Lewin’s Democratic Style of Situational Leadership: A Fresh Look at a Powerful OD Model

What is it about?

Lewin had a simple approach to leadership, which is also a guide to effective followership, and which aligns with his findings on group dynamics. As opposed to autocratic leadership, which Lewin defined as completely dependent on the leader for all thinking and decisions (too much leadership), and as also opposed to passive (Lewin called it laisse-faire) leadership, where the leader is absent or providing little or no direction (too little leadership), Lewin established what he called a democratic style of leadership, which is a blend of the right amount of leadership and the right amount of freedom.

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The right blend of leadership and freedom is the vital to high performance and morale. The key is dialogue. Do the followers think they are getting too much leadership and too little freedom in some specific ways? Do they think they are getting too little leadership and too much freedom in some specific ways? Both can be happening simultaneously. One might not have clarity about priorities from above and yet too much oversight on a task they know how to do well. Of course, the leader’s perspective on this is vital as well. They have to use their best judgment, based on their evaluation of their employees and the situation, in terms of how much oversight and how much freedom to provide. But if they are not getting feedback, if they are not in dialogue with the people they are leading, they are missing arguably the most important source of information.

Perspectives