Authoritarian Leadership

People keep wondering about the best leadershipwhims of the person directly above you. It
style that one can practice. Some say thatdoesn't matter if you want the policy or not, your
authoritarian leadership is the worst kind ofjob is to obey and not to ask questions.
leadership there is. But is it really? Let's try toThe authoritarian leaders usually specify all the
explore what authoritarian leadership is like.things that they want to accomplish including the
Authoritarian leaders tend to say exactly whatmethods that must be used. In this case, the
their followers need to do. They tell them when itfollowers usually have to follow everything to the
needs to be done and how exactly they want itletter. In this case, the natural creativity of the
done. This way, the followers will know who theworkers is compromised and they will not have
boss is and who calls the shots. There is anmuch room for innovation and improvements
emphasis on formal authority. Titles are importantbecause the leader simply wants to do everything
and you have to have a title in order to behis way.
qualified for respect and following.If not managed correctly, this kind of leadership
Authoritarian leaders tend to make decisions bymay inspire covert or overt rebellion from the
themselves. They rarely ask input from others.followers and subordinates. If they feel that the
This is not to say that they don't have advisersleader has trampled upon their self-esteem and
and consultants. In fact,they do! But they usuallytheir respect for themselves, they may feel that
make sure that they make the final decisionthey will not lose anything if they rebel. So instead
always.of achieving what the authoritarian leader wants,
Under authoritarian leadership, creativity can bethe subordinates will start sabotaging and
stifled. While an authoritarian leadership may becompromising the work that must be done. If this
efficient and effective, the creativity of thehappens, the organization loses.
followers tend to be curtailed, they cannot easilyThis kind of leadership style is prone to abuse. But
express themselves; they cannot easily pursuethere are times (such as war) where this kind of
any project without the approval of the powersleadership makes more sense than any other
that be.style. This kind of leadership became in vogue in
Authoritarian leadership tends to be highlyvarious Asian countries in the 1960s to 1980s with
structured and hierarchical. Formal authority isvarying results. If you want to use this leadership
needed. You have to heed the wants and thestyle, you have to be very careful.