MN7185 - Paternalistic Leadership Style

“A leader is the one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than the others see, and before the others see.” – Leroy Eimes

Paternalistic leadership is a management method that requires a leading and commanding personality who plays as a matriarch or patriarch and handles teams and employees just like the members in a large family.

Other way round Leaders expect faith, obedience and loyalty from the co-workers.

A Paternalistic Leader makes a friendly environment at the organization that employees treat as family. Getting into a group or a team is the natural drive of a human. Similar to a family that is having a head or a Leader. Organizations are with leaders who have a commanding position to decide what’s best and good for the team.

Paternalistic leadership is the method, where a leader is prepared to stick into the interests of the co-workers of the company or the organization.

Elements of Paternalistic Leadership

Leadership styles in Asian countries often marked as paternalistic leadership which its having own traditional ways.


Paternalistic leadership contains of three main fundamentals -

• Autocratic leadership
• Benevolent leadership and
• Moral leadership

Autocratic Leadership

Autocratic leadership can be explained as that the leaders will make the decision on their own ideas and judgments and rarely accept advice from the employees. It always takes control over the team by supreme commanding.

Benevolent Leadership

This much explains that the leadership that focuses on the personal family well being of the employees.

Moral Leadership

This is the leader who guides and shows the path by an example to the subordinate while convincing. Its target is to serve rather than exposing his own skills or capabilities. However, moral leaders will encourage the development of the capabilities of the team.

Characteristics of Paternalistic Leadership

Paternalistic leadership consists of the following features - compassion, good organizational skills, decisiveness, empowerment, and influence.

Compassion

Compassion can describe as that the increases of employee’s loyalty towards the organization.

Good Organizational Skills

This comprises a set of competencies that support the leader’s plan, prioritize, and achieve the final task or the goal.

Decisiveness

This explains the ability to make a decision quickly and effectively using possessed expertise and knowledge

Empowerment

This focuses on given authority or the ownership to a follower to carry out with on achieving a specific target

Influence

It elaborates that the influencing of the subordinates to perform a task by its capability development.

References

StudiousGuy (2018). Paternalistic Leadership Style: Types, Examples. [online] Studiousguy.com. Available at: https://studiousguy.com/paternalistic-leadership-style-types-examples/.

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