Is it Laissez-Faire Leadership or Delegation? A Deeper Examination of an Over-Simplified Leadership Phenomenon

Abstract

Characterized simply as “the absence of leadership,” scholars have generally written off “laissez-faire leadership” as the inaction of poor managers disinterested in their followers and organizational outcomes. In this study, we question whether this simple understanding of the construct is always true, arguing that delegation, a conceivably positive behavior, is sometimes perceived as laissez-faire leadership by subordinates. We examine how perceived leader competence and subordinate gender determine how delegation affects perceptions of laissez-faire leadership and, indirectly, dysfunctional subordinate resistance. Our test of this model reveals a significant three-way interaction between delegation, perceived leader competence, and gender in influencing perceptions of laissez-faire leadership and dysfunctional resistance. We conclude that laissez-faire leadership is a more complex phenomenon than is often assumed in research. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in this study.

The effect of self‐leadership training on detached concern and the proactivity of human service professionals

“…Self‐leadership skills can be seen as ‘open’ skills because people can choose how and when to apply them at work (Blume et al, 2010). Because it is difficult and time consuming to specify how self‐leadership skills may affect other skills and behaviours in specific situations at the job, many studies focus on more general outcomes, such as the use of self‐leadership in general (Norris, 2008) or general performance (Dorssen‐Boog et al, 2021). Our study shows that depending on the specific outcome measure that one chooses, the transfer of a self‐leadership training can be seen as ‘successful’ or ‘not‐successful’.…”

When leaders are forced to stay: The indirect effects of leaders' reluctant staying on subordinates' performance

“…Laissez‐faire leaders abdicate from duties, avoid making decisions, and ignore subordinates' needs (Yukl & Gardner, 2020). Laissez‐faire leadership is typically viewed as a passive, ineffective, or poor leadership style (Avolio, 1999; Norris et al, 2021). In contrast, delegation occurs when leaders actively provide employees with additional responsibilities and decision‐making authority (Yukl & Gardner, 2020) and is generally considered to be a positive and effective leader behavior (Yukl & Mahsud, 2010).…”

“…Despite these conceptual differences, laissez‐faire leadership and delegation share some similarities. In particular, laissez‐faire leadership and delegation both leave a large degree of discretion to subordinates, both involve a transfer of decision‐making authority (Chen & Aryee, 2007), and subordinates may perceive both types of leadership behaviors as “stepping back” from their leadership responsibilities (Norris et al, 2021, p. 323). It is this latter point that suggests reluctantly staying leaders may exhibit both laissez‐faire leadership and delegation behaviors, as perceived by their subordinates.…”

Türki̇ye’de Bulunan Kamu Ve Özel Sektör Çalişanlarina Ai̇t Beş Faktör Ki̇şi̇li̇k Özelli̇kleri̇ni̇n Öz-Li̇derli̇k Karakteri̇sti̇kleri̇ Üzeri̇nde Etki̇si̇ni̇n Araştirilmasi

“…Self-leadership affects both the performance of tasks that naturally involve rewards and the performance of tasks that do not involve natural rewards even though, are required to be performed (Neck and Houghton, 2006). Strategies related to self-leadership are classified as behavior-focused, constructive thinking, and natural reward strategies (Norris, 2008). Behavior-focused strategies include cognitive strategies such as self-observation, setting self-goals, selfrewarding, self-punishment, and providing cues (Marques-Quinteiro et al, 2019).…”