Participative Leadership
Question Participative leadership style is always more effective than autocratic/directive leadership styles. Discuss.
Executive Summary
To say there has been an immense amount of research undertaken on the topic of leadership would be an understatement. The theoretical and empirical research on leadership in the workplace covers a diverse range of theory and there has been much critique and discussion of the theories to date. This paper review will discuss the path-goal leadership theory and it’s application in an organisational setting. The first part of the report will look at the evolution of this theory and the underpinning elements of each leadership style. The second part will compare participative and directive leadership styles using examples to illustrate the relevant use of each style and necessity for leaders to be able to use both or a combination of the two.
Table of Contents Introduction p. 4 Path-Goal Leadership Theory p. 4 Participative vs. Directive Leadership p. 6 Practical Implications p. 8 Conclusion p. 9 Reference List p. 10
Introduction
For decades the study of leadership has been a focus in management, psychology and organisational behaviour with “over 35,000 research papers, articles and books written” on the topic in an attempt to define leadership and understand which style best drives effective leadership (Killian 2007). In 1974 Stogdill said, “there are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have tried to define the concept” (Yukl 1989, p. 251). A statement that is relatively true even 37 years on with many approaches to leadership still emerging and continued debate and discussion around the existing theories. A modern
Executive Summary
To say there has been an immense amount of research undertaken on the topic of leadership would be an understatement. The theoretical and empirical research on leadership in the workplace covers a diverse range of theory and there has been much critique and discussion of the theories to date. This paper review will discuss the path-goal leadership theory and it’s application in an organisational setting. The first part of the report will look at the evolution of this theory and the underpinning elements of each leadership style. The second part will compare participative and directive leadership styles using examples to illustrate the relevant use of each style and necessity for leaders to be able to use both or a combination of the two.
Table of Contents Introduction p. 4 Path-Goal Leadership Theory p. 4 Participative vs. Directive Leadership p. 6 Practical Implications p. 8 Conclusion p. 9 Reference List p. 10
Introduction
For decades the study of leadership has been a focus in management, psychology and organisational behaviour with “over 35,000 research papers, articles and books written” on the topic in an attempt to define leadership and understand which style best drives effective leadership (Killian 2007). In 1974 Stogdill said, “there are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have tried to define the concept” (Yukl 1989, p. 251). A statement that is relatively true even 37 years on with many approaches to leadership still emerging and continued debate and discussion around the existing theories. A modern