What is Laissez-Faire Leadership? How it Can Drive Business Growth

Consider a hypothetical situation. Sara is responsible for leading daily operations at a famous restaurant. Her workable approach is to enable employees to own their responsibilities themselves. Sara implements this leadership style as most of her team members carry much work experience in restaurant businesses. She knows they are well-equipped and responsible enough to execute their daily tasks effectively. Sara trusts them to help ensure business growth without micromanaging them. This is how Sara cultivates laissez-faire leadership in the workplace. If you want to learn what laissez-faire leadership is in greater detail, its various characteristics, and how it can bring success to your organization, you’ve come to the right place!

What is Laissez-Faire Leadership?

Laissez-Faire leadership offers a broader spectrum of leadership skills. It allows team members to voice their opinions and gives them the freedom to have their decisions heard and even acted upon. A team’s success depends on how the leader guides their team members. While diplomatic leaders only allow a little room for their team members to broaden their spectrum of work, the laissez-faire leadership style eliminates micromanagement by the leader. It allows team members to coordinate with each other and work on their ideas and suggestions; leaders typically only step in to offer any required guidance. 

What are the Characteristics of Laissez-Faire Leadership?

In this style, leaders trust team members to get the job done without interfering with their tasks and responsibilities. Let’s look at the characteristics of laissez-faire leadership:

• In this model, leaders clearly understand when to step in and when to offer space to their team
• They don’t micromanage and focus on the broader picture and long-term goals 
• They can delegate work efficiently
• Under this kind of leadership, team members trust each other and coordinate among themselves to complete a project 
• Leaders are appreciative of the results and offer incentives in some cases

Now that we have understood the basic characteristics of laissez-faire leadership let’s explore this distinctive style of leadership some more.

The Laissez-Faire Leadership Style

Originally a  French word, “laissez-faire” means letting people do as they choose. In this leadership style, the leaders offer their team members complete autonomy to implement their ideas and work independently. The leader steps in only for the purpose of management, guidance, or training when required, leaving the rest of it to the team members. Leaders prefer empowering their team members to choose their course of action. This means that the team members themselves are accountable for the output.

ALSO READ: Top Leadership Styles and Skills You Need to Become a Future-Proof Leader

Advantages and Disadvantages of Laissez-Faire Leadership

Advantages

• Laissez-faire leadership nurtures a bond of trust between team members and leaders 
• It incorporates a sense of freedom amongst the team, enabling them to put in their best ideas without fear of rejection or judgment
• This form of leadership fosters innovation and sparks creativity among team members 
• Empowers every team member to work on their leadership skills

Disadvantages

• There are higher chances of this leadership style resulting in unproductivity as continuous guidance is absent 
• This can lead to frequent conflicts amongst the team members in the absence of proper management
• An under-skilled team without prior experience will find it difficult to work with this model
• This can lead to confusion related to tasks and responsibilities

When Should You Avoid Laissez-Faire Leadership?

While this leadership style offers high flexibility, it can be challenging if the task requires thorough planning, coordination, and management. Let’s look at circumstances when this leadership style must be avoided.

Deadline-Oriented Tasks

If a project comes with a tight deadline and higher stakes, avoiding this kind of leadership is best. Not all team members understand the importance of meeting deadlines or working through complications.

Quality is Priority

If a project requires constant scrutiny to ensure quality every step of the way and accommodates client feedback, then it is best to avoid going forward with laissez-faire leadership. 

Team with Less or No Experience

Suppose a team consists of people with no prior experience in this type of leadership or who have worked in a high-pressure environment. In that case, it is best to adopt leadership styles that are more managerial and provide guidance.

ALSO READ: Is a Leader Different from a Manager? How and Who is More Important?

How to Apply the Laissez-Faire Leadership Style

With the right combination of team members, commitment, and leadership skills, laissez-faire can be the right fit. If you are looking forward to implementing this method of leadership in your organization, here are a few tips for you:

• Ensure you have employees who are dedicated to their work and understand the assignment at hand 
• Be sure to constantly observe your team and stay on track with your team’s performance
• Ensure you address the pain points right from the start to administer the team properly

Examples of Laissez-Faire Leadership

To help you have a clear picture of laissez-faire leadership, let’s look at some real-life examples:

1. Teachers in School

In schools, teachers are generally observant and do not engage in offering individual attention. 

2. Leaders at Work

Often, higher management simply sits back and observes the performance of each team and intervenes only when necessary. 

3. In Politics

Some governments allow their leaders to make decisions for the people and offer little to no guidance. Political leaders who practice a laissez-faire leadership style may allow their subordinates to make decisions without guidance. 

Famous Laissez-Faire Leaders

Some well-known laissez-faire leaders are Ronald Reagan, Andrew Mellon, Warren Buffet, and John F. Kennedy. They exercised laissez-faire leadership to some extent to empower their followers and create a bond of trust and mutual respect. 

Lead with Confidence, Upskill with Emeritus

We hope this article helped you understand what laissez-faire leadership is, and that it motivates you to choose a leadership style that would work best for you. We at Emeritus understand the importance of leadership roles and encourage aspiring leaders to enhance their skills and knowledge by enrolling in our online leadership courses. You get to learn from industry experts and gain some hands-on experience too. It’s a great first step to taking on a leadership role in your company.

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