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Unit 13: Motivation and Leadership

2. Forces in the subordinates, i.e., the subordinates' readiness for taking decisions, and their Notes
knowledge, interest, need for independence, etc.
3. Forces in the situation, i.e., complexity of the problem, pressure of time etc.

Types of Leadership Styles

The different types of leadership styles are:

1. Autocratic or Task Management Leadership
2. Participative or Democratic Leadership
3. Laissez-faire or Free-rein Leadership and
4. Paternalistic Leadership.
1. Autocratic or Task Management Leadership: The autocratic leader gives orders which he
insists shall be obeyed. He determines policies for the group without consulting them,
and does not give detailed information about future plans, but simply tells the group
what immediate steps they must take. In other words, an autocratic leader is one who
centralizes the authority in himself and does not delegate authority to his subordinates.
An autocratic leader operates on the following assumptions:
(a) An average human being has inherent dislike for work and will avoid it if he can.
(b) If his subordinates were intelligent enough, they would not be in subordinate
positions.
(c) He assumes that unintelligent subordinates are immature, unreliable and
irresponsible persons. Therefore, they should be constantly watched in the course of
their work.
(d) As he has no regard for his subordinates, he gets the work done by his subordinates
through negative motivation, that is, through threats of penalty and punishment.
Types of Autocratic Leadership

(a) Strictly autocratic leaders: A strictly autocratic leader relies on negative influence and
gives orders which the subordinates must accept. He may also use his power to
dispense rewards to his group.
(b) Benevolent Autocrat: The benevolently autocratic leader is effective in getting high
productivity in many situations and he can develop effective human relationships.
His motivational style is usually positive.
(c) Manipulative Autocrat: A manipulative autocratic leader is one who makes
subordinates feel that they are participating in decision making process even though
he has already taken the decision.
2. Participative or Democratic Leadership: A democratic leader is one who consults and
invites his subordinates to participate in the decision making process. He gives orders
only after consulting the group, sees to it that policies are worked out in group decisions
and with the acceptance of group.
A participative leader operates on the following assumptions:

(a) Subordinates are capable of doing work independently and assuming the
responsibility for proper execution if they are given opportunities and incentives.
(b) Subordinates are supervised, guided and aided rather than threatened and
commanded to work.

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