Likert Leadership Systems Concept
To evaluate the leadership style have been developed several models. Likert Leadership Systems form one of the most known and first evaluation models of the leadership style to be created. This model divides the leadership styles in four different types depending on the level of the leaders’ authority use:
- System I – Coercive Authoritarian: autocratic, strongly arbitrary and organizes and strictly controls everything that occurs inside the organization, threats and punishments are used, the communication is rare and group work is inexistent. The main negative consequences of this type of leadership are submission, dependency, inhibition and discouragement. It can have some positive consequences mainly at the fastness of decision making level. It’s generally verified in organizations of intensive manpower and not specialized and with few technology.
- System II – Benevolent Authoritarian: authoritarian and authoritative but more compliant and less strict then the System I; in this system already exists come consulting and delegating and, along with the threats, also exist rewards. The consequences are similar to the ones of the Coercive Authoritarian System, however less intense. It happens in industrial organizations with some technology and more specialized manpower.
- System III – Advisory: more participative and less organizational arbitrariness; goals and tasks are previously discussed, there is some communication from below to the top and exists some encouragement to group work. Allows some collective safety and employees motivation, becoming, however, slower than the ones before. Usually use4d in services companies and in some areas of more organized industrial companies.
- System IV – Participative: democratic, where all participate democratically in the decisions taking; there is a good communication at all levels and achieves a good motivation level. From the main consequences stand out the feeling of collective safety and interdependence and a higher motivation, being able, however, that the decision process takes longer. Found in companies of high technology and specialized personnel, where the professionals develop complex activities.
Although not characterized by Likert, we can still characterize another leadership system correspondent to permissiveness. On this type of system, the leader allows that the subordinates decide what to do, doesn’t organize tasks, doesn’t control and doesn’t solve conflicts. In summary, doesn’t lead in the true meaning of the word. The main consequences of this type of system would be apathy, conflict and disorder, insecurity and discouragement and still the slowness in the decision taking.
