Participative leadership, also known as democratic leadership, allows group members to contribute ideas and participate in decision making. The leader listens to input from members to enable creative and engaged thinking. Participation can range from autocratic decision making by the leader to full delegation of decisions to the team. Key advantages include better understanding of issues, increased commitment, and more ideas. However, participative leadership requires that team members are informed and organized, and it can be time-consuming due to varied viewpoints.

1. Participative Leadership

2. What is Participative
Leadership?
 Also known as Democratic Leaders
 Allows group members to contribute ideas
and participate in decision making
 Listens and allow inputs from members
 Enables group members to think
creatively, feel engaged, and motivated
 Generally the most effective leadership
style (Lewin’s study)

3. Participation Spectrum
 Level of participation depends on:
◦ Type of decisions being made
◦ Manager’s preferences and beliefs
Autocratic
decision by
leader
Leader
proposes
decision, lis
tens to
feedback, th
en decides
Team
proposes
decision,
leader has
final
decision
Joint
decision
with team as
equals
Full
delegation
of decision
to team
< Not participative Highly participative
>

4. Possible Advantages
 Decision makers understand the issues
better when they are more involved
 Being involved in decision-making makes
people more committed to the task
 As working on mutual goals, people tend to
be less competitive and more collaborative
 More people have more ideas to contribute
than one does

5. Disadvantage of Participative
Leadership
 Requires that team members are “literate,
informed and organized”
 People are motivated differently and some
might not be interested in making decisions
 Can be time-consuming because of a
variety of view-points
 Might creative frustration in some members
who ideas are not approved for actions

6. Sources
http://www.meeting-facilitation.co.uk/promeet/participatory-
leadership/definition.html
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/participati
ve_leadership.htm
http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/leadstyles.htm
http://www.preservearticles.com/2012051932586/7-
disadvantages-of-participative-or-democratic-leadership.html