Dictator Or Visionary? The Complex Reality Of Autocratic Leadership

Ever wonder what it is like to work under an autocratic leader? That means that the boss calls the shots.

This is one of those boss-led decision-making approaches where the boss has all the power, little input from the rest of the team, just the boss’s word and law in that one-man show.

Maybe it is the case that in some situations, such leadership works well, but, at the same time, it kills creativity, motivates people less, and many of them leave.

Is autocratic leadership bad at all? Let’s take a closer look and find the pros and cons of such leadership.

The Concept Of Autocratic Leadership

Autocratic, which is also known as authoritarian leadership, is often described as one of those with authority or, rather can say, have power over the other. These leaders focus on making choices solely based on their preferences, and they do not listen to their team, nor do they take any kind of input.

Now, the question is, where to apply such a leadership style? Well, autocratic leadership is very effective in situations where prompt decisions are needed. For instance, you can observe autocratic leadership in a regulated industry that follows stringent guidelines.

In general, autocratic leaders tend to make decisions based on their judgments, ideas, and concepts. In most cases, they do not follow any kind of advice from their followers.

However, like everything else, autocratic leadership too has both positive and negative sides. Some people see autocratic leadership as dictator or bossy like.   

Characteristics Of Autocratic Leadership

So, are you wondering if you have ever experienced autocratic leadership? Or whether you have been an autocratic leader yourself? There is a key to finding out the key characteristics of authoritarian leadership.

1. Centralized decision-making: The leaders make all the decisions themselves. So, you will find a little room to provide feedback or maybe put your own thoughts.
2. Strict control: The autocratic leaders closely monitor their own team. They may also proceed to dictate how the tasks need to be completed.
3. Highly structured environment: When there is an autocratic leadership, the environment often feels very rigid with all kinds of clearly defined rules and processes.
4. Straightforward communication: In an autocratic leadership environment, communication seems to be very rigid. So, you will find little space for any kind of conversation or debate.
5. Quick decision-making: Autocratic leaders mostly make decisions very quickly. This can be very fruitful for the fast-paced environment.  

Advantages Of Autocratic Leadership

The advantages of autocratic leadership are given below:

• Fast decision-making. This specific leadership style highly promotes quick decision-making. This mostly happens because there is usually nobody involved in the decision-making process. When a single authority has the power, they can use that power for prompt actions in order to fulfill specific actions.
• Improves efficiency and productivity. Quick decision-making and having a clear and defined role help to increase productivity. This also helps the employees to do their tasks and take further actions more actively. As a result, it increases the overall performance.
• Clear communication. Autocratic leaders prefer communication over consultation. This further promotes the message to be clear and loud while lowering the inefficiency.  
• Control. The leaders monitor employee activities in order to ensure that everything has been done accordingly just to achieve the estimated goals.
• Better structure and disciplined approach. Autocratic leadership provides guidelines and further work procedures. The leaders expect the employees to follow the rules. This ensures that organizations, as well as teams, are making significant progress toward positive goals.
• Assists in crisis management. This specific leadership style works well when an organization goes through a crisis. The autocratic leader takes control of everything, focuses on what solution to deliver, and, lastly, overcomes the difficulties without seeking any approval from the hierarchy.       

Autocratic Leadership: Examples

In this section, I will provide you with a few examples that will help you to understand the concept of autocratic leadership and how exactly it works.

Famous Autocratic Leaders

Adolf Hitler, Napoleon Bonaparte, Vladimir Putin, and even Donald Trump is some of the famous faces for being autocratic leaders.

The Disadvantages Of Autocratic Leadership

Autocratic leadership comes with various disadvantages. This includes:

• Low morale. Autocratic leadership rarely seeks input from the team members. This can further make the employees feel undervalued as well as disengaged. This can further lead to less morale as well as productivity.
• High turnover rate: Once employees start to feel disengaged and have low autonomy, they start to leave the company to look for a more supportive environment.
• Lack of personal growth: Autocratic leadership can make the work environment rigid. It stifles both innovation and creativity. As a result, it can lead to negative employee growth.
• High risk if the leader is absent: In an autocratic leadership environment, the followers highly believe in the leader. So, if the leader is lacking, it may cause high risk.   

Autocratic Leadership In Practice

The autocratic style can be very beneficial in some settings. However, it also has some pitfalls, and it may not be appropriate for all kinds of settings or groups. Now, if you are planning to put this leadership style into practice, then you can follow these points:

Listen To The Team Members

Even though autocratic leadership is all about authority, you can make a slight change in this. No, you won’t have to change people’s minds or maybe implement their advice.  

Try To Establish Clear Rules

If you are expecting your team members to follow all the rules and regulations, then you must ensure that you have established a clear set of guidelines and each person from your team is fully aware of the same.

Provide Necessary Tools

Once your subordinates understand the rules, you must ensure that they actually have the abilities and education to perform the tasks or execute the planning. You can provide them with assistance and training to fill in the knowledge gap.

Try To Recognize Success

Once you start to criticize your team, they will automatically begin to lose their motivation. Imagine being called out for your mistakes more than and rewarded for the success- it hurts, right? It can also make you feel less motivated.

Thus, you must try to recognize success more than pointing out the mistakes. This way your team will start to respond in a more positive way. Moreover, they will also feel motivated.

Comparison With Other Leadership Styles

The autocratic leadership style is not similar to any of the other types of leaders, like democratic or transformational leaders. In an autocratic type, the leader makes his decision without considering the advice given by others.

Though very fast and effective, for times when rapid decisions are a requirement, this can also mean less involvement of teams, which would result in lower morale among the teams.

Democratic leadership will provide opportunities for individuals to voice their opinions and participation in the decision-making process of every individual speaking their peice in their mouths.

That could make the atmosphere accommodating, even celebratory. However, often, it results in longer decisions because they demand consultation with each other. There could be a short discussion of the team with an autocratic leader, thus quick scenarios in situations.

Transformational leadership inspires and motivates the people it leads and encourages constituents to be their best selves by inspiring them to bring a shared vision.

Transformational leaders concern themselves with the input and growth of each individual. The autocratic leaders might be offering less personal development or motivation, and the focus is more on achieving preset goals by directly taking charge.

In short, the autocratic leadership style is more of control and on-the-run decision-making. Democracy or transformation involves teamwork, personal growth, and shared visions. It really comes down to the situation and what the team needs.

Should You Use An Autocratic Leadership Style?

There can be certain situations where autocratic leadership can be very effective. However, it may not be appropriate for a problem or a group.

You can use the autocratic leadership when:

• There is less time left. You might face such situations when you do not have much time left, and an immediate response is required. In such cases, the autocratic leadership can be instrumental.
• When the leaders have most of the knowledge, if the leader has most of the knowledge or if he or she is the most knowledgeable person there, in that case, it is not necessary to get input from everyone.
• Suppose the risk is very high. In such cases, people tend to be very dependable on autocratic leaders during high-risk situations.
• Suppose the leader needs to make a difficult decision. During situations like mergers, layoffs, or acquisitions, the leader would be required to make difficult decisions.   

Final Thoughts!

Autocratic leadership means a single person makes all the decisions with a majority share of power. This sort of work may at some times, work miracles, but at other times not.

Individuals sometimes feel rather inconsequential and ignored. So, this mode may lead to few creativity and new inventions. There needs to be sometimes a necessity for strong leadership to have more elbow room to allow people to input their ideas.

Read Also:

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• Learn 7 Expert Tips To Boost Productivity And Effectively Manage Teams
• Mastering The Growth Journey Of Leadership: Key Things To Consider