Authoritarian and democratic leadership styles in nursing practice

Nursing -- Authoritarian and Democratic Leadership

Authoritarian Leadership

Generally, authoritarian leadership style involves a power structure whereby a single individual or a small contingent of individuals in relative positions of authority over a group makes binding decisions for the group (Marquis & Huston, 2008). It is commonly employed in industries and within organizations that utilize a hierarchical command structure, such as military and paramilitary organizations and police agencies. Some of the advantages of authoritarian leadership include the ability of leaders to maintain strict control, the clarity of organizational rules, and the avoidance of deviations from expectations, particularly in circumstances where errors of mistakes can have serious consequences. Some of the disadvantages of authoritarian leadership include the negative effect on morale, although that is much more likely to be a concern within organizations or industries in which there is no obvious necessity for employing authoritarian leadership (Marquis & Huston, 2008).

Democratic Leadership

Democratic leadership is much different from authoritarian leadership, principally because it involves a group decision-making process and a sharing of authority instead of a concentration of authority in one individual or contingent of individuals (Marquis & Huston, 2008). Democratic leadership is most appropriate in situations where members of the group are relatively close in their respective knowledge, skills, abilities, training, and experience; it is less appropriate in situations where there are significant differences among and between group members in those respects. Some of the advantages of democratic leadership include the broad range of ideas that may emerge from a larger group and the beneficial effect on individual morale that is associated with sharing in the leadership role (Medley & LaRochelle, 1995; Rosengren, Bondas, Nordholm, et al., 2010).

Leadership vs. Management

The principal difference between leadership and management is that leadership pertains more to people whereas management pertains more to operations (Marquis & Huston, 2008). Generally, organizational leadership involves improving the organization by addressing motivational issues and other factors that contribute to the morale and individual perspective of individuals. Conversely, organizational management involves improving the organization by addressing operational issues that contribute to the efficiency and economy of business operations. A simplified way of characterizing leadership and management would be that the former pertains mainly to the goals and values and attitudes of people while the latter pertains more to the processes and procedures of operations (Marquis & Huston, 2008).