ildly creative and egalitarian company; one thatpeople will seek out as the place they want to work. When the combinationof leader and staff doesn't work well, it can be a nightmare: a confused,aimless, anarchic company that's heading straight for disaster.The democratic leaderIn between these two extremes are the democratic leaders. They recognizethe individual needs, quirks, skills, and limitations of the workers, andtry to "play to their strengths." In the process, they try to foster asense of partnership in decision-making, and encourage workers tofunction as independently as possible. For democratic leadership to work,the staff must be self-confident, motivated, and adept enough to workwith little direct supervision.A democratic leader can enhance a company by maximizing the talents of thestaff and creating an environment that's more cooperative thanhierarchical. This style is the most demanding of the three, since itrequires constant balancing between asserting authority and fosteringpartnership. It offers neither the incredible efficiency of the autocraticstyle, nor the unbridled creativity of the laissez-faire style.However, it carries far less risk than the other two....
