The Impact That Transformational Leadership Can Have on Organizations and Society - Assignment Example

? Leadership, Power and Policy Burns (1978) argues that transformational leadership raises both leaders’ and subordinates’ level of motivation and morale. Critically appraise the impact that transformational leadership can have on organizations and society. Studies have shown that the nature of leadership in an organization strongly influences the way the organizational culture is shaped and how the organization develops in the long run. Organizational leaders have been categorized in two categories; transformational leaders and transactional leaders. Transactional leaders work within and with the rules and norms that already exist in the organization, while transformational leaders in comparison are those who ‘transform’ their organizational culture and align it with values and norms that are essential to be more effective. Transformational leaders have been characterized as having four components; idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. Transformational leaders use these four tools to transform their organizational culture into one that is most conducive to growth and advancement. Transformational leaders who work thus, and exhibit a sense of vision and purpose are more likely to be found in organizations that cherish innovation and progress. They align their subordinates with the goals of the organization and its culture and are most likely to foster creativity than support a culture with a status quo (Bass 1991; Gardiner 2006). Organizational culture and leadership will forever remain interconnected. Leaders are the ones who develop the organization’s culture and strengthen its norms and beliefs. The culture thus takes shape according to what the leader concentrates on, and this is what the subordinates are taught to follow by their leaders. But it is not only the leader who affects culture, organization cultures are often as impacting of their leaders as well. For example, it can influence how decision making is done by top management regarding concerns like hiring new employees and placing them within the organization etcetera. In accordance with the evolutionary process of an organization, the leader must change the culture to suit the organization’s needs. In order to maintain change while incurring the least resistance, the leader must not completely let go of the initial culture. The past should be referred back to for inspiration and the understanding of core strategies that must be maintained in the future. Changes should however, reinforce innovation so that the organizational culture is aligned for present and future need (Gardner, J. 1990; Avolio et al 1991). Organizational culture styles can also be categorized into two separate categories, according to the leadership style of the leader at the helm of the organization. Theoretically, if the leader is transactional, then the culture is also transactional and if the leader is transformational, then the culture is also transformational (Gardner, J. 1990). However, in reality organizational cultures posses some aspects of both types of cultures and the trick really, is to make a conscious movie towards a transformational culture by incorporating more and more transformational aspects while still maintaining the much needed structural transactional aspects (Simola et al 2010). A transformational culture can be characterized by a sense of purpose and unity. In such cultures, commitments are made for the longer run. The top management and the consequent subordinate levels have a certain level of interdependence and mutual goals. In such cultures, management goes beyond what is required to further their self interest to do what is good for the collective wellbeing of the organization. Top management acts as mentors for subordinate management levels, the norms are flexible and adapt to the changes in the organization’s external environment and due importance is given to the organization’s vision, mission and purpose. However, this culture description pertains to what can be described as a ‘purely’ transformational organizational culture. As mentioned before, in reality this extremity is not often a possibility. Some more realist scenarios portray organizational cultures that can be classified as one of the following; high contrast culture, this is when the level of transformation and transaction are about equally high, coasting culture, this is when transactional and transformational leadership operate on a middle ground in the organization, predominant to moderately contractual cultures are ones which are more leaning towards transactional leadership with very little transformational influence, pedestrian organizations on the other hand are those which are moderately transactional but completely lacking transformational qualities, the garbage can culture on the extreme lacks any qualities of either transformational or transactional cultures. (B. M. Bass and B. J. Avolio, 1993). According to one research, the top five characteristics of transformational leadership can be defined as follows: i. Creating joint visions and goals Transformational leaders are visionaries who also use the old vision as inspiration for their new vision. The subordinates henceforth need to understand and commit to the vision of their leader and collectively the vision of the whole organization. The level of commitment is achieved by aiming to reach a shared vision. Leaders involved in this process know that for subordinates to follow their vision it needs to be a shared one and something the subordinate management levels comprehend and identify with because unless these needs are satisfied subordinate management levels will not be able to commit to or follow the organization’s vision as set by the leader. ii. Promoting partnership in the decisional process Transformational leaders are not hesitant when it comes to involving other people from the management while making decisions pertaining to the organization. This is done by involving them in the organization’s strategic planning process. In the long run such a process creates synergy and instills a sense of trust and self confidence in the organization and thus yields high returns for the company. iii. Providing intellectual stimulation When the leader intellectually and emotionally inspires other people, the work also takes on an inspired quality and the employees’ motivation remains high. This results in a higher productivity levels and more sustained development. The leader acts as a coach, helping subordinates to identify and learn and develop their skills. A learning environment is created and this helps enrich the work environment. iv. Forming nurturing associations with diverse groups An essential characteristic of transformational leaders is that they involve themselves and the organization in “community building” this is a process by which the leaders are inclusive of minorities and other diverse groups, they listen to all employees and use them to add value to the organization. This process builds a strong sense of community within the organization and results in higer employee morale. v. Displaying high performance expectations Transformational leaders expect the most of themselves and of their subordinates. They give clear directions, feedback on performance and encourage good performance on the behalf of their employees. They see the bigger picture and set goals for their subordinates in accordance to achieve those goals. (Dr. Rhonda Pennings; Gardiner 2006; Avolio 1999). More recently, programs for leadership development have begun to follow the transformational leadership style. Through such programs leaders are trained to adopt more transformational qualities of leadership. Transformational leaders have certain qualities and these are the qualities these leadership programs want people to adopt. However, there may occur a bias in the methods used by such programs that aim to instill transformational leadership skills in people. This may be caused due to the halo effect. This is when the people may end up thinking that a trait of transformational leadership belongs to a certain domain in leadership styles. Also transformational styles are much correlated and thus it is difficult to identify them in black and white in isolation from one another. When participants cannot accurately answer questions pertaining to topics of transformational leadership because of the unclear lines of definition between them, the results from these findings will end up being biased and inaccurate as well. There is also the bias caused by social desirability, in such cases participants may find socially desirable leaders more effective than more beneficial leaders who have strong and capable transformational qualities. The processes these programs employ follow certain set steps. First a sample is selected and a procedure identified, then the questionnaires are filled in by the participants. It is upon these questionnaires that the final analysis is done. The questionnaire answers are also the stage where the bias exists and causes in accuracies in the final findings. The final analysis is done on the results of the questionnaire. A concluding hypothesis is reached based on the done analysis (Bass 1998; Bass 1997; Zaleznik 1992). The transformational leadership style addresses many challenges of the nature of competitiveness and creativity that are faced by modern business organizations. And thus it is becoming more and more important for modern business organizations to incorporate this philosophy in their leadership styles so that they can maintain a competitive edge over their competitors in the industry that they operate in. (Lievens, F. 1997). In most peoples’ minds leadership is always associated with some form and degree of power. Leaders of all levels have some degree of power, but since often times this power is unrecognized, its ability goes unutilized. Research has shown that there are seven bases of power: i. Power of position; given by the title or hierarchal level attained in organization ii. Power of charisma; afforded by personality and charm iii. Power of relationships; gained through formal and informal networks, within the organization and outside of it iv. Power of information; gained by having evidential knowledge about a situation v. Power of expertise; gained by having technical skill vi. Power of punishment; afforded by the ability to punish when subordinates do not meet required goals vii. Power of reward; afforded by the ability to reward when subordinates meet or exceed expectations Later on in the research, the role of power with regard to effective leadership is discussed. According to the survey conducted, the role power of relationships was considered as having the most leverage. Most people responded by saying that this power is mostly used to further the personal agendas of the people who withhold this power. Another source of power that was identified as one of the most important during the survey was the power of information. Most people leveraged this power by becoming an informing agent, lesser percentages responded by saying that they used this power to inform or influence others as well. What needs to be understood however is that where on one hand power afforded by individuals is important, what is more important is the role of the organization in determining how power is handled. During the survey, most people responded by saying that their organizations empower people at all hierarchal levels, meaning that the prevalent organizational culture is under transformational leadership. (Bal, V., Campbell, M., Steed, J. and Meddings, K. 2008). A paper written by Jan Stewart on the subject discusses leadership in the light of different theories by Burns, Bass, Avolio and Leithwood. Leadership has become an important topic for educated discourse over the most part of the last half century and has sparked much debate over the issue of the most suitable model of educational leadership. Transformational leadership is one of the main theories that have come to light as a result. The author is of the view point that along with the evolutionary role that transformational leadership plays in organizational culture, it will itself also keep evolving to adapt to the need of the business culture (Bass 1999). Consequently, the author says that leadership as an issue is not going to fade out anytime soon because it is a dynamic issue; forever evolving with time and progress. The question that remains is only that which kind of leadership is needed to run an organization most effectively and keeps management’s morale soaring. What is surprising is that even though much has been written about the subject of leadership, there is no one universal definition that applies to the term (Michelson; Herzberg 1987). There are four phases in every kind of leadership style. The first phase deals with what the traits of successful leaders are, the second phase determines what it is that good leaders do. Once these two phases have been dealt with, the third phase is the situational approach to leadership. This is when the context of particular situations is applied to the particular model of leadership. The last phase is where the organizational culture is linked to the leadership style. Transformational leadership gained popularity in the middle of the 1980s when the public demanded for higher educational system standards. During this movement, numerous terms came up and into the light, for example shared leadership and transformational leadership. Scholars took much interest in the concept and works began to be printed upon the subject discussing the benefits of a shift from traditional transactional leadership styles to a transformational leadership style. James MacGregor Burns (1978) discussed how even though there is much discourse about leadership there is no central definition because all scholars on a subject work on it with a specific and not a holistic angle. He defined two types of leadership; transactional and transformational. Burns thought that leaders are neither born nor made; rather they evolve out of a process of situations, consequences and decisions. Burns stressed that power and leadership should be seen as relationships and not ‘things’. He says that transformational leadership occurs when within an organization the leader and subordinates interact and this result in an overall increase in morale and motivation. In transformational leadership, there is a mutual goal and commitment towards that purpose. The consequent works of Bruce J. Avolio and Bernard M. Bass talk more about some of the omissions and shortcomings of Burns’ theories. Bass writes about this concept in the context of military, business and education. his theories display evidence of the effectiveness of transformational leadership and how it gives results that are more than is normally expected. As mentioned earlier, Bass’s model of transformational leadership includes four basic components; Idealized Influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation and Individual Consideration. Furthermore, Bass’s theory about transformational leadership incorporates some characteristics of transactional leadership into the transformational leadership model. The three dimensions included are: i. Contingent reward This is when the subordinates are rewarded for completing the assigned task ii. Management by exception This is when the leader monitors the subordinate and makes corrections when/if needed iii. Non-Leadership behavior This is when all leadership behaviors are ignored Bass believes that all leaders possess these traits to some extent; however the desired leader would be more transformational than transactional. (Stewart, J., 2006; Maldonado and Lacey 2001; Bass 1999). A paper on the subject written by Jill W. Graham studies how leadership styles can influence the levels and types of motivation among the employees of an organization. The paper further goes on to show how this motivation affects the levels and types of contributions these employees make towards their organization and society as a whole. In this regard, transformational leadership focuses on interpersonal relations and collaboration and thus a mutual development of ethics and motivation that is not self serving. In doing so, transformational leadership raises the levels of motivation and creates in employees a habit to be positive contributors to their organization and consequently society at large. This paper goes on to describe three different types of contribution that people can make. There is dependable task accomplishment which is characterized by regular and on-time attendance, efficient use of resources, quality and quality of output that can be relied upon, effective contingency handling and following rules and regulations. The second one is called work group collaboration and is characterized by the sharing of knowledge, information and resources, helping and socializing with others especially employees who are new to the organization, a flexible response to adverse situations and promoting a good image of the organization as a whole to external elements. The third one is called civic virtue which allows for constructive participation in organizational governance and can be categorized by keeping up to date about issues critical to the organization, attending non required meetings, listening to the points of view of others and providing critical feedback in return (Maslow 1943; Moynihan et al 2009; Murphy 2005). The type of contribution that comes as a result of transformational leadership usually falls under is the third category, civic virtue. Under transformational leadership there is an empowered employee base that is geared towards taking active part in organizational governance as well as providing their input for strategic decision making. Transformational leaders make it known that they are open to the discussion of ethical issues, whether internal or external in nature and personally involve themselves in these issues. Furthermore, they make it clear that the organization doesn’t work in self interest but in the collective interest of all the organization’s stakeholders. Finally, transformational leaders encourage the incorporation of diversity and minority groups into the organization by being open-minded and encouraging their subordinates to be on the same page. These actions on the part of transformational leaders promote a high level of morality and civic virtue among the employees while maintaining a high level of employee motivation throughout (Rowold 2008; Daniel 2005; Simola et al 2010). On a concluding note, the author notes that the benefits of transformational leadership maybe of extreme importance to business and other organizations for many reasons. First up, this approach will keep a balance between working for personal gain or the gain of the organization by solving moral predicaments and ethical issues. Furthermore, by empowering the employees this type of organizational culture will ensure that employees are less selfish and are innovative and creative when dealing with dilemmas. (Graham, J. W., 1995). Thus, a sound conclusion that can be drawn from this is that transformational leadership is indeed a requirement of modern times and an extremely successful concept if implemented properly in organizations. It helps business, military and educational organizations function more effectively and explore arenas of creativity and innovation by fostering the input of all employees and encouraging them to participate in the decision making process. Transformational leaders are visionary, contemporary, competitive and creative people who use modern transformational techniques to help their companies and organizations excel and flourish. Transformational leadership comes alive under the authority of transformation leaders and thus type of leadership has become a requirement in today’s age for a company to remain competitive and profitable. Transformational leadership is very beneficial for the business, trade and service organizations in this modern world. It allows them to gain a visionary leadership perspective that allows them a competitive edge in the industry that they are performing in and thus allows them to outperform their competitors with a transformational leader at their organization’s helm (Wagner, P. 2009).. References: 1. Bass, B. M. and Avolio, B. J. 1993. Transformational Leadership and Organizational Culture. Public Administration Quarterly, Spring. 2. Avolio, B. J., Waldman, D. A. and Yammarino, F. J. 1991. The Four I’s of Transformational Leadership. Journal of European Industrial Training. 3. Bass, B. M. 1991. Stodgill and Bass Handbook of Leadership. New York: Free Press. 4. Gardner, J. 1990. 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Identification of Transformational Leadership Qualities: An Examination of Potential Biases. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 6(4), 415-430. 19. Maldonado, M. L and Lacey, C. H. 2001. Defining Moral Leadership: Perspectives of 12 Leaders. Florida Journal of Educational Research, 41(1), 79-101. 20. Bass, B. M. 1999. Two Decades of Research and Development in Transformational Leadership. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 8(1), 9-32. 21. Graham, J. W. 1995. Leadership, Moral Development and Citizenship Behavior. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5(1). 22. Rowold, J. 2008. Relationships among Transformational, Transactional, and Moral Based Leadership: Results From Two Empirical Studies. Leadership Review, vol. 8. 23. Daniel, C. L. 2005. The Relationship between Levels of Moral Reasoning and Transformational Leadership Behaviors of West Virginia Public School Administrators. 24. Simola, S. K., Barling, J. and Turner, N. 2010. Transformational leadership and leader moral orientation: Contrasting an ethic of justice and an ethic of care. The Leadership Quarterly, 21, 179-188. 25. Wagner, P. 2009. Boosting Morale during Challenging Times. APWA Reporter. Read More