Leadership style is the various methods that a leader uses to direct, implement and execute
plans, and motivate people. There are various leadership styles used in different fields of
politics and business. They include; authoritarian, participative, delegative, transactional, and
transformational leadership among many others. Some of these leadership styles have some
similarities as well as differences; for example, this paper discusses authoritarian and
participative leadership.
SIMILARITIES
In both authoritarian and participative leadership, the leader makes the final decision. In
authoritarian leadership, a powerful and knowledgeable leader is chosen who can inflict
expectations and determine the outcomes. In participative leadership, the leader listens to the
ideas of the teammates but eventually decides which idea is the best to be implemented and
executed. Apart from leaders giving the final decision, the creativity of the leader is greatly
borrowed. A leader’s creativity is based on their knowledge, beliefs, and understanding.
DIFFERENCES
As written by ZYLFIJAJ et al. (4-5) Authoritarian leaders are referred to as controllers, they
give guidelines to their followers on what to do. On the other hand, participative leaders
listen to their subjects’ opinions and consider them to make effective decisions. Authoritarian
leadership is more like dictatorship leadership where the leaders are not questioned about the
decisions they make. However, participative leadership is more like democratic where leaders
know their subjects’ skills, abilities, and experiences. Leaders using a participative leadership
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style allow their followers to make their own decisions thus motivating them. The art of
motivation is absent in authoritarian government (Ganzemiller 102-104).
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Works Cited
Ganzemiller, Kerstin, et al. "JOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP IN ORGANIZATIONS." (2021).
ZYLFIJAJ, KUJTIM, LURA REXHEPI, and ARTA KOKA GRUBI. "Authoritarian
Leadership VS. Participative Leadership in Organizations." Studiorum University di
Bologna (2014).