AUTOCRATIC LEADER: CHARACTERISTICS, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES - JOB - 2025

The autocratic leadership or authoritarian leadership is a type in which organizational leaders have absolute power over their workers or teams they lead. This style characterizes the leader who does not allow group members to participate in decisions, in such a way that he ends up dominating and inducing submissive responses from the members.

It comes from the Greek auto (oneself) and kratos (government or power), so it is a system of government where the will of an individual, in this case the leader, is the law, since authority rests only on him.

In this way, the members of the organization themselves do not have opportunities (or these are very limited) to suggest things, even if they are for the benefit of the organization itself.

The autocratic leader tells subordinates what he expects of them, specifies the work to be done and the goals to be achieved, and specifically guides how to achieve it.

One of the authors, Richard Shell of the University of Ohio, argued that there are four basic styles of leadership: autocratic, bureaucratic, liberal, and democratic.

Characteristics of the autocratic leader

Within autocratic leadership, we find different characteristics, among which we highlight:

He is the one who marks everything within the organization

In this type of leadership, the leader is in charge of establishing everything within the organization (establishing the objectives, the way to proceed, etc.).

He does not believe in the initiative of the rest of the group, so he does not encourage it either. He considers that he is the only competent one and that others are not capable of directing themselves.

The leader is a vigilante who knows everything and is above all the initiatives of other people.

Centralization

The leader has all authority centralized and relies on legitimate power to be able to apply both rewards and coercive power. It is oriented inward.

The leader centralizes decisions to effectively order the work teams and thus achieve the objectives proposed by the organization.

Obedience

He expects everyone within the organization to obey him. This leader asks subordinates to obey and adhere to his decisions.

Dogmatism

It is dogmatic. Plus, it's the center of attention. The results of some research establish that they focus power on themselves and impose their point of view on that of the group.

Assumes full responsibility for decision making

All decisions fall on him, who unilaterally decides everything that refers to the organization, limiting the participation of all subordinates.

It makes all the decisions of the organization focused on control and authority.

Give rewards or punishments to your subordinates

Based on legitimate power, he is the one who grants rewards and punishments to subordinates.

Coercion is one of the main characteristics of this leadership and refers to the leader's exercise of power over subordinates, since the leader is the authority.

Emphasis on command and control

These types of leaders emphasize control. They are usually solitary and specialized in certain areas.

They are leaders who supervise all the activities carried out by the worker, so that they comply with standards that have been predetermined in advance.

Great knowledge of the organization

They tend to be very knowledgeable about the organization, are concerned about competitors and are focused on controlling the organization in detail.

They are concerned with the organization in the long term.

Initiate actions, direct and control subordinates

The autocratic leader is the one who directs the subordinates, since he considers that he is the most competent at the time of directing and making all the decisions.

He watches his subordinates to prevent them from deviating from the guidelines he has proposed.

Sensitive to organizational objectives

Following the organizational leadership and the typology of the Blake and Mouton leaders, autocratic leaders would be those who are not very sensitive to people but on the contrary are very sensitive to the objectives of the organization.

That is, they are not very people-oriented but highly results-oriented in the organization.

Motivation for personal power

Autocratic leaders are characterized by seeking prestige and a strong motivation for personal power.

Advantages of the autocratic leader

High performance with the leader present

One of the first studies on leadership was conducted by Kurt Lewin at the University of Iowa and compared autocratic leaders with more democratic ones. This experiment showed that those groups with autocratic leaders performed highly when the leader was present.

However, this study showed that democratic leaders also performed well and did not show as many drawbacks.

Apparently the results obtained may be good when starting the tasks but as time passes the environment ends up being tense and with harmful consequences.

Members have no responsibilities

The main advantage of working with an autocratic leader is that subordinates know that it is the leader who will make the decisions and they only have to obey what he sets them.

They only have to listen to you and carry out the work that has been assigned to them, so in the face of possible difficulties they do not have to think of solutions to solve them either.

Effective results can be achieved

The times established to carry out the activities are met, given the control exercised by the leader.

The daily deliveries are usually fulfilled since the workers prioritize what the leader demands to achieve the proposed goals and thus not have retaliation.

It is suitable when workers have no initiative or are immature

Autocratic leaders can be important in certain organizations since they comply with what the company requires according to the policies they have established.

Some workers do not have their own initiative, and in these cases having an authority to supervise and direct them can lead to them working better, especially in those cases where a large amount of money is handled and mistakes can be very expensive.

May be suitable in emergency situations

An autocratic type of leadership may be appropriate in emergency situations where a problem must be resolved quickly and efficiently.

The leader orders without consultation and compliance with the order is intended dogmatically and firmly. It may also be suitable in situations where a decision is required under pressure or high stress.

Simplification of work

Another advantage of autocratic leadership is that it is simplified, everything goes through one person who controls the entire process.

In addition, workers are supervised at all times, which reduces the probability that they will make mistakes or do the job wrong.

Drawbacks of the autocratic leader

Discontent of the members

One of the drawbacks of authoritarian leadership is that members of the organization can feel resentful, ignored, or uncomfortable with the treatment they receive.

The same study carried out by Kurt Lewin in relation to the autocratic style showed that the members of the group were hostile. The sense of responsibility is evaporated, because they are not capable of acting on their own initiative.

By not communicating with group members and only doing so when there is a problem, it can be very frustrating for them.

Work absenteeism or staff turnover

You can find high levels of absenteeism, staff turnover in the company since workers are not comfortable in this type of leadership.

In addition, the climate must be managed properly, because if not, the workers may tire of the authoritarianism of the organization and leave, taking the knowledge acquired to another company.

Lack of creativity and innovation in members

Given that responsibility is low and the ability to make decisions as well, in this type of leadership the subordinate has limited ability to be creative and innovative.

Since they are not the ones who solve problems, they also do not put in place creative solutions to solve them.

Employees and their capabilities are not taken into account as they are not explored or taken into account. The lack of communication also ends up hurting it.

The leader's decisions inhibit new ideas, so ideas are also not said because it is known that they will not be considered.

Stress in subordinates

Through this type of leadership, an important source of stress can be generated that ends up contributing to the deterioration of both the mental and physical health of the group members and that ends up also damaging the work environment.

They do not feel part of the organization

Group members do not feel like members of the organization, so their sense of belonging is affected.

People feel that they are not important in the organization and that their jobs are not important either. They do not feel valued because the leader does not take them into account in the decisions that affect the organization.

Impact on the organizational climate

The autocratic leader maintains communication with his subordinates that can cause problems in the members.

Authoritarian leaders are often impulsive, they tell subordinates what they think or feel, and they often feel unfairly treated, which sometimes has an impact on their work.

It ends up also affecting the climate of the organization, so that subordinates end up being afraid to address the leader.

A happy person ends up being more productive, they feel comfortable in the company, with its principles, the values ​​it transmits and the leader who directs it and therefore ends up benefiting the organization.

Low productivity

Sometimes, and related to the above, when people do not feel comfortable in the organization and feel pressured, productivity can end up being lower.

Productivity improves when there are good relationships between members, leaders care about their members (both at work and personally).

Success or failure depends on the effectiveness of the leader

Since everything ends up being directed by the leader, success or failure depends on him.

In this way, although they can finish the task quickly, other styles of leadership such as democratic, although they take longer to carry out the tasks, the end result is usually of greater creativity and originality, in addition to not needing the leader to finish the task.

Some examples of autocratic leaders

Some examples of famous autocratic leaders are found in Margaret Thatcher or Steve Jobs, for example.

They are leaders who wanted to have everything under their control and where all decisions were made by themselves.

It is important that the leader knows how to lead the team in which he moves, he must be disciplined and committed, but he must also know and take into account the members of the group.

You need to know what their views and needs are, since taking them into account can also benefit the entire organization.

References

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2. Becerra, M. (2011). Leadership in smart organizations. Digital scientific magazine of the center for research and management studies.
3. Chamorro, DJ (2005). Determining factors of the director's leadership style. Complutense University of Madrid.
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5. González, O. And González, L. (2012). Leadership styles of the university professor. Multiciences, 12 (1), 35-44.
6. Semprún-Perich, R. and Fuenmayor-Romero, J. (2007). A Genuine Educational Leadership Style: Institutional Fact or Fiction? Laurus, 13 (23), 350-380.