Laissez-Faire Leadership

In the past, researchers have characterized laissez-faire (hands off) leadership as a neutral management style; a style that has no real impact on workers. But now, a research brief, by Stuart Sidle, published in the May 2007 issue of the “Academy of Management Perspective” journal (pp.75-77) indicates that this belief is wrong.

Sidle’s summary of Skogstad et al.’s (2007) research “shows that danger lurks” in organizations with laissez-faire leaders. Laissez-faire leadership “is actually a form of destructive leadership that may lead to serious psychological distress in the workplace” (p.76).

Laissez-faire boss behavior includes:
∙ failing to initiate any structure for employees
∙ failing to communicate performance expectations
∙ failing to hold employees accountable

The Skogstad et al. (2007) study found “employees managed by a laissez-faire supervisor were likely to experience role ambiguity.” Role ambiguity can have a serious negative effect on productivity. Role ambiguity leads to:
∙ unclear messages about goals
∙ anxiety about prioritizing tasks
∙ unproductive performance evaluations
∙ confusion about responsibilities of the job

Skogstad and his colleagues also found “high levels of interpersonal conflict among coworkers” where laissez-faire leadership was present. In these environments, minor disagreements “escalated into workplace wars.” Even more disturbing, they found that laissez-faire leadership, role stress, and workplace conflict “provide fertile ground for another occupational danger, bullying at work.”

Many managers who practice laissez-faire leadership are convinced they are empowering employees by leaving them alone. This can be true if the employees have extremely clear roles and responsibilities. But, it’s very likely that laissez-faire leadership is having a negative impact on productivity and job satisfaction.

Is your organization, or client’s organization, suffering from the negative effects of laissez-faire leadership? To read the findings of Skogstad et al.’s research please see:

Skogstad, A., Einarsen, S., Torsheim, T., Aasland., M.S., & Hetland, H. (2007). The destructiveness of laissez-faire leadership behavior. “Journal of Occupational Health Psychology,” 12(1), 80-92.