Important Transformational Leadership Concepts - Case Study Example

Abstract The objective of this essay is to evaluate and assess the leadership style, characteristics and traits of a leader interviewed in the context of theories on transformational leadership. Introduction The concepts surrounding leadership have intrigued and interested scholars throughout time. Leadership seeks to bring people and groups from where they are to where they have not been. It enables people to go beyond the confines of mediocrity and tread into the realm of existence. In the process, is induces people to define their desires and to pursue them with passion. Ultimately, leadership transforms potential into reality. It is this very core ideal of transformational leadership that this essay aims to review, evaluate and assess in the light of interview results from a leader to identify if characteristics of this style is innately eminent in each and every leader. Definition of Terms Leadership is defined by Martires & Fule (2000) as “the process of influencing people so that they would work towards the attainment of specifically defined goals” (p. 569). Transformational leadership, as the name implies, is a leadership style “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 enhances the motivation, moral and performance of his follower group.” (Boje 2000) Studies on this concept in leadership was originally delved into by James McGregor Burns who wanted to differentiate leadership from management and discovered that the differences are in characters and behaviors. (Burns 1978) He contrasted transformational leadership style as against a transactional leadership where focus is on the traits and characteristics of the leader rather than creating changes in people’s lives. Important Transformational Leadership Concepts There have been diverse patterns of behavior and actions that leaders exhibit over a period of time and perceived by followers as the dominant style of leadership. This style is developed utilizing an interplay of factors which shape leadership development. There have been an enormous amount of studies and researches which seek to identify the characteristics, traits and behaviors which are predominant in leaders and enable them to succeed. For transformational leaders, the following characteristics stand out: (1) overt desire to transform the organization; (2) charismatic; (3) exudes passion and confidence; (4) possess large amounts of enthusiasm; (5) are people oriented and (5) tendencies to see the big picture and not the details (Straker 2009). According to Burns (1978), there are four elements of a transformational leader, to wit: “(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); (2) intellectual stimulation (the degree to which the leader challenges assumptions, takes risks and solicits followers' ideas); (3) inspirational motivation (the degree to which the leader articulates a vision that is appealing and inspiring to followers); and (4) role and identification model (the highest level of transformational leadership where the leader provides communal design of vision and purpose, values and norms that gives meaning to the work). In that article written by Heuerman (2008) on Presidential politics: What is transformational leadership? the following traits have been identified as ingrained: “passionate, courageous, single-minded, and have a strong value system—they stand for something, and they tell the truth about what is right and wrong in our society. They can also be ruthless, humorless, and self-absorbed as they fight for difficult change.” (par. 9) Deluga (1998) conducted a study on a historiometric analysis of presidential charismatic leadership from Frankin Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan. According to him, “Reagan's rating as the second highest charismatic president exposes his astute management of the news media; he took credit for successes and distanced himself from failures, hence the term the "teflon President." Perhaps cultivated during his acting career, Reagan employed impression management tactics to create a charismatic aura of being personable, likeable, and a decisive chief executive. Reagan's poise and sense of humor under stress, e.g., following the 1981 assassination attempt, further promulgated his charismatic leadership qualities.” (par. 22) Due to Reagan’s charismatic qualities, Deluga concluded that “the results generally supported the idea that transformational, behavioral, and attributional charismatic leadership may share a similar core construct whereby a president inspires followers to achieve a highly desirable vision and reach performance levels surpassing what is anticipated.” (par. 29) With these relevant concepts on transformational leadership, the following discourse evaluates and assesses the beliefs, preferences and characteristics of the particular leader interviewed. Interview Results The leader who was interviewed exemplifying transformational leadership qualities had work experience in the military service. After leaving the military, he worked in a hospital leading a team of 12 individuals. His views, preferences, philosophies and characteristics on the concept of leadership were unselfishly shared. Leadership Philosophy: Put individuals under one’s command first and provide them with opportunities to excel and succeed. Problem Resolution Skills: Recognize the need to monitor and follow-up tasks which require to be accomplished. Relationships with Subordinates: Maintain a balance between being always in authority within a safe distance and conforming to social needs of subordinates. Respect must be earned by exhibiting leadership traits. Motivation and Morale: There is a direct relationship between motivation and job responsibilities. Workers who know their tasks and are aware of contributing to the achievement of organizational goals are innately motivated. Addressing Obstacles: Courses of action are determined by the projects giving the greatest value. Value, in turn is determined by intrinsic and financial qualities. Leadership Traits: Hardworking, love for people, genuine concern, respect, develop subordinates, and open communication. Five Things That Comes to Mind When the Word “Leader” is Mentioned: Followership, Integrity, honesty, passion, courage. Persons He Looks up to as Leaders: No specific names mentioned, except two men and two women. Tips when Mentoring a New Leader: Listen and watch, think outside the box, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Difference between a Manager and a Leader: A manager follows a set of rules and people relationships are governed by these set of rules; does what he did yesterday. A leader clears the way and goes where no one has gone before, motivates and empowers employees and sees the future and tries to get there. Analyses The results of the interview indicate the following in relations to concepts of transformational leadership: This leader exhibits some traits exemplifying transformational leadership in the following aspects: being people oriented, believing that subordinates who know their tasks and are aware that they are contributing to organizational goals are innately motivated, being passionate in one’s work, being genuinely concerned of others, providing followers with opportunities to excel and succeed. His views on motivation, however, though identifying that knowledge of the job and awareness of one’s tasks and responsibilities contribute to organizational goals, the system of rewards and controls were not mentioned. The concept of transformational leadership, the leader should provide inspirational motivation. It is not enough that workers’ competence in their job responsibilities are the only motivating factors for the accomplishment of goals. These may be true for some employees but not for others. Motivational theories and models differ depending on the personalities of the subordinates, on the leadership style, on the situation in the company, and on the organizational goals. His personal views on the differences between a manager and a leader are overlapping and highly general, in content. Transformational leadership recognizes that their differences lie in characters and behaviors, as mentioned in Burns’ (1978) study. The manager has responsibilities encompassing functions such as planning, directing, organizing and controlling. Managers could themselves be considered leaders. At the same token, leaders can be managers. His leadership traits emphasize the value of being people oriented by recognizing the need for their growth and development and by encouraging them to practice open communication. However, there are other essential leadership traits that were not mentioned. Of equal importance are the essential skills of being a leader as described by Henry Mintzberg, to wit: skills of introspection, entrepreneurial skills, conflict – resolutions skills, peer skills, information – processing skills, skills in unstructured decision-making and resource generation and allocation skills (Martires 2000). Although transformational leadership emphasize people orientation and a desire to change the organization by focusing on the four basis elements enumerated therein, leadership considers other relevant factors in achieving organizational goals. The essential skills mentioned by Mitzberg are all needed and critical to ensure success in the achievement of objectives. In addition, entrepreneurial skills were not at all mentioned by the leader in the interview. This, as an essential function, gives focus to the direction of an organization through vision. Successful entrepreneurs exhibit traits which have great similarities as transformational leaders. These predominant traits are: in control, high achievement needs, have profound love for their work and enjoy doing them, competitive, innovative and persevering. An interesting deviation is that mentioned in the study of Grabinsky which profiled an entrepreneur as “a little crazy for the rest of the people”. In most probability, the extraordinary energy and enthusiasm that an entrepreneur exudes in his work environment was perceived as queer and unconventional. This was validated by Heuerman (2008) when he mentioned that transformational leaders “can also be ruthless, humorless, and self-absorbed as they fight for difficult change.” (par. 9) The inspiring lessons shared by famous and successful transformational leaders range from passion to love of the things they do. Despite all the hard work, their venture gave them sheer enjoyment and happiness and ultimately, a sense of fulfillment and euphoria. The courage, strength and determination to engage in their craft despite repeated failure are success stories in themselves, surpassing personal and professional struggles. They took the responsibilities of developing and running a total system of action. They are creative individuals in complete control of their destinies. And having done so, the fruits of their labor continue to benefit mankind. There is an inherent concept of adhering to social responsibility in their endeavors. Men who benefited from their talents learn to compensate their efforts by patronizing their efforts and result to returns of investment, a multitude over. Conclusion As timely recommended by O’Neil (2008), the leaders should create and head the teams to solve the problems. It should be a direct application experience. Leaders should not be wary or afraid to get their hands dirty for the sake of improving lives. By being part of the action team, only then can these leaders be assured that the solutions carefully drawn and crafted are efficiently and effectively implemented. Leadership deals with human relationships. When a leader is truly effective, the institution where he operates becomes transformed. By learning, competence is improved. Leaders lead by example and the values they hold are exemplified in their actions. This is how one ultimately learns from them. References Boje, D. (2000). Transformational Leadership. Retrieved on April 27, 2009 from Burns, J.M. (1978). Leadership. New York, Harper and Raw. Deluga, R. (1998). Charisma of US Presidents. Retrieved on April 28, 2009 from < http://www.leader-values.com/Content/detail.asp?ContentDetailID=52> Grabinsky, S. (1987). El perfil del Pequeño Empresario, Editorial Edicol, México, D.F., Heuerman, T. (2008). Presidential politics: What is transformational leadership? Daily Planet. Retrieved on April 27, 2009 from Martires, C.R. & Fule, G.S. (2000). Management of Human Behaviors in Organizations. National Bookstore. Philippines. O’Neil, M. (2008). Human resource leadership: the key to improved results in health. Human Resource for Health, open access article. Retrieved on April 20, 2009 from Straker, D. (2009). Transformational Leadership. Changingmind.org. Retrieved on April 27, 2009 from Read More