When is Autocratic Leadership Helpful?
It can't just be me.
Over the past month I have seen a worrying leadership pattern emerge with clients, colleagues, and friends.
In one case it was a decision to allocate funds to a project. In another it was to do with a controversial hire. In another it was about a change in process that increased administrative work for field staff. They all had a few common factors:
People found out about the final decision before they had a chance to know about the discussion taking place, let alone be consulted.
People were affected (usually negatively) by the decision made.
Leaders felt these decisions were necessary, while almost everyone else felt they were not.
I call it 'finding out after the fact'. The final decision itself doesn't frustrate people - its the way its done and communicated.
In one case the staff were consulted, but senior leaders ended up doing what they always intended to do. At least consultation took place, but some would argue it is even worse to ignore feedback than not asking at all!
This is a form of autocratic or authoritarian leadership, which most of us agree is not the best way to lead. But, can it be productive and does it have its place?
In a word, yes.
Know Your Phase
One of the most reliable team development models is The Tuckman Model (see below). It tracks the five stages of team development. Many have challenged it over the years, but to no real avail. David Wilkinson from the Oxford Review talks through the history of this model and the six main critics of the model over the decades (and how they all fall flat).
Tuckman is helpful as a frame of reference. In the words of Wilkinson, "all models are wrong" referring to the reality of models - they are there to help us make sense of very complex concepts. Any time you use a map, graph, or model it will represent a reality but never be exact. Tuckman is no different.
Tuckman is useful to guide your Leadership Style (and know when to flex). When overlayed with the competence model we can see how this helps with the development of people's capability and overall team development. Too often, we see our work transactionally and this frame helps us to see the wider context of the bigger reality of our leadership work.
Using this model we can adapt our leadership. Here is the cheat code...
Forming: The team are low in competence. Tell them what to do (Directive/Autocratic)
Storming: The team are testing boundaries as they find they're feet. Keep them accountable (Coaching/Democratic)
Norming: Everyone settles into their roles and gets on with it. Get them involved in as much decision making as possible (Participative/Facilitative)
Performing: The team are highly competent and are humming. Get out of their way (Mentoring/Delegatory)
Adjorning: The team break up and move on. Rebuild and go again (Supportive/Transformational)
This little table I have put together above can be helpful to orientate your leadership to the situation you are currently in. Remember, it is just a model so it is unlikely your team will perfectly match one of the phases, but close enough is good enough.
Know The Traps
One of the biggest mistakes I see leaders make is using one mode of leadership. Another common mistake is people assuming their team is 'Performing' when in reality they are 'Forming/Storming'. To this point, the third mistake is to expect 'Performing Results' from a Forming/Storming team.
[Note: I see this last mistake in almost every single business I work with - beware of the unrealistic expectations and heavy weight leaders bare in this situation]
But there are times we can exercise our inner Dictator - when the team are Forming. This is when it is okay (if not required) for a leader to own the decisions, be specific and direct with their communication, and take a larger portion of the responsibility for the team's work.
This does not equate to being nasty. On the contrary. This includes a lot of explaining and clarifying. Autocratic leaders are able to clearly state the purpose of their decisions and how this contributes to the vision. They are role models of the behaviour they want to see in the team.
Know When Its Helpful
Honestly, this is an exhausting mode of leadership, and therefore needs to have an expiry date. Otherwise burnout is a real risk and will limit to team growth.
Autocratic, Directive, and Dictatorial Leadership is judged as bad for many valid reasons. But, when you have a bunch of newbies or unskilled in your team, it becomes imperative.
Being deliberate with this leadership style ensures it is helpful. Why you are leading this way, how you communicate, and the achievements you need to see in the team will help the team shift gears. Once this is achieved a coaching style can take over.
The best leaders among us know the phase their team is in, where deliberate Autocratic moments help rather than harm.
