Laissez-faire Emily Miller Karley Affleck Sasha Evans-Renaud

Laissez-faire least possible guidance to subordinates Achieve control through less obvious means people excel when they are left alone to respond to their responsibilities and obligations in their own ways. rights and power to make decisions is fully given to the worker

"hands off" leadership style allows followers a high degree of autonomy and self-rule, while at the same time offering guidance and support when requested

Effective Use Followers are highly skilled, experienced, and educated. Followers have pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own Followers are trustworthy and experienced

Ineffective Use Followers feel insecure at the unavailability of a leader. The leader cannot or will not provide regular feedback to their followers

Characterisitics Delegate authority to capable experts Maximize the leadership qualities of staff Praise accomplishments and reward successes Offer constructive criticism when necessary Allow staff to solve problems and manage challenges Know when to step in and lead during a crisis

Benefits can be freeing to some group members and help them feel more satisfied with their work leaders still remain open and available to group members for consultation and feedback

Downside group members lack the knowledge or experience they need to complete tasks and make decisions projects can go off-track and deadlines can be missed when team members do not get enough guidance or feedback from leaders

Famous Leaders Ronald Reagan was known for allowing his subordinates to complete their responsibilities in the manner they saw fit, without autocratically looking over their shoulders. Most of Reagan’s high-level leadership selections were experienced captains of industry from Wall Street, engineering and aerospace contractors. During his two terms as U.S. president, Reagan delegated unprecedented authority to his chief of staff, Cabinet secretaries and others — sometimes to his peril. However, Reagan earned a reputation as a strong but hands-off leader

Quotes Ronald Reagan: “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.” Lou Holtz: “It’s a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.” Jack Welch: “If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings, and put compensation as a carrier behind it, you almost don’t have to manage them.”

Benevolent Dictator

What is it? an authoritarian leader exercises absolute power may allow for some democratic decision-making leader has full control over their project they must still work to ensure that community needs are met benevolent dictator is less about dictatorship and more about diplomacy

organizational simplicity can make it work extremely well. requires the community to fully trust a single individual

Quotes Richard Branson: “I believe in benevolent dictatorship provided I am the dictator.” George Bush: “A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there’s no question about it.”

Questions Between Benevolent Dictator and Laissez-faire, which do you think is more effective? Why? How does a Laissez-faire leader manage their followers? Do you think Benevolent leader is a good way to lead? Why or why not? Explain What are the benefits of a Laissez-faire leader? When would it not be a good idea to use laissez fair leadership?

Sources http://nealwhittengroup.com/articles/are-you-a-benevolent-dictator-you-should-be/ http://blogs.gartner.com/donna_fitzgerald/2010/01/29/the-benefits-of-benevolent-dictatorship/ http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/laissez-faire-leadership.htm http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/laissez-faire-leadership.html