ISLAMIC AND CONTEMPORARY

LEADERSHIP
 DEFINITION DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP
Democratic leadership, also known as participative leadership, is a type
of leadership style in which members of the group take a more
participative role in the decision-making process.
The democratic leadership style is a very open and collegial style of
running a team. Ideas move freely amongst the group and are
discussed openly. Everyone is given a seat at the table, and discussion is
relatively free-flowing.
The primary characteristics of democratic leadership signifies that
group members are encouraged to share ideas and opinions, even
though the leader retains the final say over decisions and members of
the group feel more engaged in the process leading to encouragement
of creativity.
Definition by John Gastil
Leadership is any action that helps the group to achieve its preferred
states. Gastil asserts that a democratic leader has three primary
functions :
(i) distributing responsibility so that all members of the group are
responsible
(ii) empowering the membership
(iii) helping the group to deliberate.

John Gastil
Professor and Head
Dept. of Communication arts and Sciences
The Pennsylvania State University
In order to analyze these functions, Gastil asserts that no one person
could fully perform all of them, and he makes a case for leadership
being a behavior which many members of the group should perform in
turn. Gastil notes that, when not leading, group members would be
followers who are:
-responsible for the well-being of the group
-accountable for their actions
-autonomous
-working with those who are leading
 WIN-WIN
LEADER STUATION PEOPLE
HISTORY OF DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP
It dates to the 1930s and 40s. Thats when noted
behavioral researcher Kurt Lewin led studies that helped
identify the value of the democratic/participative
leadership style in organizations.

In Leadership and Group Life, Lewin and his colleagues

Ronald Lippitt and Ralph K. White cite democratic,
laissez-faire and autocratic as the three primary
leadership styles.

Based on interviews with business leaders and

employees, Lewin, Lippitt and White concluded that the
democratic leadership style was the most popular
among subordinates
Successful democratic leaders differ from autocratic and laissez-faire
leaders in two important ways.
Unlike autocrats, democratic leaders expect people who report to
them to have in-depth experience and to exhibit self-confidence.
Unlike the laissez-faire style, which delegates authority to experts,
democratic leaders are involved in the decision-making process.
Democratic/participative leaders have enormous responsibilities.
Organizations that incorporate the democratic style still need strong
leaders who know how to avoid the pitfalls that can trip up
collaborative teams when they lose their compass.