Critical Evaluation of a Leader Practicing Transformational Leadership - Term Paper Example

Leadership I. Critical evaluation of a leader practicing transformational leadership Leadership, according to Hersey and Blanchard (1993) is the “activity of influencing people to strive willingly for group objectives.” Today, there are many leadership styles being adopted by different people in different fields. The leadership style adopted by a leader plays a vital role in the success or failure of the organization that the leader is handling. The most striking aspect of transformational leadership is that it promotes a broader spectrum of development. The primary focus of this leadership style is that it strives to create a change in the self, the people within the organization, the groups within the organization and the organization itself. During my interview with a leader who is practicing transformational leadership, I learned the importance of having a shared vision in an organization, a clear direction, focus and commitment. What is really very interesting about this leader is that he has a genuine interest in people. Of the four major types of transformational leadership namely: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation (Bass 1988), he displays strong traits of a leader who inspires people. As it is, this leader inspires trust, loyalty, admiration and respect from his followers. To illustrate how this leader are able to sway his followers into doing what he believes in best for the organization, when the company was in financial trouble and would not be able to provide the usual year bonuses for its staff, this transformational leader was able to convince everybody that there is a need to sacrifice in order for the company to survive and the people in it to have jobs. During the meeting with the staff, this leader presented the financial status of the company and explained to the people around how the company may not be able to survive the present crisis without the full cooperation of the staff. By seemingly putting the fate of the company in the hands of the staff, he is able to inspire a sense of ownership, power and belongingness to each and everyone in the company. On he other hand, by setting a vision of how the company could grow with the help of the people in it, he was able to inspire a sense of anticipation and motivated the people to work towards such possibility. This leader is ambitious and he knows how to make the people around him adopt his ambitions and make them their own. Although there were some in the organization who questions the ethical implications of using the emotions of the staff to win their support, I believe that the act of persuading the people by appealing to their emotions is well justified. According to Bass (1998), genuine transformational leadership can work wonders in the organization especially where the leader involved shows great morality of character. In he case of this leader, the fact that he practices what he speaks makes it easier for the people around him to believe in him. This leader values honesty and since he is being honest to the people around him, he expects people to be honest to him in return. Aside from being steadfast to what he believes in, this leader has very good interpersonal skills. He understands the diversity of characters around him. This leader is one of those people who are good listeners and who facilitates rather than dictates. Although he is very firm when it comes to implementing rules and regulations in the company, he listens to reasons and would not really judge anyone until such time when he had the full facts. On the other hand, once he knows who is at fault, he would not hesitate to give penalties to those who committed mistakes even if this means punishing one of his most trusted employees. Will this leader be effective in any other position other than the chief executive of the organization? Given the fact that this leader is a visionary and is not really good with details, I believe that he will not be as effective if he is put in a middle management position, which would require him to look into details. Since this leader is more of a planner than an implementer, he would probably be at a loss when it comes to attending to detailed implementation. II. Critical evaluation on the research and current thinking of transformational leadership Recent studies showed that transformational leadership is one of the most desirable leadership styles (Bass, B. M. (1998). However, there are some objections to this leadership style in the sense that since it is this style should be guided by an inner ethical core (Bass (1998), most critics of this leadership style objected based on the premise that not all leaders are morally matures. Note what when we speak of leadership, the ethics of leadership rest upon three major areas such as (1) the moral character of the person or the leader, (2) the values being held dear by the leader which is integrated into the leader’s vision, mission and programs (3) the morality of the choices that the leader may take in collective pursuits. (Burns 1978 cited in Dukerich, Nichols, et. al 1990 and in Bass 1998). Where a transformational leader is morally ripe to take on the responsibilities of leading an organization, Burns (1978) believes that that leader is indeed very much capable of bringing developments in the organization. Since transformational leadership involves moral maturity (Kuhnert & Lewis, 1987) and it is geared towards morally uplifting the followers (Burns, 1978), some sectors now question the universal acceptability of this type of leadership style. Many ethicists question this type of leadership style and suggest that since this type of leadership uses impression management, there is a big tendency for “amoral puffery” on the part of the leader (Snyder, 1987). Because the transformational leader relies on his vision and charisma to persuade the people around him to adapt his ideas, there is a danger that the transformational leader who is not morally mature would resort to some undesirable tactics to create an impression on the followers that he is in control and that his visions and ambitions is the best for the organization. Another objection to the transformational leadership style is that “it encourages followers to go beyond their own self-interests for the good of the organization and even emotionally engages followers irrationally in pursuits of evil ends contrary to the followers’ best interests” (e.g. Stevens, D’Intino, & Victor, 1995 cited in Bass, http://cls.binghamton.edu/BassSteid.html). As observed in the study conducted on a transformational leader, the leader appeals to the emotions of the followers and create such sense of ownership towards an undertaking. If such power and influence over the followers is used to sway the followers into setting aside their personal interests and focus their attention on the good of the organization, there is a big possibility that the followers, because of the great influence of the leader in them, would accede to the wishes of the leader. Although sacrificing personal interests for the organization is beneficial at times, if such is abused by the leader, the followers will end up suffering the consequences. Note that when power is abused, there is always a negative effect on its subjects. Keeley (1995), on the other hand expressed that there is danger of establishing a dictatorship in transformational leadership. Where the transformational leader lack morals and self-discipline, his ambitions may lead him to exert tremendous influence in the people around him and sway them towards his personal goals. Since the transformational leader has the power and the charisma to transform his/her followers, if the leader lacks the morals, the followers may end up losing more than what they have gained. Transformational leadership style is very powerful that it in the hands of people, who do not have the right values, would prove to be antithetical to the development of the organization and the people in it. Authentic transformational leadership is nurturing and seeks to help others by facilitating transformation towards higher levels. Where the leader possesses the necessary values and ideals, a transformational leader can help the organization reach higher levels of productivity and at the same time generates better employee satisfaction. However, since this type of leadership like any other leadership styles is prone to abuses, there is a need to create a mechanism of check and balance within the organization. However, according to Bass (1998), the check and balance may be hard to establish as in practice, there are really no truly independent Board of Directors, labor unions or stakeholder proxies in organizations all over the country. III. Personal Development Plan My goal is to become a transformational leader. This leadership style is anchored on the precepts of strong moral values and ideas that can help people and organizations transcend towards higher levels of endeavors. There are four major types of transformational leadership behaviors namely; idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation. Of the four major types of transformational leadership behaviors, I believe that I can be effective as a leader who fosters individualized consideration towards his or her followers. By nature, I am a very perceptive person and I enjoy interacting with people. As per the self-evaluation I have taken on my leadership capabilities, I found out that I am distinctively intuitive which would make me fit well into the role of a mentor or facilitator type of a leader. On the other hand, I am nurturing by nature and coaching people comes to me naturally. To establishment myself as a transformational leader espousing the individualized considerations, I would like to follow this development plan. My goal is to become a transformational leader by developing my mentoring and coaching skills. To implement my personal development plan, I will make a review of all the things that I have learned so far and formulate a plan on how to put what I have learned into practice. In the event where I consider myself ill equipped to go out and practice what I have learned, I will make further research and learn more. I will also make it a point to find a person who can guide me and give honest critics of my progress. To put what I have learned into practice, I will join an organization where I can casually observe my colleagues and ascertain their interaction patters as well as their strengths and weaknesses. This exercise will help me hone my skills in assessing situations and the people around me. Furthermore, being close to people and able to share their dreams and aspirations, I will hopefully be more equipped to tackle moral and ethical issues in the near future. During group meetings and interactions, I will randomly make rounds and talk to the other members, complementing them of their achievements and offering help in areas where I can be of help. This exercise would help me sharpen my interpersonal skills. I will also keep a journal or record of all my activities and evaluate my progress methodically. References: 1. Bass, B. M. (1998) The ethics of transformational leadership. In Ciulia, J (Ed.) Ethics, the heart of leadership. Westport, CT: Praeger. 2. Bass, B.M. (1997) Does the transactional/transformational leadership transcend organizational and national boundaries? American psychologist, 52, 130-139. 3. Bernard M. Bass and Paul Steidlmeier “Ethics, character and Authentic Transformational leadership” http://cls.binghamton.edu/BassSteid.html 4. Burns, J.M.(1978) Leadership. New York: Harper & Row. 5. Gini, A (1996) Moral leadership and business ethic, Kellogg Leadership Studies Project, Center for Political Leadership and Participation, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, pp. 1-22 6. Gronn, P.C. (1995) Greatness revisited: The current obsession with transformational leadership. Leading & Managing, 1, 14-27. 7. Hersey, P and Blanchard K. (1993) Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources (6th Ed.) Prentice Hall 8. Keeley, M. ( 1995) The trouble with transformational leadership: Toward a federalist ethic for organizations. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5,67-95. 9. Kuhnert, K.W. & Lewis, P.L (1987) Transactional and transformational leadership: A constructive/developmental analysis. Academy of Management Review, 12, 648-657. 10. Snyder, M. (1987) Public appearances, private realities: The psychology of self-monitoring. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman & Co. 11. Stevens, C.U., D’Intino, R.S. & Victor, B.(1995) The moral quandary of transformational leadership: Change for whom? Research in Organizational Change and Development, 8, 123-143. 12. What is transformational leadership? http://www.leadingtoday.org/Onmag/feb03/transform22003.html Read More