Authoritarian Leadership Style against the Democratic One - Essay Example

When I attended a particular seminar, the speaker requested the audience to create a group which is composed of ten (10) members. There were five (5) groups created at that time. The speaker, then, instructed all groups to present a play about a particular social problem. Since one of the members of our group was a member of the school’s theater guild, we then chose her to be our leader. Later on, we talked about the conduct of the play. During our practice, I did not expect the girl to be authoritative.

She was not entertaining the comments and suggestions of the other group members. She wanted all of us to obey her commands and wishes as to the play’s conduct. Some of the group members were passive of her attitude but I and the rest were infuriated. I actually confronted the girl and told her to stop being bossy since the success of the play ultimately depends upon all our efforts. Nevertheless, the girl did not listen to my advice. As a result, our group presented a very bad performance.

Robert Greenleaf actually considers being authoritative as a destructive leadership behavior (as cited in Schyns, & Hansbrough, 2010, p. x). The destructive character that is attached to this kind of conduct connotes that it is, in fact, bad and undesirable. Greenleaf cites that self-interest is the primary reason for the occurrence of this behavior (as cited in Schyns, & Hansbrough, 2010, p. x). According to him, a leader who is driven by self-interest aims to benefit himself or herself in every group endeavor at the expense of his or her followers, whose interest and needs are either disregarded or trampled upon (Greenleaf, as cited in Schyns, & Hansbrough, 2010, p. x). This kind of leader destroys the coordination and potency of the group.

He or she will also emotionally strain his or her followers (Tepper, as cited in Schyns, & Hansbrough, 2010, p. x). This finding is in accord with what I had experienced.