An autocratic style of leadership? Well, that’s when the manager makes their decisions on their own, without asking their staff. They just tell the staff to do whatever it is that they have decided. Personally, I find that style of management a bit annoying, but it’s OK if it’s a question of keeping people safe.
A democratic style of management is when everyone has an opportunity to contribute ideas or say what they think, and then the manager makes the final decision. I like working this way; I find I’m much more motivated than when I’m being told what do. Having said that, it can sometimes mean that it takes a long time for decisions to get made.
A laissez faire style of management, well, ‘laissez faire’ is French, it means ‘leave alone’, so this is what happens when the manager leaves the workers alone to make their own decisions. If workers have to make a lot of decisions every day, this style works well because they can’t keep ringing the boss to ask what to do. But it obviously won’t work if the workers haven’t had enough training.