Among all the types of leadership currently being practised, there is one that is gaining particular strength due to the advantages it offers. So-called participative leadership is that which takes into account the views and impressions of the entire team involved. This allows the whole team to achieve greater commitment to the project, although it also has some limitations as opposed to more authoritarian or traditional leadership.
As its name suggests, participatory leadership is the type of leadership that allows for the participation of all team members involved in a project. This is manifested in the proposal of ideas and opinions, which are deliberate as a whole, despite the existence of a specific authority that is the referent of leadership within the team.
The main characteristic of participatory leadership is the way in which decisions are made. In the authoritarian or traditional leadership, In order to be the leader of the team, there is a person who holds the position of team leader and who makes decisions unilaterally thanks to this position. This position is acquired on merit. In other words, at least in theory, he or she is the person best qualified to lead the team, which presupposes his or her ability to make decisions and impose them on the rest of the team.
In contrast, in the case of the participative leadership, The leader's function is closer to that of a manager than to that of a boss. In this type of leadership, decisions are made on the basis of the opinion of the majority, which is expressed openly and freely and which, after being contrasted and exposed to the rest of the ideas and opinions, must be endorsed by the majority of the team. Once this deliberation has been carried out, the leader's function will be based on the development of the necessary conditions to carry out the chosen choice, but his or her opinion will have equal or similar weight to that of the rest of the team.
Understandably, participatory leadership presents a number of challenges. important advantages over authoritarian or traditional leadership. However, it also has some weaknesses that should be taken into account when choosing one or the other.
As can be seen, participatory leadership has important advantages that should be taken into account when developing a project. However, if the main disadvantages are to be avoided, the best option is to opt for a middle ground. The middle ground in participatory leadership refers to choosing a way of making decisions that is participatory but, at the same time, allows the leader has a higher quality in making such decisions, but at the same time valuing the feedback and input from the team as a whole. In this way, the advantages of both models are combined, which in most cases leads to the best results.
Practising participative leadership fosters employees' commitment to the project and to the company. In the same vein, it is important to bear in mind that, in order to achieve the best results, one of the aspects that cannot be lost sight of is employee satisfaction. The satisfied employees are more productive and committed to their work with the company. There are many ways to foster this employee satisfaction. In addition to participative leadership, elements such as adequate wage remuneration are also essential, as well as granting employees certain social benefits that will allow them to improve their purchasing power or the reconciliation of work and family life, among other proposals.
