Laissez-Faire Leadership: what it is and when to use it.

A laissez-faire leadership style of leadership is the exact opposite of micromanagement. Laissez-faire managers and leaders empower their employees with the autonomy to manage their own workloads, working style and project execution – offering training, support and consultation as and when needed.

It can be very effective in situations where teams naturally need freedom to be creative, and where members of the team are resourceful and committed.

Discover more about how laissez-faire management works and how Adobe Express business tools can be used to create a productive team with this style of management.

What is laissez-faire leadership?

Laissez-faire leadership is a hands-off approach, in which employees are encouraged to make their own decisions and use their own creative processes to achieve results. Managers are on hand to answer questions and provide support, but not to micromanage.

Just like in laissez-faire economics, matters are allowed to take their own course with little to no interference from leaders.

The key characteristics of a laissez-faire leadership style are:

• Leaders providing all the necessary training and support, but with a hands-off approach when it comes to delivering the work.
• Employees being trusted to make their own decisions and work in their own style.
• A certain level of comfort with mistakes being made, especially creatively.
• Ultimate accountability falling with management.

This leadership style is best suited to teams that can be trusted to engage and get things done, and are capable of working without assistance for the majority of the time.

Laissez-faire management: pros and cons.

As with any leadership style, there are pros and cons to a laissez-faire approach. It can work very well in some situations and not at all in others.

Pros of laissez-faire management.

• Encourages innovation. A laissez-faire approach to management gives employees the freedom to use their initiative and imagination to complete tasks to the highest possible standard.
• Facilitates personal growth. When employees are more hands-on with how tasks are completed, their personal growth and development is typically going to be stronger.
• Faster decisions. If only one person has the authority to make decisions, processes can be slowed while waiting for those outcomes. When each individual employee is empowered to make the decisions that affect their work, those decisions can be made on the spot.
• More knowledge and skills utilised. When an entire team has input into a project, a wider pool of skills and knowledge is utilised, meaning more ideas on the table.

Cons of laissez-faire management.

• Lack of respect. Leaders who use the laissez-faire management style as an excuse not to be involved in the day-to-day work may find they receive less respect from their team.
• Passivity. It can be easy for an unmotivated laissez-faire leader to become passive or even to avoid doing anything to motivate employees or be involved.
• Unclear roles. Some employees working under a laissez-faire leader may not fully understand what their role is, and may not feel able to approach their manager for clarification as they are so hands-off.
• Low accountability. While laissez-faire leaders should be ultimately accountable for all work undertaken by their team, some may try to pass the blame when things go wrong as they were not directly involved.

Most of the cons of laissez-faire leadership happen when the leader is not fully versed in what this style of leadership truly means, or when it’s implemented under the wrong circumstances. For instance, with an untrained team who need more hands-on managerial support.

Examples of laissez-faire management in action.

A laissez-faire leadership style works best in industries where employees need to be a little creative, and already have the skills and experience required to perform their roles without active supervision. These may include art and design, fashion, or advertising.

It can also be effective in industries where the knowledge of the team on the ground may surpass that of management. This can include:

• Healthcare, where nurses and doctors have the in-depth medical knowledge that administration do not.
• Human resources, where knowing how the team works on the ground is essential.
• Technology, where management may have business acumen but not the technical know-how.

Laissez-faire leaders.

Notable business leaders who have adopted a laissez-faire leadership style include:

• Steve Jobs. The former CEO of Apple adopted a mixture of laissez-faire leadership and micromanaging from the earliest days of the business. The creative team was granted the freedom to innovate, yet Jobs often did micromanage in areas he felt needed more oversight.
• Warren Buffet. Renowned for placing great trust in all his managers for a wide variety of companies under the Berkshire Hathaway umbrella, Warren Buffet is a prime example of a laissez-faire leader who has seen a lot of success.
• Queen Victoria. Outside of the traditional corporate sphere, Queen Victoria is also widely recognised for her laissez-faire style of ruling and leadership as monarch. She selected trusted advisors to carry out key projects and initiatives, and encouraged Individualism among her people, which in turn supported her wider ambitions to improve their quality of life.

When to avoid a laissez-faire leadership style.

Laissez-faire leadership is not suitable for all work situations. Though, in some areas, it can be successfully combined with other styles of leadership to construct a winning formula.

With self-managed teams working in creative projects, this may be the only form of leadership required, particularly in the brainstorming phase of the creative process. However, it may often be useful to add a more hands-on approach to leadership with more oversight and direction once the design is complete and the project is ready for production.

Areas where laissez-faire management may not be suitable at all include:

• Crisis situations
• Projects that require high productivity and efficiency
• Teams or individuals that are not good at managing their own time or meeting deadlines
• Teams or individuals with little or no experience or training
• Situations or projects that require a precise attention to detail.

Tips for laissez-faire leaders and how Adobe Express can help.

There are multiple ways a team can be motivated to produce the best results without being micromanaged. Adobe Express offers a variety of free tools and templates that can help with many of these.

Employee awards and recognition.

Employees may be more motivated to work hard without supervision if they feel valued and recognised. And easy way to do this is with an annual employee awards ceremony, or an employee of the month scheme.

Download free employee recognition certificate templates and help motivate the team to achieve their best results.

Personal development plans.

A personal development plan can help individual employees to set goals and targets for the year, or for each individual project, so they can easily track their own progress. This also helps laissez-faire leaders keep up-to-date on their progress and development, without micromanaging the entire process.

With Adobe Express, you can access free personal development plan templates that are fully customisable to each employee.

Performance reviews.

Regular performance reviews create a space for management and employees to catch up and see how things are progressing, and an opportunity to solve any problems and set new goals. Managers can write a performance review for each employee to create a dedicated space for checking in and providing feedback.

Offer flexible working.

Flexible working hours often help employees to feel more motivated. When they are empowered to have some say over which hours they work, they are more likely to utilise those hours to the max. Free editable schedule templates can help managers to keep track of flexible working arrangements, to keep their employees feeling engaged.

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Good to know.

What jobs use laissez-faire leadership?

Lots of jobs can use laissez-faire leadership, from CEOs to marketing leads and beyond. The areas in which this is most beneficial are creative roles, where people need the freedom and space to innovate.

What is a laissez-faire leadership personality?

The laissez-faire leadership personality is characterised by trust, and by reliance on their team. Laissez-faire leaders are motivational without being pushy, and encouraging without micromanaging.

Is Adobe Express free?

Yes, our free plan offers many core features including thousands of templates, photo editing and effects, animation, and 5 GB of storage. See our pricing page for details and to compare plans.