Paternalistic Management Style and Disadvantages of Leadership Styles

As much as the leadership style known as paternalistic management contains some autocratic dynamism, it comes as being a bit warm and a bit fuzzy within the precincts of its approach.

In its paternal aspect, it harkens in the line of a father being firm though has good intentions in the life of one's children and in the business limelight, the employees.

Just like most paternal beings are, except for those dads who keep saying: "I told you", the typical paternalistic manager most of the times explains the specific reason as to why he has taken certain actions in management and for his employees. He is very far from being autocratic and looks after the harmony within his or her team.

A manager of this calibre tends to provide that environment that is perfectly well rounded for all within his management wing, even including a prior consideration of their personal and social aspects in their lives.

In this respect, there seems to occur some kind of upward communication all the way from the tip to the high ranks, in terms of provision of feedback which could be well used for the transformation of some aspects within the organisation for the achievement of employee satisfaction and avid motivation.

Those in support of paternalistic management style have related to it as providing a huge movement towards the motivation of employees more than an autocratic style, since the employees tends to fill the leadership as considering their welfare and thus do care for them more as people and not just like robots.

Since the objective that comes with keeping the motivation of the employees is highly included in this leadership style, there tends to be an overt probability that is laid towards an increased loyalty of employee and also a minimal turnover.

The overall disadvantage with this leadership style depicts the overall disadvantage of leadership styles, sharing such similarities with those elements of autocratic techniques of management styles, such that they have led to the dependency upon the leader through the employees, more than a specific independent thinking.

In case there is a mistake done by the leader, which must be expected because we are flesh and blood and human errors and mistake are given, a dissent could grow within the ranks of the employees since they have a high dependency on their paternalistic manager and feel really let down.

As the credibility wanes, other advantages that the paternal management had been enjoying such as loyalty and even low turnover could begin disappearing.

In case of a dissent by employees, the moral and overall leadership style is affected, since the issue of employees and their general welfare runs supreme than any other kind of aspect within the dimensions of any leadership style and management approach.