The Laissez Faire Management Style: Definition and Pros & Cons

What is Laissez Faire Management style? 

The laissez faire management style is a fairly hands-off approach to leadership, allowing group members to be decision makers and solve problems on their own¹. Laissez Faire leaders give their team support, guidance, consultation, and training when it’s needed, but trust them to handle the details and execution of their tasks and projects on their own³.   

This management style encourages employees to engage in the decision-making process and in all stages of projects they are involved in with minimal supervision. This can be particularly effective in situations where group members are more knowledgeable about a project or topic than the group leader.  

• Additionally, the autonomy given to employees can be freeing and help them feel more satisfied in their work and their career growth. Employees who are progressing in their careers tend to be more positive and stay with the company longer, boosting employee retention³. 

Promotes creativity 

• The flexibility of the Laissez Faire leadership style provides a low-pressure environment that fosters innovation and creativity where employees can use and build on their experience and skills. Providing high quality coffee in the office can be a great way to boost creativity even further. 

• The freedom to make their own decisions can encourage innovation with employees bouncing off each other’s ideas, and feeling unconstrained by managers’ expectations³. 

Quick decision-making turn around 

• With a Laissez Faire management style in place, the decision making process can be considerably faster as employees have the autonomy to make their own decisions and do not have to go through lengthy approval processes¹. 

Cons of Laissez Faire Management 

Withdrawn leaders 

• With employees having so much control and autonomy, Laissez Faire leaders may lack any involvement in projects and become more withdrawn, leading to less cohesiveness in the group¹. 

• If a manager seems unconcerned with the work being done, employees may pick up on this and express less care and concern for their work. 

Requires employee participation 

• If employees are not willing to get involved and engaged in decision making and projects, this approach to management will not work. 

• Employees may fear getting involved due to lack of ideas or because their ideas have not been chosen in the past. This can be disheartening and lead them to not getting involved in projects and decisions¹. 

• For employees who are new to the field or unfamiliar with processes or tasks, this approach can lead to confusion and overwhelm as they might be unsure about what they are supposed to be doing. 

Overall, the Laissez Faire management style is very effective when working with self-motivated teams who may be experts in their field and dedicated to their work. Certain industries are also more suited to this style of leadership, including advertising and other creative fields where creativity and out-of-the-box thinking can be stifled by more restrictive management styles.  

To avoid the dangers of the laissez faire style of leadership, managers should make sure team members know their roles within the group, give useful and consistent feedback, check in on group performance, and ensure every team member has the knowledge and expertise for the project at hand.  Regular check-ins with the team can be done in a low-pressure environment, such as over a cup of coffee to maintain a sense of trust that is so valuable with this management style. 

Next, find out why autonomy at work is key with our podcast guest Bruce Daisley. If you want to find out more about other management styles, check out our guides on delegation management and visionary management. 

Sources: 

1. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-laissez-faire-leadership-2795316#citation-1  
2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smi.2697 
3. https://www.nsls.org/blog/what-is-lassiez-faire-leadership