The document discusses participative leadership, delegation, and empowerment. It describes different forms of participation including revising decisions jointly, asking for suggestions, and delegating decisions. Participative leadership can improve decision quality and increase acceptance. Research on its effects is inconclusive due to inconsistent results. Delegation assigns new responsibilities and authority to subordinates, benefiting decisions and motivation but requiring manager confidence. Empowerment involves meaningful work, self-efficacy, and influence, and leaders can affect it through participation and delegation.

1. Participative Leadership, Delegation,
and Empowerment
Participative Leadership, Delegation, and Empowerment
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2. Varieties of Participation
Autocratic Decision
The manager makes a decision alone.
Consultation
The manager asks other people for their opinions and
ideas, then makes the decision alone.
Joint Decision
The manager meets with others to discuss the decision
problem and make a decision together.
Delegation
The manager gives an individual or group the authority
and responsibility for making a decision.
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3. Participative Leadership, Delegation, and Empowerment 3-3
Varieties of Participation

4. Consequences of Participative Leadership
Potential Benefits of Participation
Decision quality
Decision acceptance
Satisfaction with the decision process
Development of participant skills
Objectives of Different Participants
Downward Consultation
Lateral consultation
Upward Consultation
Consulting with Outsiders
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5. Research on Effects of Participative
Leadership
Example of Research on Participation – Bragg &
Andrews (1973)
Effects of Participation
Limitations of Participation Research
Measurement problems with survey field research
Combining interventions
Short-term programs
Difficulty comparing results across studies
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6. Normative Decision Model
Vroom and Yetton Model
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7. Guidelines for Participative Leadership
Encourage Participation
Encourage people to express their concerns
Describe a proposal as tentative
Record ideas and suggestions
Look for ways to build on ideas and suggestions
Be tactful in expressing concerns about a suggestion
Listen to dissenting views without getting defensive
Try to utilize suggestions and deal with concerns
Show appreciation for suggestions
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8. Delegation
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Varieties of Delegation
Potential Advantages of Delegation
Improvement in decision quality
Greater subordinate commitment
Making subordinates’ jobs more interesting,
challenging, and meaningful
Improved time management
Important form of management development

9. Potential Advantages of Delegation
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10. Delegation
Reasons for Lack of Delegation
Aspects of the leader’s personality
Fear of subordinate making a mistake
High need for personal achievement
Characteristics of the subordinate
Nature of the work
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11. Reasons for Lack of Delegation
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12. Guidelines for Delegating
What to Delegate
Tasks that can be done better by a subordinate
Tasks that are urgent but not high priority
Tasks relevant to a subordinate’s career
Tasks of appropriate difficulty
Both pleasant and unpleasant tasks
Tasks not central to the manager’s role
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13. Guidelines for Delegation
How to Delegate
Specify responsibilities clearly
Provide adequate authority and specify limits of
discretion
Specify reporting requirements
Ensure subordinate acceptance of responsibilities
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14. Delegation
How to Manage Delegation
Inform others who need to know
Monitor progress in appropriate ways
Arrange for the subordinate to receive necessary
information
Provide support and assistance, but avoid reverse
delegation
Make mistakes a learning experience
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15. Perceived Empowerment
 Nature of Psychological Empowerment
 Consequences of Empowerment
 Benefits
 Consequences
 Facilitating Conditions for Empowerment
 Job design
 Organizational structure
 Organizational culture
 Leader selection and assessment
 Procedures for influencing decisions
 Shared leadership
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16. Conditions Facilitating Psychological
Empowerment
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17. Guidelines for Empowerment
Clarify objectives and explain how the work supports
them
Involve people in making decisions that affect them
Delegate responsibility and authority for important
activities
Take into account individual differences in motivation
and skills
Provide access to relevant information
Provide resources needed to carry out new
responsibilities
Change management systems to be consistent with
empowerment
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18. Guidelines for Empowerment
Remove bureaucratic constraints and unnecessary
controls
Express confidence and trust in people
Provide coaching and advice when requested
Encourage and support initiative and problem solving
Recognize important contributions and achievements
Ensure that rewards are commensurate with new
responsibilities
Ensure accountability for the ethical use of power
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19. 3-19
Summary
Participative Leadership involves efforts by a manager to
encourage & facilitate participation by others in making decisions
that would otherwise be made by the manager alone
Forms of Participation
 Revising a tentative decision
 Asking for suggestions
 Asking an individual or group to jointly make a decision
 Allowing others to make a decision (subject to manager’s final
authorization)
Why Involving others in Decision Making is often necessary
 Better Decisions
 Greater Acceptance of Decisions

20. 3-20
Summary
Participative Leadership Studies Results
 Research evidence not sufficiently strong
 Inconsistent to draw any firm conclusions
Various Forms of Participation (Subject to Situation)
 Divergent objectives from that of leader
 Lack of will to share responsibility in decision making
 Distrust in leader
 Time pressures
 Dispersion of participants
Group Forms of Participation Effective only
 Manager’s conflict resolution skills
 Facilitation in constructive problem solving
 Dealing with group common process problems

21. 3-21
Summary
Vroom & Yetton Model
 To help managers identify the appropriate decision procedures
in different situations.
 The situational variables are characteristics of the decision
situation that determine whether a particular decision
procedure will increase or decrease decision quality and
acceptance
 The model was extended by Vroom and Jago to include other
criteria & aspects of the situation
 Research on these models is limited, but it provides moderate
support for them
 The findings suggest that managers are likely to be more
effective if they use decision procedures that are appropriate for
the situation

22. 3-22
Summary
Delegation
The assignment of new responsibilities & additional authority
to individual subordinates or to a team
Benefits of Delegation
Better decisions
Increased subordinate motivation
More satisfying jobs for subordinates
Development of subordinate skills
Reduction of work overload for a manager
What Prevents from Delegation
Lack of confidence in subordinates
Desire to consolidate power
Research on the consequences of
using delegation is still limited, but the findings suggest it can be effective when used
for appropriate decisions and carried out in a competent manner

23. 3-23
Summary
Psychological Empowerment (combination of)
 Meaningful work
 High self-efficacy
 Self-determination
 Ability to influence relevant events
Relevant Behaviors (How Leaders can affect Followers)
 Participative Leadership
 Delegation
What Effects Powerful or Powerless Feeling
 Aspects of the job
 The organisation
 The employees
Several types of programs have been used by organizations
to increase member empowerment, but the results from research on these programs
are mixed.

24. 3-24
Reference:
Chris Argyris . The Emperor's New Clothes HBR MAY–JUNE 1998

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