by Venchito Tampon | Last Updated on October 31, 2024
Consultative leadership is a style where leaders actively seek input, feedback, and ideas from their team members, superiors, or peers before making decisions.
Unlike autocratic leadership styles, which rely on a top-down approach, consultative leadership values the insights and expertise of others, fostering a more democratic and inclusive environment.
This approach enhances the quality of decisions and empowers members in the organization by making them feel valued and involved (“power of inclusivity”).
Why is Consultation Important in Leadership?
Consultation is a cornerstone of effective leadership for several reasons:
Enhanced Decision-Making
By incorporating diverse perspectives, leaders can make more informed and balanced decisions. This reduces the risk of blind spots and biases often accompanying unilateral decision-making.
For teams with few or several front-line employees, asking about their input is critical as they experience challenges and address customers’ concerns. Therefore, they have incredible insights into improving operations and making them more efficient for the organization.
Employee Engagement
Involving team members in decision-making increases their sense of ownership and commitment to the outcomes. Engaged employees are more motivated, productive, and loyal.
Many employees leave companies because they feel they’re not growing anymore. This is a challenge that consultative leadership overcomes through 1 on 1 conversations or even during corporate training programs such as leadership training.
You can also check out our post on the relationship between leadership and employee engagement.
Building Trust
Consultation fosters a culture of trust and openness. Employees who feel heard and valued are likelier to trust their leaders and collaborate effectively.
Trust is the glue of teamwork that allows people to share their ideas. In learning and development interventions, we call it “psychological safety,” where people can openly share their current challenges at work.
Development of Team Members:
Through consultation, leaders can identify and nurture the strengths and potential of their team members. This not only aids personal and professional growth but also builds a robust talent pipeline within the organization.
Consultative leadership also brings self-awareness to team members, who must assess their current professional and personal standings and are regularly asked for input. It helps them to see more of their potential and brings them closer to achieving their goals aligned with organizational objectives.
How Does Consultative Leadership Differ from Other Leadership Styles?
Consultative leadership is distinct in several ways:
- Less Authoritative: Unlike dictatorial or authoritative styles, consultative leadership involves less direct control and more shared decision-making. Leaders still retain the final decision-making authority but rely heavily on team input.
- Collaborative Approach: While participative leadership also involves team input, consultative leadership is unique in its structured and deliberate approach to gathering and incorporating feedback. It prioritizes a balanced mix of experience, skills, and ideas from internal and external sources.
- Emphasis on Development: Consultative leaders focus on leveraging their teams’ collective knowledge and experience to drive growth and improvement. This approach not only enhances decision-making but also fosters continuous learning and development.
Actionable Tips to Practice Consultative Leadership
Foster Open Communication
Create an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions. If this is your first time, please include asking questions in your daily discussions with your associates.
Avoid trying hard to be consultative. Make a natural approach to encourage open dialogue and actively listen to their inputs.
In meetings, 1 on 1 conversations and casual talk, you can make the environment warm and open for discussions instead of just discussing your ideas at all times.
Our leadership and management training teaches how vital relationship building (or connection) is to leadership. The better you can connect with your subordinates, the easier you can lead them.
The same goes for when you want to be consultative in your leadership style; you need relationships to receive positive things and negative (not so commonly heard) issues at work. From there, you can address them properly and help your team become more effective and efficient.
Consider Stakeholders Buy-In
In many organizations, stakeholder management is crucial as every decision affects your work output and others’ way of work – and how they achieve their goals.
Identify your stakeholders – superiors, clients, suppliers, government agencies, etc. Prioritize the ones you should comply with or simply acknowledge with your reports. You may even ask for their input, as they may have an outside perspective your team hasn’t thought of before.
Regularly Identify The Needs
Business includes identifying the needs of your customers and your employees. As you practice problem-solving and decision-making skills, you’ll have opportunities to develop new strategies to adapt to the ever-changing market needs.
As a consultative leader, identify and assess your team’s current needs. Do they need more training on a particular skill set? Do they have enough resources needed to achieve their individual work goals?
By regularly thinking about how to help your team by addressing your needs, you’ll become a better leader yourself and help the team elevate their potential, productivity, and performance.
Be more aware and be considerate of others’ needs. We have a term for this – empathy. Empathy is understanding and putting your shoes in other people’s situations so you’ll help them address it with your leadership abilities.
Seek Diverse Perspectives
Diversity isn’t just about age, status, and gender. It also deals with having diverse perspectives and beliefs on many things.
Make it a point to gather input from a diverse group of individuals. This can include team members, other departments, and external experts like business consultants. Diversity in perspectives leads to more innovative and well-rounded decisions.
Invest in External Consultants
For some companies and leaders who know that investment in their team is crucial for business success. They’re looking into many patterns of solutions for their daily challenges.
One solution to this is hiring external consultants who can give an outside perspective on the daily challenges of your team. Of course, it involves investment, but this is worthwhile if it can triple or 10x the productivity and performance of your team.
Inclusive leadership is being humble and learning that there are things you still don’t know and that counsel and advice are paramount to your success.
Be Transparent
Communicate the decision-making process and the role of consultation within it. This transparency builds trust and ensures team members understand how their input will be used.
Being a transparent leader means you don’t try to sugarcoat or hoard information. But you’ll stand on your ground and even tell people about the brutal facts, showing your action steps to overcome hurdles and challenges in your team.
Provide Feedback
After making a decision, provide feedback on how the inputs were considered and the rationale behind the final decision. This closes the loop and reinforces the value of consultation.
Feedback can also be given after every job intervention by an employee. For example, you can immediately provide feedback after someone gives a presentation.
Be careful in feedback not to avoid being too shabby or shallow with your advice or, on the other side, being too restrictive only to negative points.
Assess if it is a skill-based feedback or, in particular, competence element you want to address with the person (knowledge, skills, attitude, or habits).
Develop Active Listening Skills
Effective consultation requires leaders to be active listeners. This means fully engaging with the speaker, asking clarifying questions, and avoiding premature judgments.
Active listening involves hearing the exact words and trying to understand the meaning behind every word. This requires constant practice with your communication initiatives. You want your staff members to be heard and listened to when they speak.
Encourage Continuous Improvement
Use consultation as a tool for continuous improvement. Regularly seek feedback on processes, projects, and leadership approaches to identify areas for enhancement.
As you become a good leader, help others improve their professional and personal lives. Encourage them to see more of themselves as someone growing in their field or organization.
Use any defining moments, such as mistakes, as a ground to help them improve, instead of barging them with too many negative comments that don’t necessarily help them grow as professionals.
Avoid Blaming Others
One of the common mistakes leaders make is blaming people when things go wrong.
Remember that when you ask for input and have the entire team decide on certain things, you know it is a decision of the whole. So blaming others won’t even remove mistakes.
Make people accountable for what they do. And when things go awry, encourage and inspire people to do better next time. Being a consultative leader means knowing what to do when things are unplanned.
Consultative Leadership Done Right
Consultative leadership is a powerful and inclusive approach that leverages the collective knowledge and expertise of the team to drive better decision-making and foster a positive work environment.
By prioritizing consultation, leaders can build trust, enhance employee engagement, and promote continuous improvement. As organizations navigate the complexities of the modern business landscape, consultative leadership offers a valuable framework for achieving sustained success and growth.
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