Democratic management style and psychological effectiveness of its influence

Abstract

The article substantiates the democratic style of management and psychological conditions for the effectiveness of its influence in the interdependent contexts of social interaction and organisational activity. This style, in contrast to the authoritarian and liberal ones, is argued as an important systemic factor of productive sustainable development of the organisation’s functioning in the aspects-dimensions of creating such invariants of its c l i m a t e as socio-psychological, organisational, and innovation-psychological, as well as its individual phenomena – parity interpersonal cooperation for the benefit of a common cause, mutual support, trust, promotion of psychocultural development, professional growth and personal self-realisation of employees. In general, it is shown that the manner of managing an institution, establishment or enterprise is a system of forms, methods, techniques, means and tools which a manager uses to influence their subordinates in order to achieve organisational goals and perform daily tasks, which involves both constant encouragement of the latter to productive work, constructive initiatives, professional development and conscious growth, and actualisation of positive personal capabilities, professional skills, behavioural reactions and actions of the manager. It is proved that the harmonious use of psychosocial, personal and managerial potential of organisational interaction allows optimising its productive trajectory of functional development, as evidenced by the nature of interpersonal relations in the workforce, the procedure for making collective decisions, the content and tone of thought communication, methods of motivation and control of staff activities, attitude to newcomers and authorities, and individual responsibility and initiative. A number of basic structural components of the organisation’s management style in their developmental complementarity are highlighted: methods, ways and means of influencing subordinates; type and manner of business interaction and communication in the team; forms and tools for stimulating work and motivating employees; range of interpersonal relations in the “manager-subordinate” system; distribution of powers and limits of personal responsibility of each employee; criteria for assessing personal contribution to the common cause and feedback between the subjective levels of the organisational structure. The effectiveness of the democratic management style is confirmed by focusing its various resources on creating a fertile organisational and managerial space and a special innovative and psychological climate, on professional excellence and stability of work, parity and the creative nature of interaction between the manager and the team, and on social and psychological regulation of organisational activities, internal comfort and proper motivation of employees. It is emphasised that among the variety of psychological conditions for the effectiveness of the democratic style of organisational management, the main ones are creative mutually responsible cooperation, pleasant interpersonal relations and a positive innovation and psychological climate, consideration of individual needs and psycho-spiritual characteristics of the inner world of each employee; rational and humanistic forms and methods of influence on the individual, and support from the management of their official activity, independence, purposefulness, conscientiousness and initiatives for self-improvement.