Free space not always desired

Under time pressure support may be authoritarian

 

 

 

 

You could think that superiors or colleagues who grant autonomy while helping their staff are the most popular ones. People could learn most and develop their skills better after all, couldn´t they? Still: this is not the case. The so or so judgement depends much more whether tasks have to be fulfilled under time pressure or not. That´s the outcome of a new Israelian study: The positive effect of supporting measures that foster autonomy decreases if anything has to go quickly. If people are confronted with tough deadlines then a superior who helps by giving strict orders is more highly appreciated.

Chernyak-Hai/Heller/Tov-Nachlieli/Weiss-Sidi, “Give them a Fishing Rod, if it is not urgent: the impact of help type on support of helper´s Leadership”, in: Journal of Applied Psychology”, 2024, Vol. 109, No. 4, 551–572

From the practice:

These finding confirm what we know from leadership theories for a long time: authoritarian behavior may have advantages when we are running into a crisis. That´s why there is and will be also in future no single over all leadership formula. Responsible ones have to keep up their flexibility and consider from case to case which sort of support or help is actually appropiate for their subordinates. Otherwise they will harvest wrongdoings, rejections or defense.