Might you be an overly authoritarian leader? Four warning signs

A good manager must be able to find the right balance between sufficient authority and friendly openness towards their subordinates. They have to know in what situations they should be firm or, on the contrary, open to compromise. An overly authoritarian and dominant team manager kills the creativity of their team and frustrates their subordinates. Are you by any chance an overly authoritarian leader? Here are four telltale signs.

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This text is based on an article on the INSEAD Knoweldge website.

Little feedback and initiative from subordinates

Subordinates who are used to having their manager dictate what they should do and management never listening to their views soon stop expressing their opinions and ideas. So if you sense the initiative and creativity of your team is waning and you lack feedback from your subordinates, the fault may lie in your overly authoritarian approach.

High employee turnover

Having an overly dominant leader who micromanages subordinates sooner or later results in the dissatisfaction of team members, and subsequently in their high turnover. Ambitious and talented people do not last long under an overbearing leader.

Little team flexibility and staying in the status quo

A team which, due to their manager's authoritarian leadership, sees no reason to seek new solutions or develop will soon start to stagnate. It is inflexible, unable to cope with change or react to developments in the company and the market. Thus it tends to stay in the status quo.

Poor work ethic and broken team spirit

Other significant impacts of an authoritarian leadership style are a poor mood and damaged work ethic of the entire team. Team productivity tends to decline in the long run; interpersonal relationships and team spirit also often deteriorate in a team with a dominant leader.



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Article source INSEAD Knowledge - INSEAD Business School knowledge portal
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