Participative leadership has become a preferred mode of management in today’s fluctuating integrated work environment. Participative leadership also known as participatory leadership involves frequent consultation with the workers in the organisation on issues of decision-making.
In the subsequent section, the concept of participative leadership theory will be described in detail followed by the characteristics of participative leaders, its leadership styles, and pros and cons.
“Participative leadership is a style of management where leaders encourage their subordinates to make important decisions with them.”
Participative leaders wish to engage their team and usually do not decide on a course of action on their own but first consider their employees’ opinions. Thus, the given approach helps open the employees’ minds and makes them feel belonging and accountability due to their ability to state their opinions.
Consequently, participative leadership style contrasts autocratic leadership style in which the decision is made by the leader without including the team. On the other hand, this style involves participation leadership and hence fosters organisational participation leading to the organisation's achievements.
The participative leadership theory proposes that leaders who involve the team members can accomplish more in decision-making than the leaders who do not. Ultimately, this style of leadership means that the range of perspectives is broader which fosters creativity and leaders are well informed to make informed decisions. According to the theory, employees that are involved in decision-making will be committed to the results of their input, and therefore, will be satisfied with their job, thus increasing productivity.
For instance, the participative style of leadership works well with democracy since the members are valued by the system, and what they contribute is recognised. This theory is perceived to have a positive impact on motivation of the group and that in turn creates organisation cohesiveness and boosts organisational results.
A participative leader reflects several unique features or characteristics that make it totally different from other forms of leadership. Here are some key characteristics of participative leaders:
Collaboration – A participative leader respects their team and always encourages teamwork. Employees in these companies respect cooperation as a key to success and tend to value inclusiveness.
Transparency – When participative leaders interact with their team, they keep everyone informed on what the organisation is planning, facing and achieving. This is transparent, creates confidence, hence making the leader credible.
Empathy – In order to exercise an effective participative style of leadership, one has to formulate a personal understanding of abilities and weaknesses of each team member. This quality enables facilitation of an environment which does not discriminate against anybody.
Accountability – Participative leaders not only delegate decision-making responsibilities but are also willing to follow results from their team. This approach assists in ensuring there is formation of culture that supports responsibility.
Adaptability – The leaders of participative management style have flexibility and are able to change their direction with new information or feedback, acknowledging that flexibility is important in order to grow.
While participatory leadership centres on collaboration, it can manifest in various styles, each tailored to different organisational needs:
Consultative Style: In this style, leaders engage the members of the team individually or in a group before coming to a decision, but the decision lies with the leader. This style is useful when the employees have to be involved in the decision-making process even when the decision has to be made immediately.
Democratic Style: In some organisations, leaders take the time to discuss the matter with the entire team and let the team members make the decision. It is a rather democratic decision since the final decision depends on the majority’s choice.
Collaborative Style: In this approach, the leader is involved with the rest of the team during the decision-making process, and both expresses and listens to everybody’s opinion. Its application is especially helpful in settings where learning involves innovation and creativity to a great extent.
Consensus Style: Leaders using this style wait until everyone is on the same page and accepts a decision made. This approach is most effective where it is important that all members of the team support the implementation process.
Like with every form of leadership, participatory leadership does have its strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a closer look at both sides:
Improved Morale and Job Satisfaction: Decision-making with team member participation can increase the morale and job satisfaction of the team members. When employees believe that their opinions are valued, they are more committed towards their work.
Enhanced Creativity and Innovation: Ideas can be accumulated in participation leadership, which always hold the potential for an innovative solution. It allows creativity, as team members know that they can contribute their talents.
Better Decision-Making: Additionally, it is easier to make sound decisions when a participative leader gathers different opinions. This integrated approach of decision making is mostly favorable than one that focuses on a particular department.
Increased Team Cohesion: Collaboration helps to build relationships of trust and cooperation between team members hence increasing cohesiveness of the team and a reduction in conflicts.
Higher Productivity and Efficiency: Whenever employees have a say concerning certain decisions, they usually will employ all their energy and resources in ensuring that goals set are met in the best way possible.
Time-Consuming: Participatory leadership implies extensive involvement of workers in decision making, a fact that may lead to a slow decision-making process given that in most cases, time is of the essence.
Risk of Conflict: Participation can actually enhance the team dynamics, but may result in conflict, where issues are not agreed upon. Coordinating all these positive and sometimes negative perceptions does not come easy, it takes time and effort from the leader.
Lack of Authority: At times, even ordinary things such as decision-making may become a problem since participative leaders like to consider everybody’s opinion without overriding their decision with their own option.
Dependence on Team Engagement: Effectiveness of participatory leadership directly depends on the level of team involvement. However, this style will not be productive if the employees are disengaged or uninterested in work.
Difficulty in Reaching Consensus: The main drawback of the consensus decision-making model may be time-consuming because of the large number of members in the team.
There are several examples of participation leadership as a way to see how successful this style can be. For example, famous participative leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela motivated people to create major movements. Thus, both leaders encouraged their followers to contribute to decision making processes which would shape their lives. This level of participative style of leadership enabled them to mobilise supporters and lead these movements with a lot of support from followers.
Participative leadership is not just an organisational approach to management but is a management style that respects the contributions of members of the team. This style helps organisations improve staff attitude towards their work, organisational commitment, and diversity. Despite the many advantages, acquiring information and knowledge of its strengths and weaknesses will help in collaboration with organisational objectives. Particularly, this leadership style promotes teamwork and amplifies personal and team performance.
Learn how to become a remarkable leader with the help of the British Academy of Training and Development's comprehensive Leadership Courses. Learn lessons, ideas, and skills that will help you to become an exemplary leader.