Mario Toledo, a research specialist at Tecmilenio’s Institute of Integral Well-being Sciences, says that a democratic leadership style is inclusive. Every member of the organization is valuable and is involved in the decision-making process. Employees are regularly asked for their input and feedback on decisions related to upcoming projects, strategic initiatives, or changes that the team or company is considering.
Responsibility is also shared among the group because everyone can have a say and feel empowered to speak up and take a stand because their team leader encourages this behavior, and actively listenwhile serving as moderator.
In the democratic leadership process, ideas are offered and received without judgment. The diversity of opinions and experiences on the team is respected, and all points of view are shared openly in order to make a more informed decision.
Democratic leadership is also atomic, says Maru Barrios, chief people officer from Rocket Lab. It works within a context, under certain circumstances, teams and company cultures and is not a medicine or a general solution or a panacea for companies.
“Currently, it is being used as a trend and it is even said that a certain type of leadership is the best, as is the case with servant, humble or positive leadership. But to choose a type of leadership, it is important to understand the culture of the organization and the moment in which the company finds itself”.
Advantages and disadvantages
Madalina Secareanu, Senior Manager of Corporate Communication at Indeed for Latam, emphasizes that, unlike autocratic leadership, where only the leader makes decisions and can generate frustration and detachment from employees, in democratic leadership everyone’s participation offers several advantages. such as satisfaction and sense of belonging.
Innovation is also encouraged by having an open dialogue and welcome input. The diversity of opinions also allows problems to be approached from different perspectives, and each collaborator, according to their personality, experience, beliefs and ideas, will see the same situation in a different way, therefore, they will provide very different solutions. This improves the quality of decisions.
At the team level, a greater commitment of employees is encouraged by making them part of important decisions, and this generates greater talent retention and greater cohesion, reinforcing the vision that employees have of the company, helping them to better understand the motivations behind it. of a decision. Thanks to their involvement in the decision-making process, employees feel more motivated and committed to their tasks, and this generates higher productivity.
Despite its obvious pros, this leadership style can show some drawbacks, such as a slower decision-making process. It must be taken into account that participative or democratic leadership is a process in which several people interact, therefore, it must be scheduled well in advance.
On the other hand, the expert points out that when objectives are not properly set, some employees may feel that they are doing the leader’s job and feel annoyed, which can negatively influence their productivity.
Likewise, there is a risk of making less informed decisions if there is not a complete picture of the context and an information base prior to decision making, since some employees with little knowledge on the subject could contribute less precise ideas of the problem, Because people from different areas participate in the company, some will have less knowledge of the subject.
Barrios adds that another disadvantage is if the organization is in an emergency situation. This is not the time to make way for democratic leadership unless the team is highly trained in making assertive decisions or who have a background of having studied or trained in thinking models to decide, such as “design thinking”, so people have the tools to act quickly.
“It’s also not helpful in a control-based culture. Let’s think of a bank, where its operation is generally strict, it will not work for you here to have democratic leadership, since its processes require providing customers with security versus a democratic culture that is much more collaborative”, details the Rocket Lab board.
Where is this type of leadership applied?
Nora Taboada, executive coach and founder of AFE Conscious Leadership, has seen that this type of leadership is applied in organizational cultures where there is a certain orientation towards the person, as well as a focus on valuing the contributions of collaborators.
“These are companies that already have a certain degree of inclusion and that already know how to develop psychological safety in the teams because that way people can contribute with ideas. If people don’t have that psychological safety it is very difficult for me to raise my hand and contribute”, he comments.
If it’s a super competitive culture that only rewards individual efforts, it’s very difficult to have democratic leadership, because then everyone is looking out for their own ideas or their own career or who gets the credit. When credit goes to the team and teamwork is rewarded, democratic leadership flourishes well, he adds.
One of the best-known examples of applying this leadership style could be Google, says Toledo. Its employees are constantly encouraged to participate in meetings because of the value managers place on the opinions and ideas they can generate. Another case may be Muhtar Kent (CEO of Coca-Cola), known for distributing power among various committees and regional groups.
In particular, the technology and software development companies They lend themselves to this type of leadership, as teams collaborate and share ideas throughout the creation process and iterations of their products. Also pharmaceuticals and hospitals, where doctors discuss ideas about possible treatments and exchange their experience and knowledge, adds Secareanu.
What does it take to be a democratic leader?
This style of leadership means allowing space for multiple people to participate in the decision-making process. This forces the democratic leader to have certain qualities and competencies. Taboada shares the following:
Focus on people development. You must have people already developed to be able to invite them to participate in a certain way. If people are very new to the company or to the task they are doing, a directive leadership is better in what is being developed.
Executive humility. Adam Grant, author and psychologist at the Wharton Business School, says that executive humility is understood as the continuous questioning of methods, that is, without this humility of the leader it is very difficult for him to invite others to participate in his decision-making processes.
Inclusion. The leader needs to be inclusive because at the table there may be collaborators who do not like to participate and want to stay on the sidelines, or introverted or quieter personalities who do not necessarily want to participate by contributing ideas. The leader must make sure that all the members of his team feel heard and that they have the same opportunity to participate and exercise that democratic part.
Guidance to teamwork. Someone with a strong orientation to teamwork, to the interpersonal part and to these collaborative relationships.
Empowerment. Strong ability to empower others. Release power and build self-confidence in people, as well as engage them at a level that leads to high performance.
Creativity. A democratic or participative leader has to explore new and fresh ideas with the participation of every employee at the table. Ensuring that there is a flow of ideas and that people want to ‘get out of the box’.
Impartiality and critical thinking. The sense of justice is very important, since in a democratic process where everyone has a voice, the leader must be neutral and transparent. In addition, he must be able to offer significant and constant feedback, as well as a high level of judgment and assertiveness in order to resolve conflicting opinions.