Democratic Leadership: 3 Benefits of Democratic Leadership

Democratic leadership, also known as participative leadership, is a shared style of leadership that invites collaboration in problem-solving to increase employee engagement and distribute power more evenly. Democratic leadership will usually still have some hierarchy, but managers and subordinates will participate in a free flow of ideas, facilitating teamwork, compromise, and diverse perspectives more easily. Characteristics of democratic leadership include servant leadership (an approach where the leader focuses on serving employees and customers), a democratic approach to decision-making processes, and employee empowerment.

This type of leadership style comes with several unique advantages and can lead to the following benefits:

1. 1. A diverse set of ideas: Effective democratic leadership invites collaboration from people with different viewpoints, providing the raw materials for more well-rounded strategies and solutions. (However, team leaders generally make the final decision.)
2. 2. Better respect for leaders: Humility, team building, and openness are critical democratic leadership qualities that may garner tremendous respect from colleagues and subordinates. This type of leadership allows employees to hold their leaders accountable.
3. 3. Enhance team knowledge: Democratic leadership works best when peers share information, and their varied perspectives and backgrounds enable more dynamic ideas and enhanced team knowledge.
4. 4. Increase employee retention: Shared leadership styles make employees feel more valued and engaged, boosting job satisfaction. Companies with shared leadership styles can save money by not dealing with high turnover rates.

The cons of democratic leadership may include the following:

1. 1. Difficulty during crises: One of the downsides of democratic leadership is that it can be challenging to enact during an emergency. It can be difficult to engage in democratic leadership when problems need immediate attention. Multiple voices vying for one solution in such stressful times can be challenging.
2. 2. Potential dissatisfaction: Dissatisfaction is one of the more common disadvantages of democratic leadership. With each employee weighing in on an issue, some will likely not have their idea selected.
3. 3. Slow decision-making processes: Great leaders know taking in multiple perspectives may lead to a more satisfactory final solution, but it will take more time and can slow operations.

Democratic leaders work to build a positive company culture. To engage in democratic leadership, try the following:

• Accept new ideas. Democratic leaders are not afraid to ask questions, learn new topics, and accept fresh ideas from team members. This creates a great workplace where people feel inclined to share because their thoughts will be welcome and may influence strategy.
  
• Distribute process surveys. Surveys, questionnaires, and feedback reports are ways for employees to voice their opinions and have their thoughts turned into action.
• Embrace diversity. Varied opinions, perspectives, and life experiences are the bedrock of democratic leadership, and fostering an environment where everyone feels valued and respected is an integral part of this type of leadership.
• Engage employees. Each employee will have their strengths, and good leaders will draw these out to engage their staff and utilize their expertise to serve the rest of the team.
• Instill teamwork. In democratic leadership, it is important to honor all voices and ideas, which is more complex than other leadership styles but yields more substantial results. A significant part of this success is teamwork, which managers can enact through leading by example, working alongside their peers, and encouraging group brainstorming.
• Lead with fairness. Treat all employees equally, regardless of status or seniority, and consider their views reasonably and carefully.

Get the MasterClass Annual Membership for exclusive access to video lessons taught by business luminaries, including Geno Auriemma, Robin Roberts, Chris Voss, Sara Blakely, Daniel Pink, Bob Iger, Howard Schultz, Anna Wintour, and more.