First and foremost, Laissez-faire leadership is a "non-authoritatiran leadership style" where leaders "try to give the least possible guidance to subordinates." (Skogstag, Aasland, Hetland, Matthiesen & Einarsen, 2014) So basically, they are very hands off, and even ostracizing to their people.
What I also found from this is that production seems to go down and behaviors are relatively negative. I do know that this is the kind of leader I do NOT want to be. Of course, I don't feel it is possible for me to be hands off or not talk to my people and see how they are doing, what their needs are or check on how productivity is going. I'm a very hands on leader, hopefully not crossing the line into micro-managing. I hope to gain some insights as I conduct more research on ways that I can be an even better leader, and definitely what to avoid doing.
Reference:
Laissez-Faire Leadership. (n.d). In Business Dictionary online. Retrieved from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/laissez-faire-leadership.html
Skogstag, A., Aasland, M.S., Hetland, J., Matthiesen, S. B., and
Einarsen, S. (2014). The relative effects of constructive, laissez-faire, and
tyrannical leadership on subordinate job satisfaction: Results from two
prospective and representative studies. Zeitschrift fur Psychologie, 222(4),
221-232. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.libproxy.chapman.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=dac0c716-36b6-40a0-a6e9-c4ed0088c0d1%40sessionmgr4003&hid=4113&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHVpZCZzaXRlPWVkcy1saXZl#db=pdh&AN=2014-49512-005
Amber, I also am a SF Giants and 49ers fan. Go Niners today vs. the hated Seahawks!
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I was interested in your assessment of Laissez Faire management. I did not know about production going down and the element of the feeling of ostracization that can accompany this style of management. Previously, most of my (admittedly limited) exposure to Laissez Faire tenets of business were concerning the benefits of less regulation and more delegation. I was under the impression that most people, after given a goal or objective, did better with more freedom, not worse. Is there any metric or analysis that can express the right amount of direction (not too little & not too much)?
Thanks,
Taichi Dean
Taichi,
DeleteOh, that game. Don't get me started on those past 2 and the Raiders.
I am slowly going through research on each style to see what shows working the best. What I found with Laissez faire leadership is it works better in smaller companies, and you need highly motivated and competent workers. But in regards to what you asked, most people need direction. they need to be helped when a problem comes up, and that's where the managers need to be there and not be so hands off. Hope that explains it a little.
Amber