Democratic leadership is a type of leadership style that is very common in the business world. It is one of the most effective styles of leadership and seemed to be common among the subordinates. This leadership style is also known as participative leadership and it depends on the mutual respect including the active participation of everyone with a common goal.
The post has conducted a study on the definition of demographic leadership with the principles and examples.
What is Democratic Leadership?
It is a type of leadership style in which the group members participate evenly in the decision-making process. It is applicable to any kind of organization, from private businesses to schools and the government as well. Each individual gets an opportunity to discuss and exchange their ideas freely.
Although, this leadership style focuses on equality and viewpoints, the group leader is present to provide guidance and encouragement. The main responsibility of a group leader is to decide the group members and the people who will contribute to decision-making. Researchers have found that democratic leadership is one of the most successful types which lead to a more productive output, which in turn provide better contributions in discussion with an enhanced amount of team spirit.
Principles of Democratic Leadership
There are eight basic principles of Democratic Leadership in order to run any organization successfully. The points are mentioned below with brief explanations:-
Knows to use the expertise of the team: The leaders of this leadership style should bear in mind that they do not possess the entire knowledge in order to run an organization. Involving others such as the team members, CEOs, directors etc. will help to take decisions within a short period of time. It is important to include everyone as all of them will be expert in their own fields and therefore it will be beneficial to make use of these capabilities for the leader and the organization for a longer time span.
Being a good facilitator: Any leader in a democratic leadership must have the capabilities of how to handle conversations that involve free discussions. They should allocate the time limit for each individual for presenting their viewpoints and opinions. The leader should also train the team members on how to take turns and listen attentively to each other, which will enhance the communication skills among the members. This will allow in building mutual trust and respect for each other in an organization.
Being respectful with an open mind: The leaders should be able to accept new ideas of their team members with an open mind. There may be some ideas that the leader may not agree with, but should be considered as it may provide new ideas in order to improve the performance of an organization. The leaders can also take the new ideas and evaluate them in their own way. They should also keep in mind that each individual who works for the organization comes from different backgrounds and may have different perspectives, and they should be appreciated and treated with proper respect for their efforts.
The capacity to understand and prioritize among ideas and information: A democratic leader should be able to identify the useful information and the ideas that are brought forth in a discussion. There will be a combination of both extraordinary and inappropriate ideas. The democratic leader should be proficient enough to go through the relevant ideas and skip the ideas that are not suitable for the organization.
No need for autocratic decision-making: A democratic leader should make sure that the team members are motivated enough in order to participate in free discussions, although some members may not feel the urge to participate. This kind of leadership is people-oriented rather than task-oriented as it depends on the participation and the contribution of the employees rather than the tasks they perform in an organization.
An Emphasis on Morality and Values: All the democratic leaders believe in ethics and moral value systems. They feel that everyone who are working in an organization have the right to be heard and generate the open discussions for the betterment of the group members. This helps to establish mutual respect and moral values amongst each other in an organization.
Competence: A democratic leader has to be proficient and comprehensible when they are flooded with different kinds of ideas from their employees. They also need to keep their weight and administer the conversations and the viewpoints of the employees. They should have the abilities to understand the importance of the ideas and analyze them according to the need for running the organization.
Creativity: A democratic leader encourages and inspires the team members of their organization to come up with an example by providing them with one of their own. Creativity occurs in a smooth manner in situations where expressing one’s own thinking happens freely. Creativity can also be rewarded by gratifying creative thinking. In this way, the team members will feel motivated and their importance of the efforts they are applying for an organization.
Democratic Leadership Example
The core responsibility of a democratic leader is to have self-confidence on themselves and their team members. For instance, the leader should be competent enough to facilitate the ideas on an upcoming project and evaluate them. The leaders should also select the most reliable team members who can contribute effectively by discussing their viewpoints on the project. Although this leadership style is meant to work in collaboration and coordination, it is the role of a democratic leader to recruit the final responsibility for the group members’ resolution.
By following this leadership style, it leads to a positive, comprehensive and inter-professional work environment. Moreover, a good democratic leader can also bring out the creativity of the team members by allowing them to express their opinions regarding the type of ideas they would like to apply for the designs or the looks of the project. This style may take a lot of time but often produces an effective output for any organizations for a longer period.
Some of the Popular Democratic Leaders
James Parker-Southwest Airlines: He possessed the quality of observing the needs of his employees instead of thinking about his own benefits. One such example was the incident after the 9/11 attacks, in which the employees of the airlines took their customers out to enjoy activities such as bowling and watching movies in order to pass their time. While the other airlines decreased their staffs, Southwest started profit-sharing among themselves.
Carl Stokes: Stokes was the first African American mayor in which he worked hard to improve the diminishing economy of Cleveland and increase the opportunities for people in need. He had the quality of uniting both the white and the black Americans, although this was interrupted by a shoot-out in between black militants and police officers.
Democratic Leadership Advantages and Disadvantages:
Advantages
- This leadership style permits the leaders to work with their own team members, and discuss their problems by opening the lines of communication. It also promotes innovation, which makes it possible to find the answers to complex problems.
- When the team members feel that they have fair roles in their teams, they feel empowered in an organization. They also develop a sense of responsibility and perceive that they are an important part of an organization.
Disadvantages
- There might be a creation of negativity if the focus is only given to an individual person of a team. If the idea of a member is evaluated consistently, the other members will feel less important and stop participating in the discussion and express opinions.
- The leaders of this leadership style may face danger if they rely on their team members for their final call. The leader may have to take decisions occasionally on behalf of the team members due to time constraints.
Democratic Leadership FAQs
The Role of a Democratic Leader: A democratic leader has to be capable to get involved in decision-making process. They should also be able to have control on the group discussions and activities. The leaders highlight the group participation and their ideas being put forward for any types of critical problems. They should also be efficient to analyze in between the relevant and irrelevant ideas.
A Good Example of a Democratic Leader: Dwight D. Eisenhower was a great democratic leader as he used his strategies in order to solve military and democratic issues of United States of America. He possessed the quality of his interest on involving others during decision-making and took expert opinions on different matters.
The Bottom Line
The study talked about the democratic leadership definition and principles with examples. To tell a few words more, the democratic leadership can be beneficial when used as a proper instrument for participation, creativity, revolution and authorization while keeping away from giving excess importance on the agreement which may result in loss of time and continual compromising.
Read More: Different Leadership Styles and Servant Leadership Definition
Referenceshttps://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-democratic-leadership-2795315
https://www.leadershipahoy.com/democratic-leadership-what-is-it-pros-cons-examples/
https://status.net/articles/democratic-leadership-participative-leadership/
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/democratic-leadership
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidcarlin/2019/10/18/democratic-authoritarian-laissez-faire-what-type-of-leader-are-you/?sh=6712045c2a6b
https://futureofworking.com/5-famous-participative-leaders/
https://www.britannica.com/list/10-democrats-who-made-history
https://brandongaille.com/19-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-democratic-leadership-style/
https://www.regent.edu/journal/international-journal-of-leadership-studies/democratic-leadership-style-pdf/
https://www.cleverism.com/democratic-leadership-guide/
https://www.cleverism.com/democratic-leadership-guide/
Tamanna is working as a content writer at The Strategy Watch. She has recently completed her graduation from a reputed university in Bangladesh. Tamanna was immensely interested in knowing about leadership and has written about different kinds of leadership till now. She has gathered a vast amount of knowledge regarding the topic and is looking forward to work on more leadership related topics in future. Moreover, she is intended to dive deep into the different sectors of the business world and explore them.