Types of Arguments

The book Essential Guide to Group Communication identifies 4 different types of arguments:

*Authoritarian
*Consultative
*Participative
*Laissez - Faire

Authoritarian leadership is when there is one leader that designates themself or is designated by others, and assumes all control of the group. The leader usually makes most decisions without permission or with the assistance of the other members of the group. This type of leadership takes away from the idea of working in a group. Its like one actor trying to stand in the spotlight and forgetting that there is an ensemble of players to work with. I am sure we have all experienced this kind of leadership and it usually means that work gets done, but the group is unsatisfied. I have worked in a few groups before where someone designates themself as a leader and divides the work, giving most to the other members and less to themself. Our group wasn't very happy with our final project.

Consultative leadership is one of the most common. Consultative leadership is when the decisions of the group are based on the opinions and decisions of the group as a whole. Leaders will usually rely on the opinion of the group when they are lacking the information to make an informative decision on their own. I personally like this style of leadership, as a leader I like to know where my group stands and what their opinions are because I am indecisive and I prefer to know what they think. I like hearing what other have to say but it is ultimately the decision of the leader.

Participative leadership involves the leader working with the group members to achieve a goal. For example, if your goal was to clean the closet, the leader designating work would be more useful to the group by getting down on their hands and knees and scrubbing the floor or cleaning like everybody else. The most efficient way to get things done would be for the leader to participate instead of sit on the sidelines.

Laissez-Faire in french means "hands off". Laissez Faire leadership is when the leader is not involved or has little direct leadership. This is the worst kind of leadership ever, because when the leader is not involved, there is little direction, and the group members have to rely more on each other to accomplish a goal while the leader is just along for the ride.