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Redirecting Authoritarian Leadership

A Data-Driven Approach to Fulfilling the Motivational Need for Power

Ryan Hopkins

PSY 790: Capstone in Psychology

Dr. Nick Dominello

May 25, 2025

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Introduction: The Impact of Leadership

Leadership significantly shapes workplace culture and employee well-being�

Authoritarian leadership is characterized by control, dominance, and power assertion

Authoritarian Leadership (AL)

Low employee morale

Toxic Workplace

Low employee morale

Kelly & MacDonald, 2019

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Understanding the Problem

  • AL persists despite known negative consequences
  • Established hierarchical positions make ALs difficult to terminate
  • Employees tend to fear retaliation for complaining

Huang et al., 2020

Image: OpenAI, 2025

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Purpose and Key Questions

Can focusing on performance data satisfy an authoritarian leader’s need for power?

Research Question 1

Explore positive ways to redirect authoritarian leadership.

Goal

Does shifting ALs’ focus from direct employee control to performance metrics improve motivation and morale?

Research Question 2

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What the Research Shows

Studies suggest that leadership behaviors can be changed through specific programs (Mason et al., 2014).

Leaders can satisfy their need for autonomy through self-regulated actions (van Tuin et al., 2020)

Using data to guide management can help shift leadership styles (McCarthy et al., 2017 ).

AL can be redirected toward more democratic approaches that better support employee well-being (Ufua et al., 2020).

The well-being of employees can be improved under AL (Asim et al., 2021).

Image: Google, 2025

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Theoretical Foundation

McClelland’s Motivational Needs Theory

Self-

Determination Theory

  • Achievement
  • Affiliation
  • Power

  • Autonomy
  • Competence
  • Relatedness

McClelland, 2015

Ryan & Deci, 2000

Image: Google, 2025

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Addressing the Research Gaps

Gaps

  1. Literature does not explicitly address whether metrics-based approaches can satisfy authoritarian leaders’ need for power.
  2. Direct impact of data management interventions on employee motivation and morale under AL is unexplored.

Hypotheses

  1. Metrics-based management fulfills authoritarian leaders’ power needs.
  2. Redirecting authoritarian leaders’ focus to metrics improves employee (a) motivation and (b) morale.

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Procedure

Intervention

Three phase approach:

  1. Educate - one week
  2. Demonstrate - one week
  3. Apply - two weeks

Study Design

Quasi-experimental, single group pretest-post-

posttest design

Participants

Single facility in the automotive manufacturing industry

5-10 leaders exhibiting authoritarian behaviors

50-100 employees

Grant & Wall, 2009

Chishty-Mujahid, 2016;

Lakens, 2022

Taylor et al., 2005

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Employee Assessment Tools

Authoritarian Leadership

Motivation and Morale

Autocratic Leadership Behavior Scale

  • Dimension of the Charismatic Leadership in Organizations (CLIO) questionnaire
  • Rates employee perceptions of autocratic leadership among superiors
  • Inform selection of leaders for intervention

Vigor and Dedication Scales

  • Dimensions of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9)
  • Vigor scale rates employees’ willingness to exert effort, aligning with motivational construct
  • Dedication scale rates attitudes that reflect enthusiasm and pride, aligning with morale construct

De Hoogh & Den Hartog, 2009

Mills et al., 2012

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Leader Assessment Tools

Motivational Need for Power

Power Need Satisfaction

Power Management Inventory (PMI)

  • Personalized power subscale measures dominant behaviors
  • Socialized power subscale measures influence toward collective goals
  • Baseline measure to assess the extent that personalized power is a motivating factor among AL

Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale (BPNSS)

  • Autonomy and competence subscales are linked to satisfaction of power needs (Deci & Ryan, 2000)
  • Measured at baseline, immediately after intervention, and six weeks post-intervention
  • Determine whether the intervention constructively satisfies power needs

Benson & Owens, 1985

Olafsen et al., 2021

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Analysis

Hypothesis Testing

Repeated measures ANOVAs

Descriptive Statistics

Identify outliers

Pearson’s Correlation

Establish a link between AL and personalized power needs

Rosnow & Rosenthal, 2014

Sedgwick, 2012

Smaga, 2021

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Anticipated Outcomes

Assumptions

Limitations

  1. Clear correlation - Employee views of autocratic leadership align with leaders’ self-reported personalized power
  2. For H1 - Increased and sustained satisfaction of AL power needs through improved autonomy and competence
  3. For H2a-b - Increased employee motivation and morale as AL focus shifts to metrics

  1. Study does not explore whether AL style fundamentally changes or if the power motive shifts from personalized to socialized
  2. Quasi-experimental design limits internal validity and generalizability

Grant & Wall, 2009

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Dissemination of Findings

Structure

Focus on connecting results to organizational goals for practical use

For Leaders

Reports, presentation, and discussion linking results to power needs and employee outcomes

For Employees

Presentation and discussions highlighting how their feedback informed the results

Holistic

Multiple communication methods for sustainability and engagement

Collaborative

Interactive workshop to foster leader-employer dialogue and action

Rynes et al., 2001

Wilson et al., 2010

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Ethical Considerations

APA Compliant

Potential Risks

Mitigation Strategies

  • Informed consent (voluntary participation and withdrawal rights)
  • Anonymous (numerical codes) and confidentiality (aggregated data)
  • Transparency regarding the use of generative AI

  • Risk of retaliation against employees providing feedback
  • Potential defensiveness from leaders regarding the term “authoritarian leadership”
  • Using the term “autocratic leadership behaviors” instead of “authoritarian”
  • Framing the study constructively (potential autocratic benefits and goal of socialized power)
  • Highlighting that leaders will also assess their own needs

APA, 2017

APA, 2023

Pizzolitto et al., 2023

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Key Takeaways

  • Advances understanding of authoritarian leadership and satisfying underlying power needs
  • Significant implications for:
    • Strategies for workplaces impacted by authoritarian leadership
    • Enhancing organizational productivity
    • Promoting a healthier workplace culture

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