Business Strategy - Autocratic leadership

Autocratic leadership, contrary to what you might expect, is when a leadership that is best explained by the phrase "Do as I say” - a clearly visible pyramid scheme. Very few of their employees have any input in the decisions they make within the business, simply because they think they know the best, a business dictatorship of sorts.

This leadership style is rumoured to have originated in the industrial revolution. The time of industrial development was known for its extremely strict rules and oppression of the proletariat from the bourgeois as they approach the borderline of slavery. Heavily implicated in factors and workhouses, the leadership style was used mostly by bourgeois as a form of ideological oppression. If the proletariat were to focus on their standard of life, they wouldn’t be able to notice the development of a capitalist society around them. During this time, the correlation between arrogance and ignorance with Autocratic leadership was drawn.

After the end of the Industrial Revolution in 1840 the leadership style’s popularity began to crash, the revolutionization of culture and values made sure of that. However, that’s not to say that it wasn’t used. Its uses quickly became relevant at the beginning of WWII, and from there on, is commonly referred to as the “Military Style Leadership.” Yet, this doesn’t mean that certain aspects of this leadership quality aren’t still used in today’s society within a business, for example when a leader may need to negotiate prices with a customer or when getting rid of staff, they need to be confident in decisions that are made and not doubt themselves.

When working for someone who is an Autocratic leader you are clear on what they expect from you and how they want things to be done, they will have targets they want to hit and it is down to you to hit them. This could lead to a stressful working environment but can also be very productive.

Another example of an Autocratic leadership is Donald Trump. He categorised as an Autocratic leader due to his ideology that he is the turning point of the universe, as well as total power hunger. He can make decisions that have huge impacts, and he allows very few people on his team to provide any input at all. Therefore, autocratic leadership is a style that can be used to help increase productivity but would only use in small proportions as it could have a negative effect on the business culture and the working environment.