They know themselves very well and try to bring people together to achieve the organisational goals. When there are multiple levels of leadership within an organization, a command from the top becomes like a childhood game of Telephone. Employees, in turn, learn discipline and consistency from their leader. Rules are placed for employees to follow in an autocratic leadership style because there is a need to create consistency. Autocratic leaders dont deal with the hassle of multiple leadership levels. That is because there is one person and they are in charge of all arrangements. When the leaders are taking ownership for the quality of the completed work, there is no opportunity for team members to do so. Its main weakness is that it hinges heavily on the abilities and temperament of your employees. West Yorkshire, Authoritative leaders are most consistent in their approaches and systems. Unlike, group decision-making the autocratic leader does not have to decide with his followers. It can create negative emotions. However, this is not feasible for the majority of decisions taken by a business- indeed one of the criticisms of this style is that it can take longer to reach a decision. The main characteristics of autocratic leadership style are as follows: * Autocratic leaders make all the decisions and pass them down to the people under them for implementation. Autocratic leadership A leadership style in which leaders dictate without consultation of subordinates. Disadvantages: Although some managers adopt democratic leadership, it is just to please their subordinates but they do not follow the technique fully. If yes, then the best way to manage such teams is through autocratic leadership. It improves productivity. The autocratic leadership style should not be used when: Employees become tense, fearful, or resentful Employees expect to have their opinions heard Employees begin depending on their manager to make all their decisions There is low employee morale, high turnover and absenteeism 2.1.1 Advantages of Autocratic Style of Leadership Along with many advantages, the autocratic leadership style also has various disadvantages. Lets take a glimpse at who autocratic leaders are and what they do. Autocratic leaders have the opportunity to take full control, responsibility and stress and build and maintain a productive operation. Managers do not trust workers and simply give orders (one-way communication) that they expect to be obeyed. Definition and Pros/Cons, Demings 14 Points For Quality Management [Explained], What is Deming Management? The manager will however make the actual decisions (in the best interests of the workers) as they believe the staff still need direction and in this way it is still somewhat of an autocratic approach. Other relevant articles for you are: Advantages and disadvantages of digital marketing, Advantages and disadvantages of franchising. for the employees, too. Likewise, as an autocratic leader is not necessarily the same as being a fascist, there are people with certain personalities, who may indeed work well under this type of leadership style (Murphy, 2019). Definition, Features, Principles, and Cycle, What is TQM? If there isnt enough time to develop personal skills or learn something new, then autocratic leaders are still able to get the job done. In many ways, it could be described as, Do it my way or go hit the highway. Workers get the job done, or else they go find a different job. In a system of dependence, an autocratic leadership style creates a lack of trust between you and your workers. This leaves little room for miscommunication and messages getting lost in transit. There may be situations when leaders are less qualified than their subordinates. Management & Leadership Styles | Autocratic, Democratic - YouTube To be effective, the leader must be able to have proven competencies in their field, as they are responsible for making most of the decisions in the workplace. But, the results always lead to corporate success. One of the greatest advantages to working with an autocratic leader is that the employee always knows what's expected and what will happen if they fail to perform as expected. Do you know why? 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. Autocratic Leadership - Definition and Principles with Examples Over time, this makes employee morale begin to sink. An autocratic leader focuses less on collecting input from team members and tends to make executive decisions that others are expected to follow. The result is a more consistent and accurate output. Because of one-way communication and lack of recognition employees do not get the answers to the questions they deserve. This improves the speed of decisions because only one person is weighing the pros and cons of each choice, not a C-Suite. Only the leader will weigh the pros and cons of every option instead of the entire C-suite. - good style for meetings. Each level of management can inadvertently (or purposely) put their own spin on the communication come from the leadership. LS23 6AD Because this leadership creates a system of dependence. This style tends to decrease employee performance when additional duties are imposed on the employees without consultation. Autocracy Pros and Cons of Autocracy: Are There Reasons to Get a Grip? One of the benefits of autocratic leadership is that it can help an inexperienced team achieve goals that they wouldn't be able to do alone. Over time, however, this leadership style creates mistrust within the workplace. Autocratic leaders take the pressure off of their teams because they are fully responsible for the decisions that are made. When an autocratic leadership style is used in these situations, then the control the policies and procedures provide encourage a deeper commitment to safety. Some are collaborative and inspiring, while some are authoritative and controlling. Because of poor coordination, low job satisfaction, low motivation, etc. 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. Open lines of communication ensure that everyone on the team is working toward the same goal. Now that weve discussed several advantages of the autocratic leadership style, here come some disadvantages: One of the biggest disadvantages of exercising autocratic leadership is that it can result in low employee morale. Did you know that autocratic leadership is great when it comes to handling crises? What is the disadvantages of autocratic? - Heimduo The employees have clear and strict job descriptions and know what to do and what is expected of them. They can easily manage these issues because theyre the only ones who get to call the shots. The second involves a leader refusing to take responsibility for work they personally instructed a worker to complete. But, the results always lead to corporate success. And what are. Check out Harappas, Autocratic Leadership Advantages and Disadvantages. Autocratic leaders cant make trust a priority because they are forced to make the rules be the priority. People only thrive here is there is no investment in what they do. Advantages and Disadvantages of Autocratic Leadership Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Managers with this type of leadership style, keep a close eye on what is happening in their organisations. Attner, R. and Plunkett, W. (1994) Introduction to management, 5th edition, California: Wadsworth, Inc. Murphy, M. (2019) Does anyone actually like autocratic leaders? The democratic leadership style does solicit for opinions, perspectives, and experiences. Faster decision-making is the key to attaining organizational goals. Lets take a glimpse at who autocratic leaders are and what they do. 1. According to IPL.org, autocratic leadership is an extreme form of another kind of workplace leadership known as transactional leadership. Fewer layers of administration and lesser feedback to look into facilitates swift decision-making in the team. The employee doesnt have to worry about anything beyond performing their job duties properly, and for many employees, this is much less mentally taxing than an environment where they're expected to pitch ideas and weigh in on business strategies. They arent required to wait for the feedback from senior managers or consult with a leadership team. 1. The leader will need to create the system, with all the rules and procedures, in which the team uses to operate and reach goals. Autocratic style leads to frustration, low morale and conflict among subordinates. Here, in the autocratic organization, there are fewer levels which reduces the challenges of poor communication that might be caused because of too many levels. Autocratic leadership involves absolute, authoritarian control over a group of people. As such, in autocratic leadership, faster decisions can be made. 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. Here're some benefits of autocratic leadership: Ensures faster decision making In autocratic leadership, there're fewer levels of administration and hierarchy that you inform before implementing the decision. In autocratic organizations, there are clearly defined tasks, roles, rules, and deadlines to follow. It also creates hardships for the leader because they may get blamed for the actions of a worker when that worker was told to do something completely different. This leadership style can produce authoritative short-term results. There are many qualities that are needed to be a good leader or manager. Cons of autocratic leadership. Bureaucratic Leadership - Definition, Advantages and Disadvantages Autocratic leaders are like the captain of the ship. When an autocratic leader is consistent with their ethics and is determined to create a fair working environment, then there can be a lot of positives for workers in a company. 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. Answer (1 of 10): Before I begin, I also tried this type of leadership among newcomers in our Unit. Business, sports, politics, and many other fields have witnessed a great number of autocratic leaders throughout the history. Fewer layers of administration and lesser feedback to look into facilitates swift decision-making in the team. Did you ever tell him about your awesome weekend? The productivity levels may be higher, but with no say in the process, resentment will quickly build. Autocratic Leadership: 8 Advantages & 7 Disadvantages - BokasTutor Advantages of Autocratic Leadership Quick Decision Making. Autocratic leadership - Definition, Components, Advantage, Disadvantages. For long-term issues, the autocratic leader can direct traffic in specific ways with more efficiency than a C-Suite, creating solutions that can quickly move an organization out of a troublesome state. In this kind of leadership mostly leader makes new contacts with outside people. It increases the work burden for the leader. Autocratic Leadership. Therefore, they may not contribute to the team efforts as they should. 19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Democratic Leadership Style Autocratic Leadership: Definition, Examples, and Pros and Cons In some situations, this leadership . In . Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each leadership style The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Autocratic Leadership When there is an autocratic leadership established within an organization, there are fewer levels of administration that must be kept informed of each decision. The advantages and disadvantages of the autocratic leadership style show that it can be effective when an organization requires quick, accurate decisions from an experienced leader. It is a leadership style that can be applied in three different ways. - There is a clear division between the followers and the leaders. If team members are unfamiliar with the process or tasks, leaders are better off taking a more hands-on approach. You may also like reading Advantages and disadvantages of private limited company. When the leader is the only person in the organization who makes decisions and determines the companys strategy, they can easily feel overwhelmed. Boston House, PDF Advantages and disadvantages of autocratic leadership pdf 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. Autocratic leadership, characterized by this centralized style of leadership, is an important concept in business, economics and politics. Autocratic leader This leader is given the power to make decisions alone, having total authority. So, there are advantages of the autocratic leadership style for the employees, too. Inexperienced employees lack the ability to understand the outlined rules and regulations of the organization. They just want to come to work, do what theyre told, then go home at the end of the day with a paycheck. The correct leadership approach used at the right time will foster a long-term employeeleader relationship. When there is an autocratic leadership established within an organization, there are fewer levels of administration that must be kept informed of each decision. What Is Autocratic Leadership? - University of Phoenix 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. It also includes less feedback from the management levels. As such, here, every employee is abiding by strict discipline. 1. The retention rate can increase 4. Some are strict with their staff and like to be in complete control, whilst others are more relaxed and allow workers the freedom to run their own working lives (just like the different approaches you may see in teachers!). Their expertise and experience can solve short-term issues. - the leader respects other peoples opinions and feedback. And when it comes to long-term issues, autocratic leaders know how to direct traffic through the hierarchies. Degrades trust and morale: Autocratic leadership discourages input, which can make teams feel like their ideas are ignored and they're unable to contribute. Here are the pros and cons of autocracy: Pros of autocracy There are many benefits of autocracy, including: Increasing productivity: Autocracy can increase productivity, especially when subordinates don't have advanced skills or training yet. They can replicate results because they are given specific instructions to follow. Workers are less likely to stop their projects or ask for later deadlines because they receive timely decisions and communication from their leadership. For example: When quick decisions are needed in a company (e.g. SWOT Analysis of Kelloggs (Kellogg Company), https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2019/11/24/does-anyone-actually-like-autocratic-leaders-new-data-says-yes/?sh=bd0ef4e10de5, https://hbr.org/2002/10/the-leadership-journey.