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responsiveness of the organization. Too much power-sharing, on the other
hand, may create confusion or lack of direction.

The authoritarian leader is all about “control” and managing the completion

of tasks. Authoritarian leaders often approach situations with the attitude
that other people are innately unwilling to get involved and are basically
unreliable. They tend to use their power to dominate their followers. In
the authoritarian style, most (if not all) policies are determined by the
leader. Decision-making for the authoritarian leader is usually autocratic,
which means no input from others until after the decision is made. This

often results in the lack of creative solutions to problems, which can
ultimately hurt the performance of the organization.

As was stated previously, the authoritarian style typically involves a focus
on tasks, in which leaders are likely to organize and define the roles of the

members of their group (followers). This requires explaining which
activities each is to do and when, where, and how tasks are to be
accomplished. The authoritarian leader in an organization will tend to
spend more time on management issues than on interpersonal
relationships.

Authoritarian leadership is very effective in those situations in which

people have a high level of trust in the organization, when the task is
straightforward, when a decision needs to be made quickly, and/or when
the leader is given responsibility for directing action. A danger in
authoritarian leadership is the tendency toward negative motivation: using
threats, coercion, and other non-reinforcing means to achieve results. This

can create a culture of crisis in the organization, with the leader as either
oppressor or rescuer or both.

As situations in an organization become more complex, it becomes
increasingly difficult for leaders to achieve their goals by using formal
authority alone. If we as adults are paying attention, we learn that control

isn’t a sustainable and effective way to approach working with other
people. Leaders are expected to find ways of obtaining the highest level of
productivity from those they lead, and using control is likely to have the

David Kolzow 30