Absentee Leadership

M.I.A. Managers and Wanna-B(FF) Leaders

Absentee (or Laissez-Faire) Leadership involves leaders abdicating their responsibilities and leaving employees to fend for themselves, or leaders failing to provide guidance, direction, and feedback in favor of establishing collegial relationships with direct reports. Subordinates of absentee leaders tend to feel a lack of direction and motivation and are more likely to leave the organization.

Outcomes

We are currently creating and validating an Absentee Leadership scale that organizations could use for selection or development purposes. In applicant screening, organizations could use such a scale to screen out leader applicants who might be likely to engage in absentee behaviors and disengage their followers. In development projects, organizations could use this information for coaching to improve leadership performance.