The Destructiveness of Laissez-Faire Leadership

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on April 17, 2007  
Filed Under Leadership, Stress

Laissez-faire is a French phrase that means ‘leave it be’ and is used to describe a leader who leaves his or her colleagues to get on with their work. It can be effective if the leader monitors what is being achieved and communicates this back to his or her team regularly.Most often, laissez-faire leadership works for teams in which the individuals are very experienced and skilled self-starters. Unfortunately, it can also refer to situations where managers are not exerting sufficient control.

In a recent paper, Skogstad, A., Einarsen, S., Torsheim, T., Schanke, M., & Hetland, H. (2007). The Destructiveness of Laissez-Faire Leadership Behavior. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12(1), 80-92, the authors tested the assumption that laissez-faire leadership behaviour is not a type of zero-leadership, but a type of destructive leadership behaviour that shows systematic relationships with workplace stressors, bullying at work, and psychological distress.

In a survey of 2,273 Norwegian employees, laissez-faire leadership was positively correlated with role conflict, role ambiguity, and conflicts with coworkers. Path modeling showed that these stressors mediated the effects of laissez-faire leadership on bullying at work and that the effects of laissez-faire leadership on distress were mediated through the workplace stressors, especially through exposure to bullying.

The results support the assumption that laissez-faire leadership behaviour is a destructive leadership behaviour.


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