Types of Leadership – Participative Leadership

In reading Chapter 3 Leadership and Decision Making, I found the section on Types of Leadership quite interesting. I don’t recall ever formally learning about the specific types of leadership, but I have worked with many leaders within these various categories. As the authors O’Hair and Weiman state, “each of these styles his its own advantages and disadvantages”, however in my experience, I believe Participative Leadership to be the most effective. This type of leadership invites open participation of ideas and encourages equal collaboration of team efforts. This leader would probably say “let’s work to together to solve this problem” and promote democratic decision making. I have noticed that many more companies seem to be utilizing this type of leadership to strengthen production and build employee satisfaction. The companies seem to recognize that their leaders may have limited knowledge about the day-to-day processes and acknowledge the value of their employees input. This collaboration is mutually beneficial to both and builds a shared respect.