Participative Leadership: 4 Types of Participative Leadership

Participative leadership is a management style in which managers invite their whole team into most decision-making processes. All team members are given information regarding company decisions and are able to give their input before a final decision is made. Participative leadership styles can be more time-consuming than other leadership styles, but they can also lead to higher job satisfaction, employee retention, and greater teamwork in the workplace.

Some leaders prefer to take a laissez-faire approach and entrust their employees with all of the decision-making power. Others take an authoritarian approach in which they hand down decisions from the top. Participative leaders find a middle ground between these two extremes. Though there are varying degrees of participative leadership, generally speaking, the leaders act as facilitators. The leader provides group members with information, encourages discussion, and gathers input to make a decision.

Participative leadership is an umbrella term that encompasses several different leadership and decision-making styles.

1. 1. Consensus decision-making: This form of leadership gives employees the ultimate ability to determine the outcome of a decision. A team leader might act as a facilitator, but each employee votes for their preferred course of action. Nothing happens until the team is able to reach a consensus.
2. 2. Collective leadership: This kind of leadership involves a joint-decision-making process in which the entire team is equally responsible for the process and outcome.
3. 3. Democratic leadership: The democratic approach involves receiving input from the whole team regarding high-level decisions, but upper management has the final say. A democratic leader would be expected to explain their reasoning for the end decision.
4. 4. Autocratic leadership: With the autocratic leadership style, the leader or manager welcomes input from employees but maintains all of the decision-making power. An autocratic leader would not be expected to explain their reasoning for the end decision.

Although the terms “participative leadership” and “democratic leadership” are often used interchangeably, democratic leadership is a type of leadership structure that falls under the umbrella of participative leadership. Characteristics of democratic leadership include servant leadership (an approach where the leader focuses on serving employees and customers), a democratic process of decision-making, and employee empowerment. While the democratic leadership style still grants those in upper management the final say, one of the biggest advantages of democratic leadership is that those in power are held to account by their employees.

There are several notable benefits that make participative leadership an effective leadership style.

1. 1. Increased job satisfaction: Empowering employees to work as a team can be a boon to employee morale. When employees feel that they can influence the final say, they're more likely to feel appreciated and valued.
2. 2. Better employee retention: If an employee feels that they have shared leadership at an organization, they may be more likely to stick around.
3. 3. Encourages teamwork: The democratic process requires employees to brainstorm and come up with creative solutions to high-level problems. This kind of group problem-solving can help teams learn how to work together.

There are some downsides to participative leadership worth noting.

1. 1. Time-consuming: This type of leadership style requires patience, especially if you have a large staff. Gathering input from all of your employees takes time and can reveal new problems that will require your attention.
2. 2. The possibility of indecision: Coming to a group consensus is challenging even for the smallest of groups. In some cases, a group could be equally split and unwavering in their opinions. In others, it may be difficult to establish a majority opinion due to a lack of participation. In either case, indecision may prevent you from moving forward.
3. 3. Vulnerable to social pressures: Social pressures can make it difficult for individuals to make known how they truly feel. If an employee fears retaliation from their coworkers, they're unlikely to vote honestly. Not only can this corrupt the free flow of ideas, but it can also tarnish your company culture.

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