
This is how they operate with a “hands-off” approach. A leader who is able to trust their team is a leader who is able to operate effectively in laissez faire leadership.Ĭompanies who operate successfully with laissez faire leadership do so by hiring experts and allowing them the autonomy to make decisions around their own structure and processes. Now, we understand how a laissez faire leader listens to their teams, we need to look at how exactly a laissez faire leader is able to give their teams the autonomy to work for themselves.Īs you might guess by the title of this section, it all comes down to trust. This is the essence of laissez faire leadership.

They listened to the concern but ultimately left it up to their employees and their own experiences and abilities to figure it out themselves.

They simply provided support for the team to do that themselves. They didn’t suggest ways around the issue. Notice, the leader didn’t step in and interfere with any structures or processes. A laissez faire leader would, first, listen to the team member and then suggest that the team gets together to determine the best way to move forward. Can you rearrange the team structure so that we work better together?”. Laissez Faire Leadership Example 1 : A team member comes to you and says, “The way the team structure has been set out is not as productive as it could be. Well, while this kind of style leaves it to the team to discover the best way of working for them, the laissez faire leader is always on hand to provide support and assistance in any way.

You might then be thinking, “What does a laissez faire leader actually do?”. Listening and learning from them is, therefore, a key aspect of being a great laissez faire leader. If you find yourself in a position where you aren’t taking the time to listen to what your staff has to say and, instead, are trying to manage their work for them, you aren’t practising laissez faire leadership.Ī laissez faire leader is someone who is able to sit back and trust their employees to use their skills and experience to determine their own structures and processes. It should come as no surprise that the first example of how you can show yourself to be a laissez faire leader is to listen to your employees. In this day and age, leaders operating with autocratic approaches find very little success. Now, more than ever, employees want to feel as though their voices are heard and their concerns are being dealt with.
