Laissez-faire is an economic philosophy of free-market capitalism that opposes government intervention. The theory of laissez-faire was developed by the French Physiocrats during the 18th century and believes that economic success is more likely the less governments are involved in business.

In the mid-20th century, right-libertarian proponents of anarcho-capitalism and minarchism co-opted the term libertarian to advocate laissez-faire capitalism and strong private property rights such as in land, infrastructure and natural resources.

Right-libertarians are economic liberals of either the Austrian School (majority) or the Chicago school of economics (minority) and support laissez-faire capitalism which they define as the free market in opposition to state capitalism and interventionism.

The British philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill was responsible for bringing this philosophy into popular economic usage in his Principles of Political Economy (1848), in which he set forth the arguments for and against government activity in economic affairs.

Laissez-faire means that subordinates are accountable for their work. This is a great way to ensure that they do the best they can—ultimately they are on the line for their project, so they want to do the best job possible. Relaxed company culture. Laissez-faire leadership often leads to a more relaxed company culture.

Democratic leaders take an active role in the decision-making process but they involve others. They carry the responsibility for seeing that the decisions made achieve the desired outcomes. Laissez-faire leaders have very little involvement in decision-making, mostly leaving everything up to their team.

Skills Good Leaders Need. There are a number of broad skill areas that are particularly important for leaders. These include strategic thinking, planning and delivery, people management, change management, communication, and persuasion and influencing.