Democratic Leadership Style, All Good?
Honest disagreement is a good sign of progress. - Mahatma Gandhi
Last week we kicked off a deep dive into the 6 most common leadership styles based on Daniel Goleman’s book, Leadership That Gets Results. We reviewed all 6 styles at a high level in a past Learning to Lead live event, but now we go deeper. It’s easy to think that there’s one style that is better than all the rest, but I believe we need to understand each and learn to flex through all the styles when appropriate for the team and project.
This week we dug into democratic leadership, a very popular style. A full replay of the discussion is linked below, but here are a few notes to help you understand this style better.
What is Democratic Leadership?
Team members are considered equals & are encouraged to participate in decision making as much as the leader
Occurs when ideas are exchanged within a team that actively contributes to and participates in discussions
A leader that gathers input from the whole team and involves them in the decision-making process by facilitating and asking questions
The team is highly empowered but the leader still makes or approves the final decision
Traits of democratic leaders
Highly rational
Self-confident yet pragmatic
Problem solvers
Risk takers
Egalitarian - believes in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
Fair-minded – able to remain flexible/adaptable to the group’s thoughts
Great multi-taskers – able to handle the challenge of working with experienced people on collaborative teams without losing sight of objectives or deadlines
Team-oriented – encourages everyone in the group to participate (everyone has a say)
Consensus builders - does not expect group members to conform
Synthesizes the entire group’s thoughts into one decision
Advantages
Creativity & innovation are encouraged
Deliberate encouragement of idea-sharing leads to a climate of innovation throughout the organization
Collaboration creates robust solutions for complicated problems
High employee engagement
A positive environment is created when team members are included and their perspectives are valued
Builds trust among the team
Creates high accountability by involving the team in setting goals/targets
Disadvantages
Resentment can creep in – some team member’s ideas may get attention leading others to feel their ideas are not valued
Collaborative decision-making is time-consuming and can cause delays that can reduce productivity
There is a risk relying on consensus from people who may be misinformed or lack knowledge, expertise or competence
Burdened by the challenge of overseeing experts on collaborative teams
Tips for Success
A leader does not always know what is best therefore it is crucial to involve other people with different knowledge, competence and expertise
Practice strong and effective facilitation. Listen to all ideas even those you may disagree with. These ideas might provide additional or other useful perspectives as well as put new info on the table.
Set clear goals and objectives to focus conversations and drive towards decision making
Strive for but don’t require consensus. It is good if all agree but the leader makes the final decision.
Even when you do not leverage democratic leadership, communicate why. Some situations will require fast decisions without any team involvement, but if the leader informs the team afterwards including comments on why there was no discussion – a portion of participation is still in place.
Examples of democratic/participative leadership
George Washington: Unlike commanding troops during the American Revolution, Washington was notably democratic when guiding the U.S. government. He showed early signs of his democratic leadership style by appointing strong leaders to his staff. His decision not to serve a third term exemplified a democratic leader who knows when to pass the torch.
Jimmy Carter: A former naval commander, Carter exemplified both the qualities and pitfalls of the democratic/participative leadership style as president. He surrounded himself with some experienced staff, but he often deferred to inexperienced subordinates when acting authoritatively would have been a better choice
Mayo Clinic: A nonprofit organization with a reputation as one of the most cutting-edge healthcare research facilities in the world, the Mayo Clinic thrives on democratic/participative leadership values. Although the processes required in the medical research industry often call for an extremely autocratic approach, healthcare organizations like the Mayo Clinic cannot succeed without democratic/participative leaders.
Amazon.com: It started as a laissez-faire company, with Jeff Bezos as the final arbitrator of all key decisions. Amazon is necessarily autocratic because of its commitment to timely customer service. At its core, however, the company retains its democratic values among C-suite executives, division heads and project directors.
Remember there are advantages and disadvantages to every leadership style. What are other styles of democratic leaders you have observed? What about this style do you respect and value? Understanding leadership styles is a necessary step for us to define our own style.
Quote of the Week:
Don’t take on things you don’t believe in and that you yourself are not good at. Learn to say no. Effective leaders match the objective needs of their company with the subjective competencies. As a result, they get an enormous amount of things done fast. – Peter Drucker
Listen to the Full Replay
Resources
Leadership Styles discussion and takeaways from a past live Learning to Lead event
The 6 most common leadership styles covered in Daniel Goleman’s book, Leadership That Gets Results
Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet. Since Turn the Ship Around! was published in 2013, hundreds of thousands of readers have been inspired by former Navy captain David Marquet’s true story. Many have applied his insights to their own organizations, creating workplaces where everyone takes responsibility for his or her actions, where followers grow to become leaders, and where happier teams drive dramatically better results.
Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Tantum Collins. In a world of rapid change, the best organizations think and act like a team of teams, embracing small groups that combine the freedom to experiment with a relentless drive to share what they’ve learned. McChrystal and his colleagues explain their process for helping organizations embrace this model.
The Hustle newsletter continues to put our great content daily. I continually find it informative, as well as interesting. I highly recommend you subscribe!
I’ve set a goal to read more this year and have been enjoying the Book of the Month Club as a way to make progress sticking to this goal.
Random topic from our live discussion: Bodhi Coffee - a small company that provides all types of coffee beans, even green beans if you are interested in roasting your own!
Events
Forbes Digital Assets & Web3 Summit - March 16, 2022 (virtual): Join a virtual event with Forbes Blockchain 50 list and discuss with key industry leaders the future of digital assets and Web3.
Forbes Equal Pay Day & Equity In Action - March 31, 2022 (virtual): In advance of Equal Pay Day, Forbes will convene leading voices with the mission to accelerate progress and identify the most meaningful levers of change to close systemic gaps.
Camp Victore - April 2022: an all-inclusive, intimate in-person workshop, salon, creative bootcamp, exclusive retreat, and wholly transformational ass-kicking experience that is designed to take you to the next level in your life and business.
FORTUNE Brainstorm Health 2022 - May 2022: Join the Brainstorm Health community-- a powerful gathering of leaders at the crossroads of business, health care, technology, and innovation.
Learning to Lead LIVE
The next Learning to Lead Live event will be on Saturday, March 19 @ 9:30 am PDT. The topic will be announced on Wednesday (March 16) so be sure to subscribe for updates!
Networking & Job Openings
RN Case Manager at Dameron Hospital - contact Tamara White
ESPN Technology roles at multiple levels and locations
Are you hiring? Send your job to be included in this newsletter and connect with leaders in our network
If you are enjoying this content:
Consider joining us live Saturdays from 9:30-10:30 am PDT on Clubhouse: https://lnkd.in/gh-BR9Uw
Share it with a friend!
Show your appreciation by buying me a coffee