Question

Define and describe participative leadership (i.e., include the potential benefits and risks of using participative leadership), and describe when YOU were involved in such a situation. (

Answer 1

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Participative leadership is an all-inclusive management style in which inputs are welcomed from the employees on all or most important company decisions. The employees are given the proper background of the issues and a majority of vote drives the decision.

Advantages

• With increased say in decision making, sense of ownership and belongingness increases among the employees. This in return increases the productivity
• When employees feel heard and see that their suggestions are being implemented, job satisfaction increases
• In participative leadership, the quality of work is improved. Inputs are considered from the working people who are part of the processes and hence every minute details are reported, eliminating any possible flaw
• Less supervision is required in participative leadership leading to reduced costs. Focus is more on enabling the team to self-manage

Disadvantages

• Decision making slows down due to the involvement of so many stakeholders
• Security issues are a concern in participative leadership since too many people know about the ideas during the very initial stages

I work in a consulting firm. The project-level decisions are taken in a participative manner. Before the manager arrives at critical decisions, inputs from all the team members is sought. This increases the accountability and ownership of individuals to drive the execution of initiatives decided.