Transformational Leadership - Article Example

? Transformational Leadership of of Introduction There are several facades of leadership. Northouse construes leadership to be a process through which an individual influences a group of people to achieve a given goal (Northouse, 2010, p3). This indicates that leadership is a system through which people attain certain objectives and goals through a collective action. Thus, the leader plays the crucial role of ensuring that people take action that is in sync with the objectives and goals of the group. Leadership is a social phenomenon. As such, there are elements of leader-follower relationships that are mainly subjective in nature and are influenced by individual personality and the philosophical outline of the group (Nozick, 2010 p27). Due to this, the definition of leadership in itself is not quite clear. Gallos defines leadership as “a complex social process, rooted in the values, skills, knowledge and ways of thinking of both leaders and followers” (p18, 2008). This definition therefore means that leadership is influenced by some variables that influence the relationship between leaders and followers. However, there has been debates in academia and practice about how leadership can and must be construed (Stevenson, 2004 p2). Leadership can be seen as a transaction through which the leader gets to instruct and force his followers to attain the objectives of the group. In this sense, leadership is seen as a transactional event. A transactional event is “an activity or event whereby a group of people need some form of direction to attain a clearly identified goal” (Paulsen, 2010 p17). In the concept of transactional leadership, followers are required to attain stated ends and the leader is there to ensure that. This means that a formal relationship exists between a transactional leader and his followers. This relationship does not extend beyond the confines of attaining the objectives at hand. On the other hand, several contemporary writers like Bass and Burns have put forward the concept of transformational leadership. Transformational leadership seems to encompass some social aspects which enhances the relationship between leaders and followers outside the normal scope of work or organizational goals. This paper examines the concept of transformational leadership. It begins by identifying the default position of leadership in organizations, which is transactional leadership. From that point, the paper goes on to evaluate the role of transformational leadership as an improvement and replacement of transactional leadership. The paper also focuses on elements of transformational leadership and examines some important aspects of this type of leadership. Transactional-Event, Leadership and Authority Max Weber stated that there are three sources of authority and these sources of authority puts a person in a leadership position in a transactional event (Walonick, 1993). Weber's three sources of authority are patriarchal/traditional, rational/legal and/or charismatic/informal. Patriarchal leadership results from historical activities which gives individuals and families certain social status. Thus, people who acquire leadership through patriarchal authorities are mainly people whose births and families have some inherent power or rights of leadership which are transferred to them through inherently. On the other hand, rational/legal authority comes about because a person is legally accepted to have acquired the necessary education, qualifications/certification and relevant experience to fill a given position (Kalinowski, 2005). Such a position of authority is legally recognized by the laws of the land. Charismatic authority comes about as a result of certain informal qualities that renders an individual more powerful in a group. This power, when exercised gives the individual some kind of authority. In exercising authority, a leader could see the followers as a means to an end or an end in itself (Grint, 2002). The approach used, makes the leader either transformational or transactional. Elements of Transactional Leadership From Bass' definition of transactional leadership, there are five main components of transactional leadership (1978). First of all, a leader is seen as a person who allocates work to followers. Secondly, the followers are motivated to carry out the orders of the leader because the leader has the power to discharge rewards or punishment. Thirdly, the leader has to set out clear rules to the followers as guidelines for the end that must be attained. Fourthly, the follower gets rewarded on the basis of his ability to carry out the instructions of the follower. Finally, if the follower fails to carry out the instructions of the leader, s/he gets punished by the leader. Transactional leadership is a form of clear-cut and strictly defined relationship between leader and follower that is based strongly on the need to attain a certain goal or objective. A transactional leader is therefore concerned with goals. The transactional leader continues to monitor and control employees and is concerned only with the results at hand. The transactional leader ensures that the results are attained through his ability to manipulate employees with rewards and punishment. The transactional leader is only concerned with work. Such a leader has little concern for followers. To such a leader, followers are a means to an end. Blake and Mouton placed leadership on a continuum (1964). On the Blake and Mouton scale, there are two extreme attributes of leadership; Concern for People (Y) and Concern for Production (X). A transactional leader is fully interested in production and has absolutely no concern for employees. McGregor goes on to say that a Theory X leader, who is a transactional leader is autocratic and has little respect for the autonomy and improvement of his subordinates (1960). On the other hand, a Theory Y leader is a democratic leader who is concerned about the wellbeing of his followers. The Case for Transformational Leadership Leadership is about exerting influence and achievement of goals. That appears to be the unity of purpose that Fayol identifies in his administrative theory. However, leadership involves human beings who have unique needs aside the production and collection of wages and salaries (Lussier & Achura, 2010 p6). This therefore means that a leader must ensure that the needs and expectations of his followers are identified and satisfied as the groups attain their goals. Transformational leadership adopts a total approach which aims at creating a framework through which followers are developed and improved whilst they take part in the production process (Nissinen, 2006). Transactional leadership goes beyond just attaining the objectives of the group. It seeks to help to support the attainment of individual as well as group goals and objectives. “Transformational leadership is a process whereby leaders and followers help each other to advance to a higher level of morale and motivation” (Bass, 1997). This means that it creates a win-win situation where the leaders and followers benefit from the processes and operations of the group or organization that they belong to. Elements of Transformational Leadership Bass & Bass identify four key concepts that underline transformational leadership (2008). These elements of transformational leadership sets it apart from transactional leadership. They include 1. Individualized Considerations: In a setting where transformational leadership takes precedence, the leader takes the pain to get a full understanding of the organization in question. In the process, the leader gets to know the needs of his followers and ensures that all those individual needs and desires are incorporated in the activities of the group. At this stage, the leader comes up with a strong vision through which the needs of followers will be attained as the group goes on to attain its objectives. This acts as the catalyst for laying the groundwork for the attainment of results and expectations of each individual in a personalized manner. 2. Intellectual Stimulation: Once a leader identifies the individual needs and expectations of persons in the group, such a leader comes up with ways of empowering each individual member of the group. This will mean that the leader will have to find a way of inspiring the followers to get them to move onto the best path that will enable them to attain their personal goals and aspirations. 3. Inspirational Motivation: When it is clear that the leader and follower are fully aware of the individual and organizational goals, s/he must encourage and inspire the follower to work towards it. In that sense, the leader will have to give a degree of autonomy to the follower to enable him/her to undertake activities that will lead to the attainment of the identified objectives. This will lead to a situation where the follower acquires skills and degrees of self sufficiency. As the follower continues doing things for the organization and for himself, a time will come where the follower would become competent in anything that he sets out to do. This brings a kind of transformation that is useful to the follower as well as the group as a whole. 4. Idealized influence: When several followers are influenced to transform the individual and organizational goals into realities, the next step will be to find a way through which the organization can maintain that system. This means that the leader needs to set up a framework through which more and more followers can attain both their personal goals and organizational goals in a way that will transform them positively. Practical Elements of Transformational Leadership A lot of research has been done in recent times into the concept of transformational leadership. This is mainly because transformational leadership seem to reflect the democratic ideals of the 21st Century and is in sync with the observances of rule of law, national development and the honor of individual human rights (Avolio et al, 2004 p955). Transformational Leadership and Culture Transformational leadership varies according to the nation and dominant cultural systems (Avolio et al, 2004 p954). In a study conducted by Spreitzer et al (2005), it was identified that one important elements of the extent to which transformational leadership will be carried out lies in the cultural context as well as the individual abilities of a leader. In other words, the level of transformation that a transformational leader will cause amongst his followers is based on the personality traits as well as the dominant culture within which the organization operates. The elements of traditional values that determine the dominant features of a transformational leader borders on four main things (Spreitzer et al, 2005). First of all, the culture and values of the followers determine who an appropriate leader is. This means that the values of the people being led determines the kind of qualities that a role model must possess. Clearly, this varies immensely. In Japan where the long-term orientation of the society is high, leaders are expected to invest more in the improvement of their followers (Spreitzer et al, 2005). In America where people change jobs more frequently, leaders focus more on the contributions of followers rather than their transformation. Secondly, the dominant culture determines the intellectual stimulation. In a culture where people expect to be told what to do, a transformational leader needs to do more to explain the roles of followers. On the other hand, followers are likely to respond to intellectual stimulation easily in a place where followers have a say and the power distance between them and their leaders are narrower. Thirdly, the performance expectations of a group determines how effective a transformational leader can become. In a situation where there is serious financial pressure, a transformational leader might not have the luxury of empowering followers to balance their individual developmental needs with the attainment of organizational goals. On the other hand, where there is a relaxed atmosphere, transformational leaders can do more to support the development for their followers. Finally, the extent to which a leader can create a vision determines the ability of the leader to become a transformational leader or a transactional leader. In other words, the kind of autonomy that a leader has determines the extent to which s/he can operate as a transactional leader. Where a leader is told what to do all the time by a more superior leader, s/he might be as transformational as his superior. This means that where the superior hates transformational leadership, the leader will have a limited ability to seek the concern for his or her employees. Psychological Elements of Transformational Leadership Psychological empowerment is another important feature of transformational leadership (Avolio et al, 2004). There are three main elements that determines the psychological elements of transformational leadership. First of all, the relationship between leaders and followers determines the effectiveness or otherwise of a transformational leader. If the relationship between leaders and followers is extremely formal, the relationship is likely to be transactional rather than transformational. On the other hand, a more relaxed atmosphere might be needed for an effective transformational leadership effort. Secondly, the organizational commitment of both the leader and the follower determines the success or failure of transactional leadership. Where the commitment of the leader or follower is weak, the inherent improvement of the follower can be difficult to diagnose or implemented. Finally, the distance between the two is important. Where the power distance in a given organization is wider, the followers cannot be effectively transformed by the best intentions of the leaders. Transformational Leadership and Organizational Culture For transactional leadership efforts to work for an organization, there is the need for an ethical climate to be created that will support the implementation of its terms. It is echoed in several things like the leadership style, effort, satisfaction with supervisors and job satisfaction (Mulki et al, 2009). Once these points are incorporated in the activities of an organization, then transformation can be initiated by leaders and felt by the followers. Core Elements of the Transformational Leader Resick et al (2006) identify some fundamental elements of a transformational leader. First of all, a transformational leader needs to have a high level of integrity and must be of a good character. This is essential because such a leader automatically becomes a role model so s/he must have a good merit. A transformational leader also needs to be trusted by his followers so integrity and good character is key. Secondly, a transformational must have a collective motivation. In other words, such a leader must have the notion that when the whole group is successful individually, they can be successful collectively. This therefore means that the leader will have to think collectively and act individually. Finally, a transformational leader is emergent in outlook. This means that the transformational leader plans and observes events as they unfold. Once significant activities occur and there is the need for change, such a leader will make the necessary changes and continue to monitor progress in a very proactive manner. Jucker et al (2006) identify that there are some social attributes of transformational leaders like concern and respect for followers. One of the significant elements of their study was that followers recognize leaders who apologize when they go wrong to be better transformational leaders than those who do not. Conclusion Leadership generally involves the attainment of goals and objectives. In the normal sense, leadership must be transactional – where leaders seek to get followers to attain group goals and objectives. Transformational leadership involves setting goals, monitoring of followers and attainment of results with little concern for followers. However, in recent times, transformational leadership has been introduced and encouraged in different leader-follower relationships. Transformational leadership involves the attainment of the best results for the group as well as for individual followers. Transformational leadership can be conducted with emphasis on the personality of the leader as well as the dominant culture of the followers. It works best in an atmosphere of ethics. Transformational leaders need to build and maintain high social standards and respect their followers where necessary. References Avolio, B. J., Zhu W. Koh, W. Bhatia, P. (2004) “Transformational Leadership and Organizational commitment: Mediating Role of Psychological Empowerment & Modeling Role of Structural Distance” Journal of Organizational Behavior 25, 951 – 968 Bass & Bass (2008) The Bass & Bass Handbook of Leaderhship: Theory, Research & Marginal Applications New York: Free Press. Bass, B. M. (2005) From Transactional Leadership to Transformational Leadership New York: FT Prentice Hall. Blake, R.; Mouton, J. (1964). The Managerial Grid: The Key to Leadership Excellence. Houston: Gulf Publishing Co.. Burns, J. M. (1978) Leadership New York: Harper & Row. Daft, R. & Lane, P (2008) The Leadership Experience Mason OH: Cengage Grint, K (2002) Faces of Leadership Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Jucker, S. Turner, D, Barling, J. Reid, E & Elving C. 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