Exploring the Reasons for Autocratic Leadership in Bangladesh’s Underdeveloped Humanitarian NGOs

Abstract

Md. Ibrahim Hossain

This qualitative study delves deeply into the underlying reasons for the widespread occurrence of autocratic leadership within underdeveloped humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Bangladesh. By utilizing semi-structured interviews conducted with a total of 15 participants, including NGO leaders and staff members from various small-scale organizations, the research meticulously identifies and analyzes several critical factors. These include severe resource constraints that limit operational flexibility, intense political pressures stemming from the country’s governance environment, founder- centric organizational structures that prioritize individual control, and deeply ingrained cultural norms that traditionally support centralized forms of decision-making. The findings of this study illuminate how autocratic leadership styles, while providing the advantage of enabling swift and decisive responses in environments frequently plagued by crises such as natural disasters or economic instability, ultimately undermine the long-term sustainability of these organizations and hinder the empowerment and development of their employees. Furthermore, this research makes a valuable contribution to the broader understanding of leadership dynamics in developing contexts, offering nuanced insights that can inform strategies for adopting more inclusive and participatory leadership practices in the future.

PDF