Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Democratic Leadership
Democratic Leadership
Encourage group members to share their ideas: The leader asks for and
considers employee input.
Engage group members: The leader involves members and encourages them
to involve others.
Foster confidence: The leader wants employees to feel confident in completing
tasks without supervision.
Reward creativity: The leader encourages and rewards new ideas from the
team.
Democratic leaders encourage their employees to think creatively and are adaptable to
new solutions and changing existing processes. Their direct involvement and
transparency often inspire respect and trust from their employees. Democratic leaders
are often:
Team-focused
Flexible
Adaptable to change
Engaged listeners
Honest
Communicative
When employees feel included in the decision-making process, they often feel more
valued by their employer. This sense of importance can lead to higher productivity and
loyalty to the company, which, in turn, can lower job turnover for the company.
2. Greater innovation
Open discussion encourages creativity and innovation. The more people share new
ideas, the more existing processes can be improved and updated.
When the decision-making process requires collaboration and multiple opinions, the
discussion covers more possible solutions. The group can analyze more aspects of a
particular project and find solutions that better address the organization's needs.
4. Less absenteeism
Employees who find more satisfaction in their jobs are more likely to be absent from
work. When employees feel valued, they are more likely to commit to deadlines and
even overtime, to complete projects and help their team and company succeed.
5. Team cohesion
Involving people in the decision-making process can help reinforce the company's
vision. Everybody is a part of the group's decision and understands the motivations
behind this decision. They know they are working towards a common goal. It promotes
greater cohesion within the group.
When employees and management have equal decision-making power and access to
the same information, it increases the feeling of trust among them. Each group member
knows the motives behind their leader's decision and doesn't need to question them.
It might be more challenging to make fast decisions when the decision-making process
requires the input of everybody. The time needed to organize meetings and discussions
can be detrimental to business when it necessitates quick decisions or involves
deadlines.
Leaders can find it this style of leadership takes more time and effort when a team
consensus is needed. This extra work may contribute to missed deadlines and potential
leader burnout.
Here are a few tips you can follow to help you implement democratic leadership in your
own company: