Leadership Styles and Workforce Management
Types of Leaders
Autocratic
Autocratic leaders make decisions on their own without discussion. They set business objectives, issue instructions to workers, and check to ensure that they are carried out. Workers can become so accustomed to this style that they are dependent on their leaders for all guidance and will not show any initiative. Motivation levels are likely to be low, so supervision of staff will be essential. Managers using this style are likely to use one-way communication – that is, they will issue instructions but will not encourage any feedback from the workforce.
This style of management does have some useful applications. Armed forces and the police are likely to adopt this approach, as orders may need to be issued quickly with immediate response.
Democratic
Democratic leaders will engage in discussion with workers before taking decisions. Communication links will be established on the two-way principle, with every opportunity for staff to respond to and initiate discussion. Managers using this approach need good communication skills themselves to be able to explain issues clearly and to understand responses from the workforce. Full participation in the decision-making process is encouraged. This may lead to better final decisions, as the staff have much to contribute and can offer valuable work experience to new situations.
Paternalistic
Paternalistic leaders will listen, explain issues, and consult with the workforce, but will not allow them to make decisions. The paternalistic manager will decide what is best for the business and the workforce, but the delegation of decision-making will be most unlikely. These managers are less concerned with Herzberg’s motivators and more directed by the need to satisfy the safety and security needs of the workers. Therefore, this approach is not democratic – and, like some fathers, is rather more autocratic than it might at first appear. This style could be suitable in a situation with unskilled, untrained, or newly appointed staff, but it may lead to disappointment and disillusionment in more experienced staff who would prefer to be delegated real decision-making and given opportunities for participation.
Laissez-faire
Laissez-faire literally means “let them do it,” or allow workers to carry out tasks and take decisions themselves within very broad limits. This is an extreme version of democratic management. There will be very little input from management into the work to be undertaken by subordinates. This style could be particularly effective in the case of research or design teams.
Workforce Management
- Workforce planning: Analyzing and forecasting the numbers of workers and the skills of those workers that will be required by the organization to achieve its objectives.
- Workforce audit: A check on the skills and qualifications of all existing workers/managers.
- Recruitment: The process of identifying the need for a new employee, defining the job to be filled and the type of person needed to fill it, attracting suitable candidates for the job, and selecting the best one.
- Dismissal: Being dismissed or sacked from a job due to incompetence or breach of discipline.
- Outsourcing: Not employing staff directly, but using an outside agency or organization to carry out some business functions.