A democratic leadership style is based on the concept of inclusion where every member of the organization is considered a valuable member of the team and is involved in the decision-making process. This style often leads to positive, inclusive, and collaborative work environments. Creating an organizational culture based on democratic leadership produces many positive outcomes. In addition to employees generating innovative solutions and multiple routes to solving problems, many employees develop a strong sense of loyalty to the company. Under this style, the leader still retains final responsibility for the group’s decision.
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Some examples of demographic leaders include;
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- Tim Cook (CEO of Apple) who is known for surrounding himself with people who disagree and challenge him.
- Muhtar Kent (CEO of Coca-Cola) who is known for distributing power across various committees and regional groups.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower who was famous for relying heavily on experts to help him make decisions and influence how the US Government should be run.
- Nelson Mandela who was the leader of the ANC in South Africa, tried to build a coalition among all racial groups. That was truly democratic and not colonialist.
Pros of Democratic Leadership Style
- It is applicable for almost every business.
- Its problem-solving ability for complex issues
- It encourages a creative environment.
- Strong connectivity between team members.
Cons of Democratic Leadership Style
- It becomes regretful as only a few selected ones from a large pool of opinions and recommendations could be implemented, making the leaders spend more than ample time apologizing individuals whose ideas were not considered in the game plan.
- It eats more than affordable time.
- Processing decisions is time-consuming.
- The element of uncertainty as leaders deploying democratic leadership style sometimes tend to misfire or become inconclusive, especially in critical situations requiring immediate responses.
Today, most corporate cultures can be seen employing democratic leadership style and benefiting quite favorably from it. However, it is vital for the management to strike the perfect balance and consider alternatives in situations where the style can most probably fail. This is the reason why it is advised to weigh both the benefits and disadvantages of democratic leadership before incorporating it into your operational procedures and other business-related aspects.