Understanding the Democratic Leadership Style

Democratic Leadership is, in fact, one of the most effective leadership styles when it comes to building a workplace environment where participation and equity of ideas are key. According to researcher and leadership expert Daniel Goleman’s findings, it is the style that’s most closely correlated with responsibility, which means that it’s particularly effective in environments where driving engagement is critical for success.

If the Democratic Leadership style is the one that best describes you, it’s important to understand your natural strengths and weaknesses so you can drive results and truly get the most out of each member of your team.

However, if this style of leadership seems unnatural because you employ one of the other five major styles, it’s important that you understand how you can implement a more democratic approach when the time and situation calls for it. Sometimes leadership means taking into account what others think and getting the best ideas from the “group mind” that your team possesses. This is what makes the Democratic Leadership style so unique — and effective — in terms of creating a positive, productive and healthy workplace climate.

Democratic Leaders — What Do They Bring to the Table?

When many people think of leadership, they envision individuals who set the tone by giving orders and directing others. This is exemplified by the Authoritarian Leadership style. The Democratic style, by contrast, involves asking a lot of questions and doing a ton of listening. The key is the Democratic Leader’s ability to synthesize everything they’ve learned into a real, workable consensus.

An ability to form a consensus based on inquiry and feedback is characteristic of Democratic Leaders, but they possess some other key traits:

• Democratic Leaders are skilled at establishing and building trust
• They are the most effective when it comes to getting team members to “buy in” to a concept or strategy
• When strong commitment is required of team members, Democratic Leaders get people on board
• The Democratic Leadership style is so effective largely because it engenders respect, not just for leadership, but among the group as a whole
• Democratic Leaders drive flexibility, responsibility and morale
• The Democratic style works best when leaders are uncertain about the direction to take, or when they recognize that fresh ideas can help drive their visions to reality

Drawbacks of the Democratic Style

Of course, there is no perfect leadership style — the best style to employ depends upon what’s appropriate for a given scenario — and the Democratic Leadership style has its drawbacks, some of which include:

• Potential lack of immediate action in the interest of finding consensus
• The propensity to schedule endless meetings, which can stall and delay progress
• Procrastination — there is always more information to gather, process and consider before a decision is made
• A sense of missing or absent leadership among team members who want direction and to be told what to do

The Democratic Leadership style is most ineffective when employees are incompetent or simply do not have the knowledge or expertise to provide good ideas. And in times of crisis or emergency, the last thing a leader needs to be doing is holding meetings to gather ideas and strive for a group decision and buy in.

A Case Study

So how can you leverage the Democratic Leadership style?

Let’s look at an example of how it might work in the real world…

Erin, who is the leader of a design team for a large web-development firm, is fortunate to have a group of all stars working for her. But she hasn’t been able to get them all on the same page in terms of aligning their talents in service of the team’s objectives. It’s a bit like herding cats, as they say. What’s more, a few of her team members clearly have a lot to offer, but they don’t seem to know when — or how — to speak up.

Instead of taking an autocratic approach that focuses on her and her ideas that she may have to drive forward movement, Erin recognizes that the key to taking her team to the next level is driving engagement through consensus building.

Erin schedules meetings based around themes associated with the team’s objectives. She avoids acting on the instinct to tell everyone what she thinks and instead asks lots of questions, getting her team of talented people to talk excitedly about their ideas for the company. She makes a special effort to engage with those team members who may have displayed a reluctance to speak up, giving them confidence and making everyone feel valuable and crucial to the success of the organization.

Through her efforts, Erin can maximize the effectiveness of her dream team. Now everyone feels like they’re working toward a common goal that they all had a hand in establishing. Morale has never been higher, and each team member feels like they’re contributing something essential.

Strategies to Leverage the Democratic Leadership Style

1. Check in with yourself and determine whether you’re being effective with your natural leadership style. Self-awareness is the key to knowing how to be a great leader!
2. Understand that you might not find the perfect solution by scheduling another meeting; sometimes you just have to act based on what you know now.
3. If your organization is in the midst of a crisis, you need to know that it’s time to put on a different leadership hat.
4. It’s good to ask questions — and asking good questions builds engagement — but you should be sure you’re asking the right questions, and incorporating the best answers into your strategy.
5. Make sure that when you listen, you listen actively and attentively. Show your team members that they are being heard when they speak their minds to you.

Leading a Democracy to Success

The Democratic Leadership style engages employees and builds a spirit of commitment and communication within the workplace. Although it is not appropriate for all scenarios, it is an essential style to employ, particularly when morale needs to be improved or when fresh ideas are required to drive a team to greater success. Whether this style comes naturally to you or not, it’s important to understand it and to know when it represents the best way forward.

What do you think? Are you a natural Democratic Leader? How has the style helped you succeed? I’d love to hear your stories!

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