Transformational leadership

Transformatial Leadership

Transformatial leadership is a leadership style that defines as leadership that creates voluble and positive change in the followers.

A transformational leader focuses on "transforming" others to help each other, to look out for each other, be encouraging, harmonious, and look out for the organization as a whole.

In this leadership, the leader enhance the motivation, moral and performance of his follower group.

Background

James MacGregor Burns (1978)^[1] first introduced the concepts of transformational in his descriptive research on political leaders, but this term is now used in organizational psychology as well.

According to Burns, transformatial leadership is a process in which "leaders and followers make each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation".

Burns related to the difficulty in differentiation between management and leadership and claimed that the differences are in characteristics and behaviors.

He established two concepts: "transformatial leadership" and "transactional leadership". According to Burns, the transformatial style creates significant change in the life of people and organizations.It redesigns perceptions and values, changes expectations and aspirations of employees.

Not like in the transactial style, it does not Based on "give and take" relationship but on the leadership personality, his traits and his ability to make a change through vision and goals.

Development of concept

Another researcher, Bernard M. Bass (1985), suggested a transformational leadership theory that adds to the initial concepts of Burn's (1978)^[2].

The extent to which leader is transformational, is measured first, in terms of his influence on the followers. The followers of such leader feels trust, admiration, loyalty and respect to the leader and they are derived to do more than they expected in the beginning.

The leader transform and motivate followers by charisma, intellectual arousal and individual consideration.

In addition, this leader seeks for new working ways, while he tries to identify new opportunities versus threats and tries to get out of the status quo and alter the environment.

The researchers, Bass & Avolio (1993), made an empirical study which mapped the frequent leadership styles of managers and commanders.

They located the two categories (transformational and transactional leadership) on a continuum and created more stages at the passage between those to leadership styles.

This model is called "The full range of leadership"^[3].

Components of concept

The full range of leadership introduces four elements of transformatial leader:

1. Individualized consideration- the degree to which the leader attends to each follower's needs, acts as a mentor or coach to the follower and listens to the follower's concerns and needs.

The leader gives empty and support ,keeps on open communication and place challenges to the followers.

This also encompasses the need to respect and celebrate the individual contribution that each follower can make to the team. The followers have a will and aspirations for self development and have an intrinsic motivation for their tasks.

2. Intellectual stimulation-The degree to which the leader challenges assumptions, takes risks and solicits followers' ideas. Leaders with this trait stimulate and encourage creativity in their followers. they nurture and develop people who think independently.

For such leader Learning is a value and un expected satiations are seen as opportunities to learn.

The followers ask questions, think deeply about things and figure on better ways to execute their tasks.

3. Inspirational motivation- the degree to which the leader articulates a vision that is appealing and inspiring to followers.

Leaders with inspirational motivation challenge followers with high standards, communicate optimism about future goals, and provide meaning for the task at hand.

Followers need to have a strong sense of purpose if they are to be motivated to act. Purpose and meaning provide the energy that drives a group forward.

The visionary aspect of leadership are supported by communication skills that makes it precises and powerful. The followers are willing to invest more effort in their tasks, they are encouraged and optimistic about the future and believe in their abilities.

4. Role and identification model – the highest level of transformatial leadership.

The leader provides communal design of vision and purpose, values and norms that gives meaning to the work. He plants pride and feelings of mission, enhance the performance capabilities and gives personal example.

The followers trust him, identify with his goals and want to be like him. They internalize him and acts in his "spirit" even when he is not around.

Research in the area

When researching this construct, the MLQ questionnaire is used.

This is a multifactor leadership questionnaire that measures deferent factors of tranformatial and transactional leadership (Buss, 1985). The scales in the questionnaire are based on a initial factor analysis and latter versions.

The preliminary research of transformatial leadership was limited, because the knowledge in this area was to primitive in order to find good examples for the items in the questionnaire.

Another weakness in the first versions of the MLQ relates to the wording of items. Most items in the scale of charismatic and intellectual arousals described the result of leadership, instead of specific actions of the leader' that can be observed that, in turn, bring to the results.

In response to the critics, Buss and his colleagues(1990) included in the revised version many more items that describe leadership actions that are observed directly.

Implications for managers

The researcher Yukl (1994) draws some tips for transformational leadership^[4]:

1. Develop a challenging and attractive vision, together with the employees.

2. Hook the vision with the strategy for its achieving.

3. Develop the vision, specify and translate it to actions.

4. Express confidence, decisiveness and optimism about the vision and its implement.

5. Realize the vision through small planed steps and small successes in the path for its full implementation.

External links

Tips for transformatial leader[1]

Notes

^ Burns, J.M, (1978), Leadership, N.Y, Harper and Raw.
^ Bass,B. M,(1985), Leadership and Performance, N. Y,Free Press.
^ Bass, B, M., Avolio J. B, (1993), "Transformational leadership and organizational culture", Public Administration Quarterly, Spring,112-121.
^ Yukl, G.(1999). An evaluation of conceptual weaknesses in transformational and charismatic leadership theories. Leadership Quarterly, 10,285-305

References

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