Participative Leadership: Strategy & Benefits

Is participative leadership an effective strategy for leadership?

Every leader needs to possess a wide array of leadership skills to inspire and lead their team to success. However, those skills are not enough to guarantee successful outcomes. Ultimately, any leader’s success will be driven by a combination of their skills and their chosen leadership strategy. A strategic leadership style plays a huge role in any leader’s ability to influence their team members, inspire them to be their best, and produce excellent results on a consistent basis.

In this guide, we’ll consider the importance of strategic leadership and its advantages and disadvantages. We’ll also examine the participative leadership style and explore the types of benefits that it can provide for leaders who use it.

What is strategic leadership?

Strategic leadership is a term used to describe the comprehensive practices leaders employ to leverage company resources in pursuit of organizational goals. Regardless of the strategies used, the objective is always the same: to facilitate team development, align employees with the company’s vision and mission, and enhance the organization’s ability to compete and thrive in the marketplace.

To achieve these aims, a leader leverages their strategic leadership style to:

• Build and empower strong, capable teams

• Streamline systems and processes to optimize productivity

• Encourage innovation and adaptability

• Create a company culture that fosters employee development

• Motivate team members to meet and exceed expectations

Strategic leaders are detail-oriented even as they’re focused on the big picture within their organization. They are committed to their company’s vision and mission – and understand the importance of obtaining employee engagement at every level of the organization. That commitment is typically reflected in their chosen leadership style, which they use to create the conditions necessary for organizational success.

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Why is it important to have a strategy for leadership?

It’s easy to understand why leaders need an effective strategy for leadership and how that strategy can help them guide their team to success. The best leadership strategies can help leaders achieve a number of vital organizational goals, including:

Positively influence team behavior

Good leaders understand how to use their leadership style in a strategic way, engaging and supporting their employees. This ability to influence how their teams behave is crucial for maintaining market competitiveness in an ever-changing economy. That influence can help leaders to empower their employees to collaborate more effectively, contribute to problem-solving needs, and meet customer expectations.

Drive results

By creating and empowering a productive work culture, strategic leaders are able to help team members maximize efficiency and effectiveness. That increased productivity helps drive positive results, strengthen the organization’s ability to compete in the marketplace, and further the company’s progress toward its long-term goals.

Acquire and manage high-performing talent

A great leadership strategy is also necessary if you want to locate, hire, and manage top-level employees. Companies with strong strategic leaders understand how to find top talent, leverage their capabilities, and retain them over time. Their focus on team building helps them ensure that their organization continues to perform at the highest levels.

Develop strong company cultures

Strategic leadership is a necessary component of any strong organizational culture. The leader’s style, vision, and actions serve as an example for everyone on the company’s team, and those team members eventually adopt a similar mindset. That helps to bring the entire team into alignment with the company’s goals, which strengthens the organization’s ability to fulfill its mission.

Leverage opportunity

A sound leadership strategy is also vital for recognizing opportunities and leveraging them for the company’s benefit. A great strategy for leadership will always include some level of focus on the future to identify potential opportunities, challenges, and innovations – helping the organization to maintain its competitive advantage over any rival companies.

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What is participative leadership?

Of course, leaders need more than a great strategy for leadership and superior skills. They also need an effective leadership style to implement their strategic plans. One of the most popular styles in today’s workplace is something called “participative leadership.” It’s a type of democratic leadership that provides leaders and managers with many benefits.

The premise of participative leadership is easy to understand – though the style itself is not always easy to implement. At its core, this style of leadership provides an opportunity for all company stakeholders to participate in the decision-making process, maximizing employee engagement, encouraging a sense of shared ownership and responsibility, and leveraging every employee’s unique talent and knowledge base.

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Participative leadership as a strategic leadership style

One of the strengths of this style of leadership lies in its flexibility. Strategic leaders can implement the participative leadership style in different ways, depending on a variety of factors within the company. This enables this leadership style to be an effective tool for companies of various sizes in a wide variety of industries. However, there are certain elements of the participative leadership style that are common wherever this form of leadership is employed:

Information transparency

For any participative leadership style to work, everyone involved in the decision-making process must have access to the information they need to make informed decisions. Leaders who employ this style need to make sure that they’re maintaining a high level of transparency with their team.

Brainstorming for new ideas

The democratic process that lies at the core of participative leadership offers an opportunity for everyone to contribute great ideas. Most leaders who utilize this style will encourage team members to brainstorm frequently and share their new ideas and potential solutions with the group.

Open discussion of possible decisions

Typically, leaders who rely on this leadership style will facilitate group discussion. Once everyone has had their say, that leader then provides a summarization of options for the group to consider as they make their decision.

Some level of group decision-making

This part of the process is where the democratic element really comes into play, as team members all cast their votes for their preferred decision. Of course, leaders may try to limit those options, eliminating any redundant or unworkable solutions. If the group is deadlocked over a decision, leaders often restart the discussion phase to enable them to reach a consensus.

Group commitment to implementing the decision

Once the decision is reached, the entire team is expected to enthusiastically implement it. Everyone is assigned their individual tasks and moves forward to execute the leader’s plans.

Leaders don’t abdicate all decision-making authority

Most leaders who use this style do so in a judicious manner – choosing which types of decisions to delegate to the group or retaining veto power to prevent truly bad or risky ideas from being implemented. By retaining some decision-making power, participative leaders can successfully adapt this style to fit almost any type of workplace environment.

Advantages of the participative leadership style

Before deciding whether a participative leadership style will work for your career or organization, it’s helpful to consider its potential advantages. How can this style of leadership benefit you as you work to increase your company’s competitiveness and profitability? Below are some of the top benefits that you can expect when you incorporate this style into your strategy for leadership.

Greater employee engagement

One of the main advantages offered by the participative leadership style is the potential for tremendous improvements in employee engagement and buy-in. Employees who feel like their input matters will be more likely to feel a sense of ownership over the successful implementation of strategic decisions. Increased engagement can improve employee satisfaction, boost their focus on company goals, and inspire greater productivity and efficiency.

Increased organizational trust

One of the most important elements of any strategy for leadership involves fostering a culture of trust in the workplace. In many companies, employees who are locked out of the decision-making process may struggle to trust their leaders’ decisions. The participative style can mitigate that challenge by ensuring that all employees know that their input matters. That can lead to positive improvements in the company culture that yield huge dividends over time.

Improvements in problem-solving

There’s an old saying about two heads being better than one – and it’s true. In many instances, group brainstorming can produce a wider variety of perspectives, providing greater opportunities for identifying the best solution for any challenge. The participative leadership style provides a perfect venue for more creative problem-solving in the workplace.

Boosted commitment to the company’s values

The participative leadership style can also be a great way to increase your team’s focus and commitment to the company’s values. When employees feel like their voices matter, they’ll be more likely to embrace the company’s vision and mission.

Strengthened team cohesion

Participative decision-making can promote greater team cohesion as employees grow to trust and rely on one another. Collaboration in brainstorming and problem-solving helps to strengthen team trust, forging bonds that can empower your team to reach new levels of productivity and efficiency.

Greater flexibility in decision-making

In today’s economy, companies are often forced to adapt to changing market dynamics, customer needs, and technological innovation. One of the biggest challenges they can face is getting employees to buy into those changes. With a participative leadership style, leaders have increased decision-making flexibility due to the involvement of all stakeholders. That involvement can help employees quickly adapt to any change in the company’s direction or goals.

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Disadvantages of the participative leadership style

Of course, every leadership style also has its potential downside – and that’s true for the participative leadership style too. It’s important to weigh these disadvantages against the benefits to make sure that this style will fit with your strategy for leadership.

Time-consuming decision-making process

One of the biggest potential disadvantages of this leadership style is the sheer amount of time that can be involved in reaching a consensus decision. Getting everyone’s perspective always takes time, so leaders who employ this style need to be cognizant of that fact. This limitation can be overcome, however, if the leader can skillfully manage discussions and debates.

In addition, many leaders only delegate some decisions to the group. In those cases, the most important decisions are often made solely by the leader, while less impactful concerns can be delegated to the group. That way, time-sensitive decisions can be made without any unnecessary delay.

Not appropriate for major decisions

The participatory leadership style is not always an appropriate option – especially when companies are confronted with unexpected emergencies that need to be dealt with in a prompt manner. Sometimes, leaders need to take decisive action without consulting with their entire team, so it’s always wise to maintain the option to make solo decisions when necessary.

Accountability issues

Every organization needs some way to assign accountability when things go wrong. In its purest form, the participative leadership model can make it difficult to hold anyone accountable for bad decisions made by the group. Leaders can overcome this obstacle by mandating that the entire group take ownership of mistakes. The goal is to focus less on blame and more on finding solutions that can quickly correct any mistakes.

Potential for clique behavior

Within any group environment, cliques invariably form over time. That’s to be expected, of course, since human beings often form relationships with people who share similar interests, ideologies, and habits. In a group decision-making effort, however, that clique behavior can sometimes lead to bad outcomes if some employees are unduly influencing their closest associates. Leaders need to be aware of group dynamics to make sure that those clique interests are not impacting decisions in a negative way.

Trade secret concerns

Depending on the organization, certain trade secrets may be at risk when information is widely shared with the group. That could lead to harmful leaks that threaten the company’s ability to compete with its rivals. It’s incumbent upon good leaders to compartmentalize potentially damaging trade secrets when they share information with their team.

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Incorporating the participative leadership style in your strategy for leadership

Since there are solutions for each of those disadvantages, it’s clear that the benefits of participative leadership tend to outweigh any potential problems. But how can you effectively incorporate this dynamic style into your strategy for leadership? The following tips can help.

Develop a culture of openness and transparency

Effective participation requires openness and transparency – from everyone involved in the effort. That means you need to share information with your team and be open to honest feedback. At the same time, you need to encourage those employees to respect each other’s perspectives and ideas. Try to create communication channels that facilitate regular feedback and the sharing of ideas.

Emphasize trust and relationships

No group is going to be successful in a participative leadership environment unless the team members trust each other and their leader. To create trust, focus on promoting transparency, creating a psychologically safe work environment, and encouraging employees to express their ideas without fear of ridicule. You can also incorporate team-building exercises, group social interactions, and mentorship to strengthen those ties.

Focus on empowerment

Get in the habit of delegating responsibility based on talent and expertise. By aligning duties and responsibilities with each team member’s skills and interests, you can empower them to be more independent in their roles. This is also a great way to make sure that every member of the team feels like their talents are being used in the most productive way possible.

Evaluate results

As you incorporate participative leadership principles into your strategy for leadership, you’ll need to regularly assess your progress and results. Take note of important factors like:

• How engaged your employees are in the process

• The overall performance of the team in terms of productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency

• How the decision-making progress is impacting innovation

• The impact on customer satisfaction

• Any changes in employee retention and reported satisfaction with their jobs

• Impact on revenue numbers, profitability, and other financial concerns

• Potential delays in vital decision-making

• Positive or negative impact on workplace culture

While many of these questions and concerns can be answered by evaluating the company’s financial reports and other metrics, you should also regularly consult with your team. Conduct regular meetings as a group, encouraging your employees to provide feedback on the process. You may also want to meet one-on-one with team members to obtain more in-depth feedback.

Choosing the right style and strategy for leadership

It’s always important to choose the right strategy for leadership if you want to maximize your opportunity for organizational success. Selecting the right leadership style is an important part of that process, since it will ultimately impact your ability to drive results. The participative leadership style can be one of the most dynamic ways to achieve that goal.

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This article was originally written by Marsha Hebert. It’s been updated by Ken Chase.

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