Paternalistic Leadership

Prepared by: Unika Dash

IBDP-2
 What is leadership?
• Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards
achieving a common goal. The process of encouraging and helping others
to work enthusiastically towards objectives .
• “Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to
making something extraordinary happen.” 
 What is paternalistic leadership?
• Paternalistic leadership is a managerial approach that entails a dominant
authoritative personality who acts as a matriarch or patriarch and treats
partners and employees just like they are members of large extended
families. In turn, the leaders expect trust, obedience and loyalty from the
employees.
 About
• A Paternalistic Leader creates such an amicable ambience at the
workplace that employees consider their team as a family.
• Yearning to belong to a group is a natural human tendency. Just like
families have a head; organizations have leaders, who occupy an
authoritative position to determine what’s best for the team.
• Paternalistic leadership is an approach, where a leader is equipped to
adhere to the interests of the employees and the organization.
 Leadership and management
• Management - is a process of planning ,organizing, coordinating,
directing, and controlling the activities of others.
• Leadership - is the process of influencing for the purpose of achieving
shared goals. Management Leadership Involves coping with complexity
Coping with change
 Importance
• Importance of lea
• Leadership transforms potential into reality . Leadership is not mere using
people and their potential for realizing an organization's goals. It has the
ultimate aim of raising the level of human conduct and ethical aspiration
of both the leader and the led. The leader should elevate, motivate and
inspire his followers to greater things in life.
 Importance
Leadership
• Leadership transforms potential into reality .
Leadership is not mere using people and
their potential for realizing an organization's
goals. It has the ultimate aim of raising the
level of human conduct and ethical
aspiration of both the leader and the led. The
leader should elevate, motivate and inspire
his followers to greater things in life.
Paternalistic leadership
• A Paternalistic Leader creates such an amicable ambience
at the workplace that employees consider their team as a
family. Yearning to belong to a group is a natural human
tendency. Just like families have a head; organizations
have leaders, who occupy an authoritative position to
determine what’s best for the team. Paternalistic
leadership is an approach, where a leader is equipped to
adhere to the interests of the employees and the
organization.
 Elements of a Paternalistic leadership
Leadership styles in Asian countries like China are often defined as paternalistic
leadership. Paternalistic leadership has its traditional roots in China. Accordingly,
paternalistic leadership comprises of three main elements:
1. Autocratic leadership-Leaders in this style of leadership carry out a close
monitoring of workers and it is the leader who always takes the final decision.
2. Benevolent leadership-his leadership focuses on the personal and familial
well-being of subordinates in the individualised and holistic manner. This
leadership is often the most preferred leadership style compared to the other
two styles (Autocratic and Moral).
3. Moral leadership-Moral leadership is related to a leader’s potential and the
moral character to act as a role model for his followers. Moral leaders exhibit
kindness, respect, treat people fairly and are non-abusive of their authority.
The primary element of a moral leadership is that it aims to serve; rather than
aspiring to be followed. Rather than showcasing their own skills, moral
leaders tend to develop the capacities of others.
 Core characteristics of Paternalistic leadership
Paternalistic leadership is amongst the leadership styles that can successfully pull off the
management. It has following attributes:

1. Compassion-Compassion is an essential element that increases employee’s loyalty towards

the organization. Paternalistic leadership is all about making sure that the employees are
feeling valued and comfortable. If you lack compassion and empathy, you cannot relate to
the feelings of your subordinates
2. good organizational skills- Paternalistic leadership demands good organizational skills. They
encompass a set of capabilities that help a leader plan, prioritize, and achieve his or her goal.
3. Decisiveness-In paternalistic leadership, decision making is completely vested with the
leader, which necessitates expertise, knowledge and the potential to make sound decisions
4. Empowerment- This form of leadership focuses on bringing the best from his subordinates.
As a paternalistic leader, you want them to grow and succeed, just as a parent would want
his children to grow. Similarly, these leaders empower the followers to achieve their goals
and grow as an individual and also professionally.
5. Influence-It is important that the leaders influence the subordinates. This leadership style
furnishes the leader with a lot of power with respect to the decision making. Paternalistic
leadership is not as authoritative as the other styles of leadership.
 Limitations of paternalistic leadership
• May Drop employees’ morale because of their non-participation in the decision-
making.
• Creates a dependency on the leader; as he is the one who takes decisions.
• Subordinates might feel less inclined to find out solutions.
• Irrational outcome; as some workers might be satisfied with your decision while
others might not.
• There can be internal issues and struggles for power when the roles are not well
defined.
 Conclusion
• Paternalistic leadership is very closely associated with patriarchy. This is another form of
authoritarian/autocratic leadership. This leadership model is respected in eastern countries like India
and China. The point of focus here is not the decision-making structure, but a big community where
the leader is responsible for his subordinates. Apparently, if a paternalistic leader fabricates an
environment of loyalty through his commitment and expertise, the style can be beneficial to an
organization. Paternalistic leadership is a powerful framework for ameliorating employees’
productivity and motivation, encouraging efficiency without impairing employees’ wellbeing.
• Nevertheless, paternalistic leadership assumes that the leader can make the right decisions. It
expects very little from its subordinates and doesn’t always equip them with the right tools to grow.
Paternalistic leadership can cause the organization to suffer because of lack of innovation and
creativity and its oppressive behaviour.