Transformational Leadership Style as a Contributor to Motivation and Organizational Productivity - Research Paper Example

Transformational leadership Style as a Contributor to Motivation and Organizational Productivity Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Abstract 2 Introduction 4 Research Questions 6 Literature Review 6 Transformational Leadership and Motivation 7 Transformational Leadership and Organizational Productivity 9 Methods 11 Population and Sample 11 Data Collection 11 Data Analysis 12 Results 13 Discussion of the Results 15 Conclusion and Recommendations 17 References 20 Abstract Transformational leaders create significant change in their followers’ behavior and in an organization through idealized influence, inspiration motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Transformational leadership is essential in transforming followers in a way that adds value to an organization and its ability to achieve its goals and objectives. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is any significant relationship between transformational leadership, employee motivation and organizational productivity. The study involved 21 participants from the Hospital who represented both the directors and employees. The participants were picked at random using a stratified random sampling technique to ensure that each category of the target populations was represented. Quantitative data was collected from the 21 participants using questionnaires. The questionnaires had statements relevant to the relationships under investigation. The participants were supposed to agree or disagree with the statements. The quantitative data collected was analyzed using the SPSS software. The analysis provided descriptive and empirical descriptions of the responses. The findings of the study indicate that there is a strong and positive relationship between independent and dependent variables. In addition, the findings indicate that there is a strong relationship between employee motivation and organizational productivity. There is a greater correlation between transformational leadership and organizational productivity compared to the correlation between transformational leadership and employee motivation. Organizations can improve the level of employee motivation and productivity by establishing and developing transformational leadership. Improving employee motivation through transformational leadership and other strategies will help an organization to increase its productivity to higher levels. Organizations should equip their leaders with the necessary skills and knowledge in transformational leadership to enjoy its benefits. Despite the effects of transformational leadership on employee motivation and productivity, organizations should consider the internal context and the most likely response from employees to avoid negative effects in some parts of an organization. Employees react differently to changes in an organization especially in leadership and thus an abrupt introduction of transformational leadership may lower the level of motivation in some departments. Introduction Many past researchers have explored transformational leadership and thus, several definitions of transformational leadership exist. Hacker and Robert (2003, p. 3) define transformational leadership as “the comprehensive and integrated leadership capacities required of individuals, groups, or organizations to produce transformation as evidence by step-functional improvement.” Leadership is an exchange relationship between the leaders and followers and transformational leadership allows leaders to make their followers to develop their sense of self-worth. Hacker and Robert (2003, p. 3) define transformational leaders as those who bring about a positive change in their followers and motivate them to do more that they had intended. Transformational leaders will cause their followers to exceed their traditional level of performance. This kind of leadership allows followers to revise their expectations and perform better than what they thought possible (Bass & Riggio, 2006, p. 4). Bass and Riggio (2006, p.4) consider transformational leadership to be an extension of transactional leadership. Transactional leadership focuses on an exchange between leaders and their followers. Transactional leaders ensure that their followers understand what is required of them and the rewards for meeting the requirements. Transformational leadership builds on to this exchange and ensures that followers commit to one goal and improve their leadership and problem-solving skills. Thus, as followers develop their personal skills they channel the skills towards achieving organizational goals and objectives. Transformational leaders will help their followers to develop their leadership potential. They will pay attention to the needs of their followers including the need to develop themselves as potential leaders in the organization. This means that transformational leadership focuses on followers and their development instead of an organization and its need to meet its goals (Bass & Riggio, 2006, p.4). The components of transformational leadership include idealized influence, inspiration motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass & Riggio, 2006, p.5-7). Idealized influence is the ability in transformational leaders to act as role models while inspiration motivation is their ability to inspire and motivate others. Effective transformation models influence their followers by demonstrating the correct values and virtues that they should adopt. They set examples that followers can observe and emulate. Intellectual stimulation is the characteristic of leaders that enable them to train their followers to be creative and innovate. Consequently, the followers can generate solutions to problems within an organization and in their personal lives. This reduces the tendency to over rely on leaders to provide solutions to every problem (Kassidy, Kreitner, & Kreitner, 2009). With individualized considerations, transformational leaders are keen on each follower’s needs especially the need for personal development and achievements. Identifying the followers’ needs requires that leaders establish good relations with their followers and open channels of communication through which employees can communicate their needs. An individual’s level of motivation has an influence on their job performance (Kassidy, Kreitner, & Kreitner, 2009). Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory is widely used to explain individual motivation. This theory indicates that individuals derive their motivation from the unmet or unsatisfied basic needs. Individuals will strive to meet the basic needs before considering the needs in higher levels such as self-actualization (Gorman, 2004, p. 44). This study will investigate whether there is any relationship between transformational leadership and employee motivation. The study will investigate whether transformational leaders make any significant contribution to the motivations of their employees. In addition, the study will investigate if transformational leadership makes a significant contribution to an organization’s level of productivity. Research Questions 1. Is there a relationship between transformational leadership style and employee motivation? 2. Is there a relationship between transformational leadership style and organizational productivity? Literature Review The review of relevant literatures provides further knowledge and insights on the impact of transformational leadership on employee motivation and organizational productivity. The literature provides a theoretical background for the primary research. The literature review also indicates what previous researchers have done and the research gaps. The literatures reviewed in this section outline the opinions and findings of other researchers on the research topic. Transformational Leadership and Motivation Bass (1985) developed the theory of transformational leadership and this theory has attracted the attention of many researchers. Past researchers have conducted empirical studies in organizations to understand the application and effects of transformational leadership (Charbonneau, 2001, p. 1251). Barbuto (2005) examines the relationship between motivation and different styles of leadership. On transformational leadership, Barbuto (2005) argues that transformational leaders motivate their followers to perform beyond their basic roles. Transformational leaders achieve optimal performance in their followers by inspiring them to develop their problem solving skills and their own criteria of success. One major characteristic of the relationship between transformational leaders and their followers is inspirational motivation. This characteristic describes the ability of leaders to communicate their vision of the future of an organization and align their followers to that vision (Barbuto, 2005). Erez, Kleinbeck, and Hierry (2001, p.284) agree that there is a relationship between the behavior of transformational leaders and employee motivation. This implies that employee do not just consider the values that leaders communicate and advocate for in an organization but also the extent to which leaders implement those values in the lives. If leaders implement what they advocate for, employees can look up to them as mentors. This calls for accountability and commitment on the part of leaders. However, Erez, Kleinbeck, and Hierry (2001, p.284) indicate that transformational leadership behavior may have different effects on individuals from different departments in an organization. Organizational process and several context factors determine if transformational leadership in one unit has different motivational effects in other units. Communicating an inspirational message in one department may raise some needs in another department, which in turn will raise their motivation to work towards satisfying the activated needs. Unmet needs are a source of motivation as outlined in Maslow’s theory (Gorman, 2004, p. 44). However, if employees in other departments react to the inspiration by becoming jealous, their level of motivation will decrease instead of decreasing as intended. Such employees may feel left out and insignificant in the organization. Therefore, organizations may a challenge of balancing the effects of transformational leadership in all departments. Equal distribution of leadership skills in the organization can help in ensuring that the effects of transformational leadership are evenly distributed in all departments in an organization Erez, Kleinbeck, and Hierry (2001, p.284). Erez, Kleinbeck, and Hierry (2001, p.284) continue to indicate the transformational leadership behaviors may lead to intra and inter-group conflicts in an organization. This is because this type of leadership may lead to cohesion among members in one group but create contentions between members of different groups. Consequently, transformational leadership will increase motivation in one group and decrease motivation in another group. Intergroup conflicts minimize the impact of transformational leadership on employee motivation (Erez, Kleinbeck, & Hierry, 2001, p.284). Porter, Angle and Allen (2003, p. 271) provide further insights into indirect and unintended effects of transformational leadership on motivation of individuals in an organization. The authors argue that the context, intergroup conflicts and circumstances of each individual can be used to predict the effect of transformational leadership on employee motivation. Porter, Angle and Allen (2003, p. 271) argue that based on the circumstances of employees, redistributing transformational leaders in every department could lead to higher levels of employee motivation. This strategy should be combined with a reduction in transformational leadership behaviors. These authors point of view is contrary to the common notion that increasing transformational leadership behaviors will automatically increase the level of motivation among employees. Porter, Angle and Allen (2003, p. 271) suggest that excessive transformational leadership behavior could to lower levels of employees motivation. This implies that transformational leadership requires a certain level of control to yield the intended effects on employee motivation. Transformational Leadership and Organizational Productivity Transformational leadership has an effect on the level of productivity in an organization (Antoniou & Cooper, 2005, p. 647). This is partly because transformational leaders encourage their employees to perform at higher levels of productivity than the traditional performance levels suggest. Highly motivate employees are more productive relative to lowly motivated employees. Transformational leadership will also develop organizational behavior, ethics and values that are necessary for higher levels of productivity. Transformational leaders can align talents with an organization’s performance goals. Sashkin and Sashkin (2003, p. 171) suggest that organizations can survive without transformational leadership. However, organizations that adopt this style of leadership are likely to succeed and improve their productivity relative to those without transformational leaders. This means that transformational leadership provides an easier channel of achieving higher levels of productivity and competitiveness in organizations. Transformational leadership contributes to organizational productivity in different ways including create developing a supportive culture. This approach to leadership has an influence on organizational culture, which in turn affects organizational performance. Transformational leaders will inspire values in employees and create a clear understanding of the organization’s purpose, direction, objectives and goals. Transformational leadership is associated with high levels of job satisfaction and commitment in employees. The leadership style creates room for innovations, generation of new ideas, and the development of leadership and problem-solving skills. These resultant effects of transformational leadership have an effect on the organizational productivity. The interactions between transformational leaders and employees influence employee productivity. This is because transformational leaders encourage their followers to develop in a way that will an organization achieve its goals and objectives (Robbins, 2009) Transformational leaders will align the strategies of meeting individual needs with an organization’s mission such that employees’ needs are met in a way that adds value to the organization. Transformational leaders can identify the needs of each individual employee and find a way of connecting them to organizational productivity (Hartel, Ashkanasy, & Zerbe, 2006). The reviewed literatures in this section indicate that there is a relationship between transformational leadership, employee motivation and organizational productivity. Most of the literatures analyzed indicate that the relation is positive. However, the literature does not indicate the strength of this relationship. Past researchers do not indicate whether the contribution of transformational leadership to employee motivation and organizational productivity is significant or not. They concentrate of proving that there is a relationship and how organizations can build on this relationship for their benefit. This quantitative survey covers this research gap and outlines the nature of the relationship between transformational leadership, motivation and productivity in organizations in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Methods A quantitative research approach was used to determine if there is a relationship between transformational leadership, motivation and organizational productivity. A quantitative research method is appropriate when investigating the existence and strength of a relationship. This is because the quantitative data obtain can be subjected to different tests to provide answers to research questions. In this section, the methods used in obtain the sample, collecting data and analyzing raw data re outlined. Population and Sample The participants in this study were drawn from the list all employees at the Hospital. A sample of 21 participants was selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The target population was grouped into directors and employees. Participants were picked at random from each category or stratum to form a proportionate sample. The inclusion of a proportionate number of directors and employees in the sample was important to ensure that sample was a good representative of the entire population in the hospital. Data Collection The main instrument of collecting data in this study was a questionnaire. Given the nature of work in a hospital, the questionnaires were brief and easy to understand. Consequently, the study did not interrupt operations in the hospital in a way that would discourage employees from participating in the study. Prior to the actual survey, a pilot study was conducted among the chosen participants. The participants were issued with questionnaires that introduced the proposed survey and its purpose. In addition, the pilot study enabled the participants to identity the leadership styles adopted by their managers. The researcher explained to the participants what was expected in the actual study and the kind of questions that would asked. This preparation simplified the actual study and helped in saving time that would have been used in explaining whole procedure to the participants. In the actual study, the participants were issued with questionnaires with statements relevant to the relationship between transformational leadership, employee motivation and organization. The participants were supposed to either agree or disagree with the statements. A copy of the questionnaire is attached in the appendices section of this report. The participants were not allowed to discuss or consult on the answer to the questions. They were not supposed to indicate their names or staff identification numbers for the purpose of confidentiality. However, the participants were required to indicate their job classification. Participants took part in the pilot and actual studies willingly. The participants were encouraged to give their honest opinion in every statement and they were assured that their responses would remain confidential throughout the study. The filled questionnaires were documented for future verification of the study results discussed in the next section. Data Analysis The data collected from the participants was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program. The SPSS software was used to generate descriptive statics and regression analysis for the raw data. An independent two-tail was conducted on the raw data to determine the correlation between leadership style, motivation and organizational productivity. The leadership style is the independent variable while employee motivation and organizational productivity are the dependent variables. Results This study involved 21 employees from the Hospital (N=21). The statements in the questionnaires required that participants indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with a statement. The response and their corresponding points include Strongly Agree (4), Agree (3), Disagree (2) and Strongly Disagree (1). The statements were structured in a way that agreeing with them would indicate the existence of a relationship among the variables under study. An analysis of the responses of participants concerning their manager’s style of leadership (MS), motivation (MOT) and organizational productivity (PROD) indicate that organization productivity had the highest mean and standard deviation (17.4762 and 17.4762 respectively). Employee motivation had the lowest standard deviation (1.62275) and the lowest mean (13.333). The descriptive statistics are outline in the table 1 below. Table 1: Descriptive Statistics Mean Std. Deviation N MS 13.3333 1.62275 21 MOT 16.3333 1.79815 21 PROD 17.4762 2.22753 21 The two-tail test generated the correlations between the independent variable (manager’s leadership style and the dependent variables (motivation and organizational productivity). The results of this test are outlined in table 2 below. Table 2: Correlations MS MOT PROD MS Pearson Correlation 1 .834** .784** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 N 21 21 21 MOT Pearson Correlation .834** 1 .770** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 N 21 21 21 PROD Pearson Correlation .784** .770** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 N 21 21 21 From table 2 above, is clear that the Pearson correlation coefficients are positive. This indicates that there is a positive relationship between the leadership style with employee motivation and organizational productivity. This means that improving the style and distribution of leadership, in this case, transformational leadership will lead to higher levels of employee motivation and organizational productivity. All the Pearson correlation coefficients are above 0. 7. This indicates that there is a strong relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The correlation coefficient between leadership and employee motivation (0.834) is higher than the correlation coefficient between leadership and organizational productivity (0.784). This means that the relationship between transformational leadership and employee motivation is stronger than the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational productivity. From the analysis, it is evident that there is a strong relationship between employee motivation and organizational productivity. The two variables are positively related as indicated by the Pearson correlation coefficient 0.770. Discussion of the Results Organizational productivity has the highest mean, that is, 17.4762 while managers’ leadership style has the lowest mean of 13.3333. This means that most of the participants in the study agreed with statements relating to the relationship between the manager’s leadership style and organizational productivity. The low mean in responses relating to managers’ leadership style suggests that most participants do not think that their mangers have effective transformational leadership skills that would improve their motivation and performance. The descriptive statistics also indicate that more participants agreed with statements indicating the relationship between leadership and organizational productivity compared to those that agreed with the statements indicating the relationship between leadership and employee motivation. The results obtained from this analysis indicate that there is a strong and positive relationship between transformational leadership, employee motivation and organizational. This is consistent with the past literature review above. The positive and strong relationship implies that organizations can increase the level of employee motivation and productivity by investing in transformational leadership. Such an investment would involve equipping the managers will the relevant skills associated with a transformational leader. Improving transformational leadership may also require that an organization redistributes this form of leadership to all departments in an organization. The Pearson’s correlation coefficients indicate that there is a strong relationship between employee motivation and organizational productivity. This relationship is positive as indicated by the positive correlation coefficient. This means that organizations can improve their level of productivity by improving employee motivation. This correlation among variables in the study implies that investing in transformational leadership in an organization may have multiple effects on organizational productivity. This is because transformational leadership has a significant direct impact on organizational productivity. In addition, this leadership style has a significant positive effect on employee motivation, which in turn has a strong positive impact on organization productivity. The positive impact of leadership on productivity could be as a result of the kind of values and approach to work that transformational leaders transfer to their followers. As Robbins (2009) indicates, transformational leaders create an organizational culture in which employees are clear about an organization’s goals and objectives. Transformational leaders inspire their followers to develop problem solving skills and exceed their traditional performance levels. These aspects of transformational leadership influence organizational performance. Robbins (2009) indicates that transformational leaders transfer the leadership skills to their employees as well. This means that employees acquire the capacity to motivate and inspire others just like their mentors. Thus, effective transformational leadership will have sustainable and long-term effects in an organization as skills as passed from person to another. From the analysis, there is a positive relationship between organizational productivity and employee motivation. Werner and Desimone (2011) outline some strategies of enhancing employee motivation. Some strategies of improving employee motivation include offering them competitive compensation schemes and benefits, rewards and recognition, task rotation, and promotion. Employees are motivated to work if the tasks assigned to them are fulfilling and in line with their personal goals. Accomplishing challenging tasks is also a source of motivation of employees. This means that organizations can enhance employee motivation through their task allocation strategies. Employees appreciate constant feedback from their supervisors or leaders regarding their performance. Leaders have a significant role to play in identifying the needs and preferences of employees to develop effective strategies of ensuring that those needs are met (Werner & Desimone, 2011). Despite the benefits of transformation leadership, organizations must be careful when adopting this style of leadership. Erez, Kleinbeck and Hierry (2001, p.284) indicate that transformational leadership may have different effects on motivation of employees in different departments based on internal and contextual factors in an organization. Transformational leadership could lead to lower motivational levels in some departments depending on the response of employees to its introduction in other departments. This means that organizations should not rush to abandon other styles of leadership and adopt transformational leadership. Conclusion and Recommendations Transformational leadership is the kind of leadership approach that will bring positive change and transformation in an organization. This leadership style requires good relations between leaders and their followers. Transformational leaders have the capacity to act as mentors to their followers and encourage them to perform at higher levels than they think possible. Part of transformational leadership involves inspiring and motivating followers to achieve their individual and organizational goals (Hacker & Robert, 2003, p. 3). This study involved 21 participants that were picked at random from the employees’ list of the Hospital. The participants included employees and directors and both categories were fairly represented in the survey. A pilot study was undertaken to prepare the participants for the actual study. The research was conducted in an ethical manner and the participants were assured of confidentiality throughout the study. Quantitative data was collected from the participants using questionnaires. The data was analyzed using the SPSS program. The findings of this study indicate that there is a strong positive relationship between transformational leadership, organizational productivity and employees. All the variables analyzed in this study are correlated. The relationship between transformational leadership and organizational productivity is stronger than all other relationships that were analyzed in this study. Employee motivation is positively related to organizational productivity. This means that apart from enhancing transformational leadership, organizations can achieve higher levels productivity by improving employee motivation. Several strategies of employee motivation can be combined with transformational leadership to enhance employee motivation. Some strategies of improving employee motivation include offering them competitive compensation schemes and benefits, rewards and recognition, task rotation, and promotion. Given the significant contribution of transformational leadership to organizational productivity and employee motivation, organizations must adopt and develop this style of leadership in every department. Effective transformational leadership requires an exchange or good relationship between leaders and employees (Hacker & Robert, 2003, p. 3). This means that organizational that intend to take advantage of the benefits of transformational leaders must establish an internal environment in which healthy relationships can be developed. The management team in an organization should ensure that every leader is equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge on transformational leadership. The leaders can then pass on the skills and knowledge to their employees as their mentors. The management team in an organization should analyze the context in which it intends to introduce transformational leadership and the most likely response of employees to this form of leadership. This prior analysis will help the management to avoid any negative effects of transformational leadership in an organization especially on employee motivation. Transformational leadership may also lead to intra-group conflicts if an organization does not conduct a prior study to determine the likely effects of introducing this form of leadership. Intra-group conflicts minimize the positive effect of transformational leadership on employee motivation. This implies that above investing in transformational leadership, organization should equip their leaders will conflict resolution skills in case any intra-group conflicts erupt. The results of the primary research and the insights drawn from literatures reviewed in this study indicate that transformational leadership is beneficial to organizational. However, organizations must adopt a smooth transition from one leadership style to another and exercise control to their preferred leadership style to avoid unintended negative effects. Limitations and Future Research One major limitation of this study is that a small sample size of 21 participants was used. Such a sample may not fully represent the view of all staff member in the Hospital and the entire sector. In addition, self-reported data was used to draw conclusions of the research topic. Future research on this topic should involve a large sample. The large sample size can include employees and their leaders in other industries as well. Future research should also include more robust research designs. References Antoniou, G., & Cooper, C, L. (2005). Research Companion to Organisational Health Psychology. Edward Elgar Publishing Barbuto, J, E. (2005). Motivation and Transactional, Charismatic, and Transformational Leadership: A Test of Antecedents. Journal of Leadership and Organisational Studies, 11(4) Bass, B, M, & Riggio, R, E. (2006). Transformational Leadership. London: Routledge Cassidy, C., Kreitner, B., Kreitner, R. (2009). Supervision: Setting People up for Success. Connecticut: Cengage Learning Charbonneau, D., Barling, J., & Kelloway, E, K. (2001). Transformational Leadership and Sports Performance: The Mediating Role of Intrinsic Motivation. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 31(7), pp. 1521-1534 Erez, M., Kleinbeck, U., Thierry, H. (2001). Work Motivation in the Context of a Globalizing Economy. London: Routledge Gorman, P. (2004). Motivation and Emotion. London: Routledge Hacker, S., & Roberts, T. (2003). Transformational Leadership: Creating Organisations of Meaning. ASQ Quality Press Hartel, C., Ashkanasy, N, M., & Zerbe, W. (2006). Emotions in Organizational Behaviour. London: Routledge Porter, L, W., Angle, H, L., & Allen, R, W. (2003). Organizational Influence Processes. M.E. Sharpe Robbins, S, P. (2009). Organisational Behaviour: Global and Southern African Perspectives. Pearson South Africa Sashkin, M., & Sashkin, M, G. (2003). Leadership that Matters: the Critical Factors for Making a Difference in People’s Lives and Organisations’ Success. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Werner, J, M., & Desimone, R, L. (2011). 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