Apparently, this style is normally used when leaders tell their employees or followers what the leaders want to be done and how they want it to be accomplished, without getting any advices or comments from their followers which sometimes could probably be helpful. These leaders usually say, “I want you all to. . . “
Some of the appropriate conditions when leaders use this style are when they have already gained all related and necessary information to solve the problem, you are in short on time, and your followers or workers are well motivated.
However, there are some people that tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, shouting, direct instructing, for using demeaning language, and for leading by threats and abusing their power. These people consider that this is not the authoritarian style; rather it is an abusive, unprofessional style which is commonly called bossing people around. The leaders in this situation act as bosses and it has absolutely no place in a leader’s repertoire.
In this modern era, authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions; some moments that require direct instruction to accomplish or cover a problem. Hence, if you still have plenty of time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your followers or employees, then you are not supposed to use this style. Other styles will apparently be suitable for you, and will be explained in another post.
Archive for the ‘Leadership’ category
Leadership Style (1): Authoritarian (autocratic)
August 25th, 2009Leadership Style
August 23rd, 2009In general, all human beings are meant to be leader—either for the society, group or organization, family or even for him himself. The way we lead is apparently different; each of us has our own style in practicing leadership. Leadership style is the behavioral manner and way of approach of providing information, direction, plan implements, and other people motivation.
It has been a long time after some famous researchers identified different styles of leadership. At that time, the study was very influential and took very desperate efforts. A lot of trials on supervising selected people expressing the way they lead others did not reach the goal of the research. There were too many differences and unpredicted results and process (even in the middle of the process) that drew the research to fail and almost caused all researchers desperate. 
Then in several months, other systems and methods were applied to continue monitoring people characters in expressing the way of leadership. This time these researchers did not use selected people and special room for the analysis; it was done more outside in the public places with real leaders and certain people on the way of how they lead others. This time the procedure was carried out without being noticed by the people or leaders as the subjects. And the result was extremely excellent; these leaders performed so naturally without being forced or playing a role.
And at the end, from these all tiring processes and desperate efforts, there established three main leadership styles. The three major leadership styles are (1973):
Authoritarian or autocratic
Participative or democratic
Delegative or Free Reign
Even though good leaders could use all of these three styles in their practice, there must be one of them gets to be dominant; whilst the other styles don’t tend to work well.