Leadership Styles in the Military

In my view in Military we should use all the three main leadership styles
i.e., authoritarian, democratic and free reign to provide direction to our
subordinates and meet the unit's goals. In military we are facing different
type of situations and we should use different leadership styles to tackle
them as enumerated in succeeding paragraphs :
2.
Authoritarian. Authoritarian is the most rigid leadership style and
allows no disagreement. Authoritarian leadership is extremely strict and
rigid. It is the stereotypical boss giving orders to the subordinate. This
leadership style is used during basic training, when drill is being taught to
new recruits. This type of leadership does not involve yelling or abuse, rather
it is a stricter form of appropriate leadership. Militay Commanders may also
choose to be authoritarian in time critical missions or during emergencies,
where taking the time to debate orders would cause property damage,
mission failure or injury. Some drawbacks to authoritarian leadership include:
disenchantment, depression and frustration among subordinates. For this
reason, the authoritative style is not recommended for long periods of time
or with motivated followers.
2.
Democratic. Democratic leaders listen to the opinions of team
members. Democratic leadership offers followers the highest level of
freedom in decision-making. In this leadership approach, leaders consult with
one or more followers to make decisions. Most military teams after basic
training use this approach to promote fellowship and teamwork within the
unit. Democratic leadership gives subordinates opportunities to advance
their skills through on-the-job leadership and training. A major drawback to
the democratic style is that it takes to make decisions.
3.
Free Reign. Free Reign leadership allows team members to work
without interference from the leader. The free reign style of leadership allows
followers to take charge of situations under supervision (but not interference,
unless there is a problem) of their leader. Military officers frequently use this
type of leadership to delegate jobs and teams to non-commissioned officers.
Leaders delegate responsibility to other competent team members so the
subordinates can learn how to lead and to free up time for the leader to do
other important tasks. Military officers can also delegate tasks to subordinate
experts, who know more about a particular job than the leader. This

maintains span of control, while allowing the experts to do their jobs without
interruption.