In most cases, autocratic leadership is contrasted from democratic leadership where participation from all players involved in a given task is encouraged. In my opinion, though the leadership exemplified by the U.S. In the operation that led to the killing of Osama Bin Laden has its strong points on many fronts, some deficiencies can be identified. In terms of ethicality, the lack of consultation can be justified on the grounds that secrecy was of the essence if the U.S. was to kill the man blamed for the innocent deaths of thousands of people across the world. Hence the authoritarian leadership exemplified in this scenario was for the greater good. Further, it can be noted that based on the circumstances of the case, quick decisions had to be made and swift action was of the essence. According to Ghuman (2010), authoritarian or autocratic leadership allows quick decisions to be made.

However, on the flip side, the autocratic leadership exemplified by the U.S. In the entire operation could have the effect of alienating Pakistan, a key ally of...

In the war against terror. Indeed, one of the disadvantages of autocratic leadership is the resentment that ends up being created among participants. Secondly, as Ghuman (2010) notes, autocratic leadership sometimes gets in the way of proper planning. Perhaps if the decision making in this case was more consultative, the Al-Qaeda leader would have been captured and exposed to a well defined legal procedure.
Conclusion

It conclusion, it can be noted that autocratic leadership continues to be used in many countries across the world. Further, the application of this leadership approach is common in the corporate circles where personalities exhibiting the same demand submission from subordinates. However, as demonstrated in the text above, this leadership approach has quite a number of benefits just as it has downsides.

References

Daft, R.L. & Lane, P.G. (2007). The Leadership Experience. Cengage Learning.

Ghuman, K. (2010). Management: Concepts, Practice & Cases. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.