Best Degrees & Careers For Laissez-Faire Leadership Style

The term 'laissez-faire', which translates from French to English literally as 'let do' and more loosely as 'hands-off approach', is a style of leadership that stresses individual responsibility and encourages delegative leadership. This management style helps encourage employees to suggest ideas and innovate without micromanaging and strict guidelines.

What Defines the Laissez-Faire Leadership Style?

Laissez-faire leadership is a style of management that lets workers make their own decisions. Unlike more authoritarian styles of leadership, the laissez-faire style trusts that team members will follow corporate processes.

In this style of leadership, mistakes are accepted because they are attempts at corporate and personal growth. Unlike in a more autocratic leadership style, input from employees across the organization is encouraged and welcomed.

Advantages of Laissez-Faire Leadership

There are many advantages to the hands-off leadership approach for companies of multiple different types.

More Involved and Faster Decision-Making Process

In authoritarian leadership styles, many people assume that decision-making is fast because only one person has the authority to make the choices. However, when more people are involved, sometimes finding the best solution is quicker. Getting ideas from group members in different departments or with different experiences can result in solutions that one person couldn't have come up with alone.

Promotes A Positive Work Environment

Employees who feel appreciated and valued often express higher job satisfaction and have higher retention rates than employees at companies that feel like they have no say or chance for personal growth.

Encourages Creativity

Companies that encourage their employees to experiment and suggest ideas are often much more creative than companies that stifle creative outputs from their employees.

Disadvantages of Laissez-Faire Leadership

Despite the advantages that this type of leadership style provides, there are drawbacks to being hands-off for some industries.

Difficulties in Crisis Management

The decentralized control structure can make handling crises difficult. In an autocratic company, when there are problems like supply chain issues or an economic downturn, one person is responsible for getting the company back on track. For laissez-faire companies, there are multiple people with various amounts of control that can slow down crisis management responses.

Lack Of True Leadership

Detractors of this leadership theory say that the decentralization of leadership creates confusion amongst employees when it comes to identifying the chain of command or corporate structure. In terms of motivating and providing incentives, recognizing achievements, or even punishing employees, the hands-off approach of leadership often doesn't have the best structure in place.

Laissez-faire leadership also sometimes creates issues around role clarity for employees and management around their places in the group and larger corporate structure.

Best Degree Paths & Careers for Laissez-Faire Leaders

For people looking to use their laissez-faire leadership skills or people who want to work in an industry that uses the laissez-faire approach, several industries and degree paths will provide more opportunities.

Healthcare

Healthcare is an industry that requires self-motivated people who are empowered to take charge in moments with lives on the line, especially for people who graduate from nursing degree programs. The highly decentralized nature of hospitals or large doctor's offices provides multiple examples of laissez-faire leadership in action.

Some schools that offer healthcare degrees include:

• Northwood University
• University of Alabama at Birmingham
• University of Minnesota-Crookston

Advertising Agencies

Advertising agencies are home to some of the most creative people who need to be allowed the work environment to utilize their entire skill sets without micromanagement. Successful laissez-faire leaders can thrive in advertising and marketing because of the need to empower problem-solving in day-to-day scenarios involving clients of all kinds. Although providing constructive criticism is vital, being too hands-on can lead to a less authentic creative process.

Advertising degrees are offered at many schools, including:

• Bellevue University
• Old Dominion University
• Indiana State University

Human Resources

Especially for human resources professionals at larger companies, having a highly centralized process might not work. Having regular check-ins with employees can become cumbersome, and having a work environment where workers are incentivized to work without feeling micromanaged is essential.

Schools that have human resources degree programs include:

• Wichita State University
• University of Michigan-Flint
• Temple University

Technology Sciences

Technology science is an ever-expanding field, and it is perfectly positioned for laissez-faire leaders. Computer programmers, IT providers, and more need to use problem-solving skills in their day-to-day work, and having a single autocratic leader who makes all decisions isn't feasible.

For a technology sciences degree, look for more information about:

• Purdue Global
• Western Governors University
• Arizona State University

Fashion

Fashion designers need a work environment that encourages them to be self-motivated and creative, both features of laissez-faire leadership. A bachelor's degree in a fashion design program can help prepare a future designer to develop their skill set.

Earn a BFA in fashion from:

• Drexel University
• Baylor University
• Academy of Art University

Entertainment and Arts

Much like fashion, the entertainment industry requires a creative work environment for workers to thrive. Even though there are more autocratic elements in subindustries, like a director on a film set, the overall industry has many examples of laissez-faire leadership.

Entertainment degrees are offered by multiple schools, such as:

• Full Sail University
• National University
• New York Film Academy

Financial Services

Financial service providers advise people about investments and their retirement plans, which often require very individualized services and day-to-day work. Financial advisors need to be self-motivated to use problem-solving skills in different ways without having to worry about being micromanaged by leaders who aren't directly involved in their processes.

Financial advisor degrees can be earned from several schools, including:

• Franklin University
• Maryville University
• Missouri Online