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social science subjects > business and management > leadership (business) > leadership styles > autocratic leadership
... > social science subjects > business and management > organization studies > organization studies encyc > leadership theory > leadership styles > autocratic leadership
... > social science subjects > psychology > social psychology > group dynamics > organizational behavior > leadership theory > leadership styles > autocratic leadership
... > social science subjects > business and management > organization studies > organizational behavior > leadership theory > leadership styles > autocratic leadership
... > social science subjects > business and management > organization studies > organization studies encyc > organizational behavior > leadership theory > leadership styles > autocratic leadership
... > social science subjects > psychology > applied psychology > industrial psychology > organizational structure, design, and change > organizational behavior > leadership theory > leadership styles > autocratic leadership
... > social science subjects > psychology > social psychology > group dynamics > organizational behavior > leadership styles > autocratic leadership
... > social science subjects > business and management > organization studies > organizational behavior > leadership styles > autocratic leadership
... > social science subjects > business and management > organization studies > organization studies encyc > organizational behavior > leadership styles > autocratic leadership
... > social science subjects > psychology > applied psychology > industrial psychology > organizational structure, design, and change > organizational behavior > leadership styles > autocratic leadership

Preferred term

autocratic leadership  

Definition

  • A popular saying, often seen these days on T-shirts worn by suburban matrons, reads: “Because I'm the Mommy, that's why!” This innocently humorous slogan contains a core of truth, and it also expresses what many scholars regard as the essence of autocratic leadership: “Do as I say, because I'm telling you to do it!” The first systematic study of leadership styles was undertaken by Kurt Lewin and his colleagues and published in 1938. Using as subjects a group of tenyear-old children at a YMCA, Lewin examined the reactions of the children to adult leaders who had been instructed to use one of three leadership styles: autocratic (the leader makes all decisions), democratic (decision making is shared by leader and followers), and laissez-faire (the followers make all decisions themselves). [Source: Encyclopedia of Leadership; Autocratic Leadership]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/autocratic_leadership

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