Authoritarian leadership

From CEOpedia | Management online

Authoritarian leadership is any situation in which the leader retains as much power and authority as possible. Authoritarian leaders, also known as coercive or authoritarian leaders, tend to retain all decision-making power and make decisions for themselves about policies, procedures, responsibilities, structures, rewards, and punishments. In this management style, leaders make decisions with little or no participation from the team members. The intention behind most authoritarian leaders is to maintain control, and they usually demand absolute obedience; anyone who disobeys may face some form of punishment. Additionally, they are more likely to use a range of manipulative behaviors, tactics, and even intimidation to try to ensure that their wishes are met.

Not each boss is appropriate to be an authoritarian leader. Since the superior needs to make all the decisions alone, he/she must have the necessary degree of self-confidence in addition to outstanding professional competence. Hesitancy and self-doubt are out of place. Certainly, a number of the desired traits may be found out withinside the route of the expert years. However, an authoritarian personal trait has to be already present.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Authoritarian Leadership

One of the consequences of authoritarian leadership is an increase in employee stress levels, especially when working in a system that does not tolerate mistakes. Numerous studies have shown that authoritarian leaders tend to be emotionally distant and often with a lack empathy for others. They are task-oriented rather than people-oriented. It is also usual that this kind of leadership leaves the group feeling like they aren’t trusted with decisions or important tasks. Because of that discourages creativity and out-of-box thinking (Guo, Decoster, Babola 2018, p. 221).

Nevertheless, several studies have identified specific conditions under which authoritarian leadership styles can positively affect workgroup performance. There are some workplaces where this type of leadership is beneficial, for example in the military field or in an emergency hospital room, where decisions need to be made urgently and efficiently, without consulting with a large group of people. Embracing this type of leadership prevents projects from being shelved due to a lack of organization and allows team members to focus on specific tasks without engaging in complex decision-making processes (Schuh, Zhang 2012, p. 633). Authoritarian leadership can also strengthen subordinates’ goal achievement. Employees must achieve their leaders’ high-performance standards; otherwise, they will be punished. These high-performance standards serve as signs of insufficient goal progress, which stimulates greater effort. When employees identified the gap between their performance and their leaders’ expectation, they will try to improve their competence by acquiring skills and knowledge to please the high standard imposed. Construction and manufacturing work can also benefit from the authoritarian management style. In these situations, each person must have an assigned task, a deadline, and rules to follow. Last but not least, authoritarian leadership can also be beneficial in situations where the leader is the most knowledgeable person in the organization.

How to improve authoritarian leadership

Besides this kind of situation being an authoritarian leader is not always the best, and because of that, some changes could be applied to create a better workplace.

  1. In the first place, it is crucial to establish trust. Without trust, leaders cannot motivate team members. Trust is built over time by sharing ideas and giving team members a chance to shine. The first step towards building trustworthy and collaborating workplaces is to drive open and honest communication in the workplace.
  2. Effective leaders also recognize and celebrate the achievements of others and give praise where it is due. These leaders take the time to listen to their team members and understand how they want to be recognized. Recognition should be timely and specific, recognizing the achievements, actions, or results of an entire team or individual.

Conclusion and future perspective

Despite all the negative aspects of authoritarian leadership, empirical evidence reveals a contradiction between organizational theory and practice. Even though this management style is formally considered ineffective, in practice it is widely used worldwide (Schuh, Zhang 2012, p. 635). Consequently, questions arise about the evolution of this leadership and its applications in the future. For sure in recorded history, there have been authoritarian leaders who have risen to power and influenced many people, like Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Kim Jong-un, and Vladimir Putin. These are for sure dictators; all dictators are autocratic leaders, but not all autocratic leaders are necessarily dictators. In the end, we can conclude that strong centralized control, distinctive of authoritarian leadership, can on one side help organizations meet their objectives This can be especially effective in work environments where there is little margin for error. On the other side, an inappropriate scenario would be instead a creative field of work, where people are encouraged to share their ideas and not forced to follow a pre-establish one.

Examples of Authoritarian leadership

  1. Military Leaders: Military leaders often use authoritarian leadership styles in order to ensure that orders are followed without question. Military leaders often have the power to punish those who do not comply with orders, and they are expected to take full responsibility for their decisions.
  2. CEOs and Business Executives: CEOs and business executives often employ authoritarian leadership styles in order to create a hierarchical structure and maintain control over the organization. This type of leadership style is often necessary in order to ensure that all employees are following the same set of rules and procedures.
  3. Political Leaders: Political leaders, such as presidents and prime ministers, often use authoritarian leadership styles to maintain control over their country. This type of leadership style is often necessary in order to ensure that citizens follow the laws and regulations of the country.
  4. Religious Leaders: Religious leaders, such as priests and imams, often use authoritarian leadership styles to maintain control over their congregation. This type of leadership style is often necessary in order to ensure that all members of the congregation are following the same set of beliefs and practices.

Other approaches related to Authoritarian leadership

  • Autocratic leadership, which is a leader-centered approach to decision-making that places absolute power in the hands of a single individual.
  • Bureaucratic leadership, which is a system of rules, regulations, and processes that are used to maintain order and control.
  • Laissez-faire leadership, which allows employees to work independently without direct guidance from the leader.
  • Transformational leadership, which focuses on motivating and inspiring employees to reach their full potential by providing visionary guidance and direction.
  • Visionary leadership, which is based on providing a clear vision of the future and inspiring employees to strive to achieve it.

In summary, other approaches related to Authoritarian leadership include Autocratic, Bureaucratic, Laissez-faire, Transformational, and Visionary leadership. These approaches focus on providing strong, decisive guidance and direction with little to no room for deviation.


Authoritarian leadership — recommended articles
Lewin, Lippitt and White - basic styles of management — Leadership models — Ability to work in a team — High power distance — Management styles — Laissez faire leadership — Unity of direction — Theory X and Y — Informal leader

References

Author: Laura Valenti

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