from the top becomes like a childhood game of Telephone. And they are accountable for the outcomes. A military leader who cannot make executive decisions can cause a security breach during critical operations, and military personnel who do not receive clear, direct orders from their leaders can become confused and fail to act when necessary. Copyright 2017 2025. That consistency leads toward corporate success. Be able to think creatively to provide a vision for the company and solve problems Be calm under pressure and make clear decisions Possess excellent two-way communication skills Have the desire to achieve great things An autocratic. Many companies tend to turn to an autocratic leadership style when they need to create short-term results in an urgent way. Autocratic leader This leader is given the power to make decisions alone, having total authority. One of the primary reasons why the autocratic leadership style tends to fail is because it is fully dependent upon the skills and knowledge of the leader. Downsides of Autocratic Leadership While autocratic leadership can be beneficial at times, there are also many instances where this leadership style can be problematic. An autocratic leader is not wishy-washy or passive aggressive; an autocratic leader makes expectations and the consequences for not meeting them clear from the outset. People only thrive here is there is no investment in what they do. Decisions can be made faster with this leadership style. LS23 6AD Fewer layers of administration and lesser feedback to look into facilitates swift decision-making in the team. List of Advantages of Autocracy Government 1. Increased Work Burden Workers are forced to rely on the autocratic leader for all their feedback, instructions, and work duties. Inexperienced employees need a detailed layout and instructions to complete taskstraits an autocratic leader is known for. They can easily manage these issues because theyre the only ones who get to call the shots. Autocratic leadership always encourages one-way communication to eliminate this problem. There are some work environments which require a high level of control. Among all the recognized autocratic leadership strengths and weaknesses, perhaps one of the most prominent is that this leadership style can cause employees to resent their leader and even their organization. As only the leader makes decisions, the management may or may not provide feedback. Autocratic leadership involves absolute, authoritarian control over a group of people. Productivity levels can see increases with this leadership style. There are high levels of frustration often found in an autocratic environment, even if workers are inexperienced. One of the disadvantages of autocratic leadership is that it degrades the employees morale and motivation. They know themselves very well and try to bring people together to achieve the organisational goals. The employees need not wait for the thumbs up from seniors or ask for a deadline extension if they can get all the approvals and data on time. This leadership style makes it difficult to correct poor results. Motivation and reward for leaders: It provides strong motivation and reward for the leader. Dependent on the leader: Organizational success is entirely dependent on the leader and their ideas, which can endanger the stability of the organization. Likewise, this style is also very effective when astringent synchronisation of processes is essential to productivity. When the autocratic leadership style is used with an inexperienced team, the experience of the leader can replace the skill gap that is present. They use their personal experiences to form rules or regulations that translate into step-by-step instructions for workers to follow. Communication is the systematic process of passing information from one person to another. Motivation and reward for leaders Effective where a chain of command is crucial Autocratic leaders do not appreciate any inputs from their team members. The quality of a team, structure, or organization practicing autocratic leadership is dependent upon the ethics of the leader in charge. An autocratic leader focuses less on collecting input from team members and tends to make executive decisions that others are expected to follow. Your email address will not be published. Do you have a team of inexperienced employees? outline the advantages of this style, such as increased situational control, discipline over workers, short discussions, and group members knowing their roles and tasks. Workers are less likely to stop their projects or ask for later deadlines because they receive timely decisions and communication from their leadership. Autocratic leaders have imperious or commanding personalities. Management & Leadership Styles | Autocratic, Democratic, Paternalistic, Laissez- Faire and More Two Teachers 16K subscribers Subscribe 224 Share Save 27K views 3 years ago Business Studies Videos. What is Laissez-Faire Leadership? Degrades trust and morale: Autocratic leadership discourages input, which can make teams feel like their ideas are ignored and they're unable to contribute. In other styles, there is a risk that by the time employees receive the message, the entire original message could be lost or there could be multiple interpretations of the message that create confusion. Autocratic leadership refers to a form of leadership in which a leader takes choices without consulting others. Check out Harappas, Autocratic Leadership Advantages and Disadvantages. Provides a clear sense of direction Anyone who's worked on a class group project knows the value of having a leader. The biggest problem is, no one talks about innovation and out-of-the-box ideas in this leadership style. As autocratic leaders usually make decisions without consulting their team members, it may cause team members dislike towards the leadership. Many companies have been forced to completely reset their under-performing teams because the leadership in place formed the identity of everyone involved. There is no doubt that laissez-faire can bring significant disadvantages to an organisation - especially where conditions are not conducive to such a liberal style of management. Autocratic leaders ignore the skills of competent workers. 3. Advantages of charismatic leadership style. Every crisis or decision lies on their shoulders. Unfortunately, they might not appreciate the advice of their team members. and lack of staff initiative (2015). Key points of Advantages of autocratic leadership Highlights below: It allows for a fast decision to be made. As in an autocratic organization, a single leader is involved in decision-making, he makes decisions based on his own logic and judgment. Autocratic leadership Advantages And Disadvantages. That creates a positive impact on the work environment, which leads to more accurate work and consistent production. Autocratic leadership - Definition, Components, Advantage, Disadvantages. In . Often, autocratic leaders are referred to as micromanagers. 6. Strong sense of control and direction: Autocratic leaders provide clear direction and expectations for their team members, which can create a sense of order and stability. This can mean the only employees who remain working with the company are unmotivated and even lazy individuals. - They are in complete . Everything rests with the leader. This is one of the autocratic leader strengths and weaknesses that is highly dependent on the workplace environment. The cadets were fresh and were eager to learn, my Commanding Officer told me to do the "traditional" way of welcoming the cadets, this in fact is very beneficial to me and us because it instill dis. Only the leader will weigh the pros and cons of every option instead of the entire C-suite. Leaders must assume that their workers are not performing as they should, which requires their direct supervision to ensure results happen. That means workers tend to not take ownership of the work they do because there is no incentive to do so. In most autocratic leadership structures, the leader is responsible for every action of the team. Because this leadership creates a system of dependence. For example: When quick decisions are needed in a company (e.g. Pros of Autocracy The following sections below demonstrate. Autocratic leaders rely on specific rules, policies, and procedures to govern all processes within the workplace. That means leaders using this style tend to be busier than other leaders. As such, here, every employee is abiding by strict discipline. They must make every decision for the team. Each person involved in autocratic organizations knows their position and role in achieving the desired target. If that leader does not create a fair working environment, then it is difficult for any employees to change that environment. Whether this style makes a good leader has been a longstanding debate. By providing clear instructions, oversight, and guidance, autocrats can speed up turnaround times and improve quality standards. But this might not be possible with an autocratic leadership style. Faster decision-making and quick information-sharing can help boost the teams productivity. Here are the top advantages of autocratic leadership: Faster Decision-making This leadership style enables quick decision-making, which is one of the most significant benefits of autocratic leadership. When the leader is the only person in the organization who makes decisions and determines the companys strategy, they can easily feel overwhelmed. That means workers who are highly skilled or motivated begin to lose their incentives to stay active under this leadership structure. can swiftly take the team out of trouble. It improves overall communication. Autocratic leadership, also known as authoritarian leadership, is a style of leadership characterized by direct, top-down communication and commands. From Disabled and $500k in Debt to a Pro Blogger with 5 Million Monthly Visitors, 11 Autocratic Leadership Advantages and Disadvantages, Leaders Eat Last Speed Summary: 15 Core Principles, Extreme Ownership Speed Summary (3 Minutes) w/ PDF, Good to Great Speed Summary: 15 Core Principles of, "From Disabled and $500k in Debt to a Pro Blogger with 5 Million Monthly Visitors. It leads to quick decision-making, control over the processes and the operations of a company, etc. Fewer layers of administration and lesser feedback to look into facilitates swift decision-making in the team. It encourages a higher churn rate. new data says yes, available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2019/11/24/does-anyone-actually-like-autocratic-leaders-new-data-says-yes/?sh=bd0ef4e10de5 (accessed 06 April 2021), Schaeffer, L. (2002) The leadership journey, available at: https://hbr.org/2002/10/the-leadership-journey (accessed 06 April 2021), St Thomas University (2018) What is Autocratic Leadership? You must have seen people with varied working styles, ways of talking, and traits. One of the other notable cons of the autocratic leadership style is that there is a poor relationship between the leader and followers. All the standard operating procedures are also followed. And they are accountable for the outcomes. Within autocratic structures, there may not be anyone who has the authority to make a rogue leader accountable to the company to stop their behavior. In this article, we outline some essential autocratic leadership pros and cons. He has the sole authority to command, direct, and instruct all the team members. Advantages of autocratic leadership style Many leaders use autocratic leadership style to establish centralised control in exercising the decision-making authority and use that control to accomplish the desired results. Both issues decrease worker morale and put blame on someone, even though the issue may not be their fault. And, you know discipline is the key to achieving something. Business, sports, politics, and many other fields have witnessed a great number of autocratic leaders throughout the history. It can also mean workers personal needs are neglected, causing them to feel like their supervisor does not care about them as individuals. One of the hallmarks of autocratic leadership is that the leader comes to his decisions quickly. They just want to come to work, do what theyre told, then go home at the end of the day with a paycheck. The leader will need to create the system, with all the rules and procedures, in which the team uses to operate and reach goals. Advantages Autocratic style of leadership is very effective in times of emergency or stress since people will always work from orders or commands of their leaders. Laissez-Faire. Because of the strict method in which employees are micromanaged, there is no room for flexibility within the work environment.