In this assignment you will select two different leadership styles or theories, and write a 2-3 page paper comparing/contrasting the two. Focus on how the two are similar to each other (comparison), and then describe how they differ (contrast).

Leadership refers to the art of inspiring a group of people to act towards the realization of a common objective. As such, a leader can be defined as a person with have a combination of personality and leadership skills to influence others to follow his or her direction. To be an effective leader, one has to be motivating, visionary, and responsible to successfully run an organization (Zaccaro, Dubrow & Kolze, 2018). Consequently, this paper seeks to compare the democratic and autocratic leadership styles in nursing.

The democratic leadership connotes a style where participation in decision making is encouraged. A democratic nurse leader accommodates perspectives of subordinates and promotes open communication (McKeown & Carey, 2015). Although the ultimate decision is made by the manager, the stakeholders and subordinates are asked to provide their feedback and are also given feedback. Conversely, autocratic leadership connotes a style where the manager is the boss who makes all decisions and gives particular orders and directions to the subjects, but discourages dissent.

Rationale for Selecting the Leadership Styles

The rationale for selecting the democratic and autocratic leadership styles is to create a clear understanding of the styles to nurse managers who possess either of them. The above is based on the fact that the two leadership styles carry an impact on the willingness of the workforce to perform their duties and responsibilities with dedication. Consequently, the significance of the democratic style of leadership in nursing is that it improves the participation of subordinates in the decision making process of the organization (McKeown & Carey, 2015).

It also enhances joint goal setting where every employee is free to give suggestions on various aspects of management. It increases employees’ sense of belonging and value because they feel appreciated and engaged in the organization. On the other hand, the significance of autocratic leadership style is in its improvement of productivity. Since autocratic leaders have the ability to move information in the entire organization faster, few delays are often witnessed in the productivity chain.

Employees are less likely to stop their engagements or deter them since they get timely communication and decision from their leadership (Cope & Murray, 2017).