Participative Leadership

Having a “say” at work is different than having a “vote”: participative leadership is not about “democracy”; rather it is about engagement. To ensure followers remain engaged, the leader must ensure that decisions are not “arbitrary, secret or closed to questioning.” So says Max De Pree in his 2004 book “Leadership Is an Art.” When individuals seek a work environment which meets “personal needs for belonging, for contributing, for meaningful work, for the opportunity to make a commitment, for the opportunity to grow…”, the leader needs to practice participative leadership. 

Here’s how to practice participative leadership along with further considerations “et alors”.

Participative Leadership 

Participative leadership begins with a belief in the potential of people and depends on relationships. There are five steps which are considered by De Pree to be the “starting points”:

Respect

Beginning with recognizing diversity, respect is all about leveraging persons’ unique talents as appropriate and at different times. Participative leadership increases motivation through empowerment.

Values

“As practice is to policy, style is to belief.” Personal value systems need to be “closely integrated” with values in practice at work. Participative leadership increases trust through authenticity.

Rights

Work “rights” need to be defined and should include the “rights” to be “involved, to understand the corporation, to be accountable, to appeal, to make a commitment.” Participative leadership increases engagement through inclusiveness.

Covenants

Contracts are one thing, but the “best people working for organizations are like volunteers” and they do not need contracts; instead they need covenants. Participative leadership increases the motivation beyond salary and status.

Relationships

Trust exists between people and is dependent on relationships rather than processes and/or “structures”. Participative leadership fosters environments in which people can develop high-quality relationships.

Et alors

When talking about leadership and engagement, it is (as the author says) all about people. When focusing on the interface between leadership and engagement, other studies (Right Management) highlight two key drivers: 1/ Recognition; and 2/ Development. Recognition refers to performance and a key part of participative leadership is knowing when and how to say “thank you!” Recognition of performance works within the above framework relating to respect, values and rights. Development refers to potential and this is what participative leadership is all about. Focusing on the person, participative leaders consider how to maximize others’ potential. In so doing, participative leaders will not only increase the others’ personal engagement, but will also increase the others’ feeling that the organization is engaging them; and the latter (“organizational” engagement), is vital for organizations to achieve success in today’s working environment…