Activity 2.2 | Relational Leadership Models for Early years Contexts

In 1939, psychologists Kurt Lewin, R. Lippit and R.K. White identified three distinct leadership styles: autocratic [a leadership style characterized by a top-down approach where the leader makes all the decisions and members or employees have little autonomy], democratic, and laissez-faire [a leadership model that is expressed through a hands-off approach where the members or employees have minimal supervision]. The idea of democratic leadership has since advanced and is sometimes also affiliated with participative or collaborative leadership styles. While it has a broad meaning, in general, it includes leadership models that have members participate in decision making processes. 

Key aspects of this model include collaboration (where members are encouraged to share their ideas and the leader take these ideas into account before making decision), engagement (where the leader ensures that the conditions support members to fully participate and engage), and creativity (where leaders encourages creativity and innovation). This is often a beneficial system, but it can be time consuming in larger organisations.  

This YouTube video from ActiveCollab TV (2024, Apr), "Involve Team Members with the Democratic Leadership," can help illuminate the characteristics of this leadership style. 

Reference

ActiveCollab TV. (2024, April). Involve members with the democratic leadership [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYbOAR1OZqQ

Lewin, K., Lippitt, R., & White, R. K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behaviour in experimentally created social climates. The Journal of Social Psychology, 10(2), 271–301.