The Effect of Participative Leadership in Small Business
I work for a Home Health Company based in Delaware County. When individuals decide to sit down and make a business they have a lot to think about. These thoughts could destroy their lives if not careful, is there enough money to start it, is there enough money to keep it up, are there backers that will support you, do you have clients, do you have employees, do you have enough time in a day to survive? What happens after all of that is decided that the business is a thing?
I came on board to this business after its doors have been open about 4 years, this business is up and running and it was looking like nothing could stop it. How can you derail a business once it’s already on track? I was a receptionist at this business and I will tell you my thought on how to derail this train, the rules. The employees did not have any sort of structure for what they were supposed to do, sure there were rules like:
- If sick you need a doctor’s note
- You have to show up for work on a normal basis
- You must do this, this, and that if you want to be paid
But there were no in-depth rules to abide by. I sat down with the owners and asked them to think about this, to think about what guidelines should be in place for the employees so that they don’t take advantage of the business. The owners and I sat down and listened to my ideas about changing their policy and procedure manual, I was invited to help in the changing process.
This is a tale of how Participative Leadership benefited me. Thanks to my ideas and the willingness of my bosses to listen to me and put my ideas into effect I was promoted to an Office Manager. My ideas have made the process of recording hours easier, pay roll became easier, documentation and discipline has also become easier and a lot more manageable. I am now an active member in the discussion that goes on around the office and the business have benefited from it all, the willingness of the owners and the thoughts brought by me.
Reference
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage
Publications.
Tara Olson says
I really enjoyed reading about your experience with participative leadership in small business. I had a few thoughts and questions while reading your post, so let me just jump right in.
First, Northouse (2013) described when discussing the path-goal theory that subordinate characteristics are important when determining how a leader’s behavior is going to be viewed. How would you apply this to your example? Would you say that you as a subordinate possess the characteristic of having internal locus of control, meaning that you prefer participative leadership as this would give you more opportunities for decision-making and feeling more in control of events in your life/work environment (Northouse, 2013)?
Secondly, the other question I had is: what subordinate characteristics did you notice in your co-workers and how did they react to this participative approach to leadership? Did you have any co-workers who did not enjoy having that much autonomy within their job and would have preferred perhaps a more directive approach?
Lastly, over time did you notice that the owners were able to develop and exhibit more than one type of leadership (i.e. directive, supportive, participative, achievement-oriented)? Northouse (2013) explained that this is something leaders might do in various situations when dealing with different subordinates. Northouse (2013) also explained that effective leaders should adapt their leadership styles to different situations, as this is a way to help meet the motivational needs of the subordinates.
Reference
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage
Publications.