The Participative Management Style in The Workplace
Participative leadership is where all team members work together to get involved in the decision-making process. Find out the pros and cons to this style here.
What is the participative management style?
Participative leadership is where all team members work together to make decisions. This style encourages all employees to get involved in the decision-making process. Managers who use the participative style frequently seek their team’s opinions, emphasising inclusion and a ‘participatory business culture’.1
For example, a manager tries to decide which NESCAFÉ® instant coffee flavours to purchase for their employees. Using the participative management style, the manager asks each team member to note their coffee preferences (perhaps using the NESCAFÉ® Coffee Preference Sheet). After the manager collects all the responses, they purchase products based on these preferences.
Pros of the participative management style
Employees’ opinions feel more ownership over company decisions
- The participative management style emphasises listening to everyone’s opinions, ensuring they feel heard when a decision is made.1
- Each employee can take ownership and feel more invested in implementing the outcome, even if it is a solution some disagree with.1
- When employees feel more ownership over company decisions, it can give them ‘a greater sense of belonging’2, knowing that their contribution directly impacted the outcome.
Employees feel more confident presenting innovative ideas
- When employees regularly participate in collaborative discussions, they can feel more comfortable suggesting new ideas to peers, knowing their views will always be heard.2
- Poor listening can undermine your team’s confidence, affecting their morale.3 Therefore, when managers prioritise listening to their team, it can boost employees’ confidence and well-being.
- An employee engagement report revealed that ‘93% of UK employees say feeling listened to by leadership is important to their wellbeing at work.’4
- A successful participative manager must be a good listener. When a manager develops a reputation for being a good listener, employees will trust them and be more likely to confide in them.5
Employees feel more motivated
- A 2022 report revealed the top reason why employees leave their current company is due to a lack of motivation.6
- One way to improve employee motivation is by encouraging collaboration through participative leadership. It gets employees to value each other’s contribution and means managers can better recognise their team’s efforts.2
- In a recent survey, 90% of HR workers agreed that employee recognition helps drive business results.7 The participative management style allows managers to recognise their team’s contributions and ideas regularly.
Cons of the participative management style
The decision-making process can be slower, leading to more disagreements
- Implementing the participative management style requires a lengthy 8-step process involving setting up discussions, sharing ideas, taking votes and listening to all views.1
- Compared to more authoritative leadership styles, where the decision lies solely with the manager, participative management can significantly slow down the decision-making process.
- There’s a higher chance that employees will present conflicting ideas, but a participative manager must still listen to each opinion before deciding, which can take time. This can be especially time-consuming when the project requires a fast turnaround.
Employee participation is required
- The participative management style requires ‘full participation and endorsement of every member.’1
- However, this management style only works when employees are ‘willing to engage’. For various reasons, employees may not want to participate in discussions constantly and instead focus on their tasks. Some employees simply do not enjoy group discussions or perhaps feel they do not have the proper knowledge to make a worthy contribution.8 Boosting employee morale could be a great solution for managers struggling with this.
- Therefore, this management style only works with a team that is willing or, even better, enjoys constant collaboration and discussion.8
Overall, the participative management style works best in small businesses, where all employees have a collaborative mindset, and the manager has time to listen to everyone’s opinions without hindering workflow.
See our guide on the different management styles next and find out when it’s best to use an persuasive management style vs a consultative management style.
Learn more about the participative management style. Why not delve into the world of the democratic management style?
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