Transformational Leadership in Organizations - Essay Example

Transformational leadership is essential for achieving highly innovative practices in organizations High innovative practices can be achieved in an organization through various ways but one of the best approaches that is incorporated by many organizations or rather the leaders of these organizations is by adopting transformational leadership. This leadership approach does not only provide extended support to the team members but even encourages the team members to develop a shared vision and utilize all their skills so as to establish high performance standards in the organization. Transformational leadership takes into account the strengths and weaknesses of the team members and enhances more of self development of the followers. Introduction The term ‘leadership’ can be defined in various ways it can be stated as a mechanism through which all the team members are guided to achieve a common goal or a tool that enables all the members of an organization to work together and is supported by the leader as and when required. There are various forms of leadership and the appropriate leadership style that is adopted by an organization depends on a particular situation and nature of the team members. Transformational leadership is a form of leadership that facilitates job performance, morale and motivation of all the team members. This form of leadership enhances the followers to include their identity to the project and inspires more of collectivism in the organization so that every member feels being valued for their contribution towards the organization. Transformational leader becomes a role model for all the followers that makes them interested and also inspires them to work towards the common objectives of the organization. The leader adopting this kind of leadership style imposes challenges on the followers so that they can take more of ownership towards the job they perform, analyzes well the weaknesses and strengths of the team members and aligns the tasks to be executed by the followers in such a way that it enhances the overall work performance of the team members. Discussion Organizational leaders are the ones that shape and define work and contribute towards innovative practices in the organization. Individual leadership is one of the most important determinants of organizational innovation. Transformational leadership is the one that promotes and supports leadership and this in turn enables the organization for long term survival. There are two important factors that are required in the global economy that is emerging such as risk taking aspect of an entrepreneur and innovative practices. Transformational leadership can be stated as that kind of leadership that motivates followers so as to be aligned with the common goals of the organization and to perform well beyond the expected standards of work performance (Antonakis & House, 2002). The employees are rewarded on basis of their work and feel engaged that enhances their level of satisfaction which in turn motivates the employees for extra effort towards their job. According to Podsakoff, Moorman, MacKenzie and Fetter (1990), there are six factors that examine the concept of transformational leadership such as articulating future vision, fostering goals acceptance, enabling a role model that is appropriate for the system, providing extended support towards individual members, intellectual stimulation and setting expectations of high performance practices in the organizational culture (Barlow, Jordan & Hendrix, 2003). These six factors of the transformational leadership enable innovation in the organizational system and develop a well structured organizational culture. This approach comprising of six factors that are different but related dimensions helps in inspiring all of the team members and communicates and creates a common vision for the organization, and take prominence while undergoing any form of change imperatives and dealing with the culture of the organization. There are various different leadership models that have emerged such as transactional, situational, transformational, servant and charismatic. The charismatic leaders are the ones that direct the team members and take their commitment towards the common vision of the organization. The transactional leaders are the ones who can be associated with various forms of social exchanges and facilitates more of transactions that are reward based with the team members. The servant leaders are the ones, who give more priority to the interests of their followers, takes more care towards the personal development of the followers and even empowers the followers to take decisions in the organization (Henry, 2001).The situational leader’s works as per the situation that prevails in the organization and adopts any one of the leadership models that best suits the particular situation. Lastly, is the transformational leadership model through which the leaders sets a role model for the followers so as to inspire them to share a common vision and even provides them with all possible resources so that they are able to attain the vision and enhance their level of work performance. Transformational leadership can be considered to be a transition from the older aspect that was related with leader centred theory to an approach that is based on a process centred theory (Jung, Chow & Wu, 2003).Transformational leadership has been able to facilitate organizational innovation and there are four dimensions in relation to this leadership model. The four dimensions comprises of inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, idealized influence and intellectual stimulation. The factor of inspirational motivation enables a common vision that is inspiring as well as appealing to all the followers. The leaders adopting this factor creates a challenge for the followers so that they come out of their respective comfort zones and at the same time they are able to remain optimism for the future goals and even to provide some of the appropriate meanings for the work that is undertaken by the followers. The team members need to possess a purpose for the work they are performing if they are intended to be motivated towards the common goal. The meaning and purpose that lies with the group members help the group to drive towards success. This factor proposes visionary leadership style which needs to be supported with good communication skills so that the propose vision is precise, understandable and engaging. This facilitates the team members to be actively involved in the work they perform and remain optimistic as well as enthusiastic towards the future goals (Northouse, 2001).The intellectual stimulation factor of transformational leadership encourages the team members to be more creative and innovative. This factor states that the leader never criticizes any of the team members for the mistakes that they perform on a public forum and encourages all kinds of creative ideas that are put forward by the team members. The leaders even take step so as to discard any such practice that is found to be ineffective by the other team members. The innovative platform that is set forth by the transformational leaders makes the organization to drive towards success and more of collaborative approach is enforced by such leadership model. The factor of individualized consideration is the degree to which the needs of each and every follower are met by the leaders (Prajogo & Ahmed, 2006).The leader acts more like a coach or mentor to all the followers and guides and understands their needs and concerns. The leaders through this approach encourages more on open communication, provides support and even poses various forms of challenges on the followers. This approach encompasses the respect that is showed by the leader for the team members for their effective team performance and their individual contribution so as to achieve the common goal of the organization. This factor enables the followers to develop a will towards their work that they are performing, possess high level of motivation for their job and high aspirations in order to adopt all possible measures for their overall self development. The factor of idealized influence in the transformational leadership makes the leader to be a role model for all the followers in the team. These leaders make it an important aspect in the organizational culture to spread some values amongst the followers which can be transformed to the other members of the group in the future. This kind of encouragement that is passed on by the leaders to the followers makes them possess a positive attitude and behaviour that is necessary in order to build a healthy workplace environment. This in turn makes the team members respect the leader more and this enhances the importance and influential level of the leaders. The transformational leadership is based on the promotion of mission, set of values and vision to the followers. The guidance that is provided by the transformational leaders is supported with the challenges and meaning for tasks that it delivers to the followers. The transformational leaders possess some unique characteristics that give rise to high level innovative practices in the organization that is mainly through their commitment, optimism, enthusiasm, and teamwork. These factors not only makes the team members develop high performance skills so as to meet their shared vision but also encourages them to share their innovative ideas that makes a transition in the organization culture where such innovative practices can be easily incorporated. The diagrammatic representation of the transformational leadership model is given below that states clearly how the various factors of this approach leads to unexpected organizational performance- (Strange & Mumford, 2005) Transformational leadership can be stated as a way that transforms and changes individuals in the team so that the best of high performance practices can be implemented in the organizational system. A leader can be effective only when they are able to manage their team members in the most effective way rather in a positive way so that they are able to reach the common goal of the organization successfully. Transformation leadership model enables the employees to become one of the most exceptional leaders for the organization. The high innovative practices can only be created when people are encouraged toward being creative, their efforts are acknowledged, required changes are made in the system and the overall team is guided so as to achieve the vision. One such example of transformational leadership that has facilitated innovative practices in the business operations is in the scenario of the largest retailer Wal-Mart. Sam Walton often visited all of its stores that were located across the country so as to interact with all of its associates, understand their challenges and take their innovative ideas as to what the organization should be doing so that it can reach to the peak of success (Waldman & Bass, 2001).The autobiography of Sam Walton has a set of rules for success that clearly states that one of the success factors for the company has been the ability of Sam Walton to appreciate their employees and praise them for their creative ideas and the hard work that they undertake so as to reach the common vision of the company. The factor of organizational innovation can be facilitated through the transformational leadership as it is able to stimulate change. This kind of leadership approach is essential for incorporating innovation in the system simply because of the factor that the leaders are able to manifest vision and helps to establish a climate in the organization that drives innovation in the system. The diagram below states the mechanism through which transformational leadership facilitates innovation in the organization through building the most appropriate organization culture- (Bundy, 2002) These factors as stated in the diagram above have been incorporated by many organizations such as that of Wal-Mart so as to facilitate innovative practices in the system. Some of the best examples are in the technology field such as Apple, IBM, Microsoft and Intel. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had utilized this leadership model so as to encourage their employees to come up with innovative ideas and kept their organization far away from the traditional practices and incorporated the best of innovative practices that had led to high performance of the organization (Xenikou & Simosi, 2006).The leaders of the software companies have been able to change not only their organizational culture and structure but have also been able to create an impact on other organizations. Conclusion Transformational leadership plays a critical role in relation to the effectiveness of organizational leaders. The leaders who are effective can lead the organization towards success through accomplishment of the common goals and objectives. The transformational leadership forms the basis of the innovative practices of the organization as it comprises of some of the exceptional qualities such as empowering followers to perform above the expected standard, develop an inspiring role model, take into account all the innovative views and ideas of the team members, develop a shared vision and encourage more of team work in the system, and always set an example in the eyes of others through initiating as well as implementing changes in the system for the success of the organization. References Antonakis, J., & House, R. J. (2002). The full range leadership theory: Transformational and charismatic leadership. Oxford, UK: Elsevier. Barlow, C. B., Jordan, M., & Hendrix, W. H. (2003). Character assessment: An examination of leadership levels. Journal of Business and Psychology. Vol.17 (4), pp. 563-584. Bundy, W. M. (2002). Innovation, creativity, and discovery in modern organizations. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Henry, J. (2001). Creativity and perception in management. London: Sage Jung, D. I., Chow, C., & Wu, A. (2003). The role of transformational leadership in enhancing organizational innovation. Leadership Quarterly. Vol.14 (4), pp. 525-544. Northouse, Peter G. (2001). Leadership Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Prajogo, D. I., & Ahmed, P. K. (2006). Relationships between innovation stimulus, innovation capacity, and innovation performance. R&D Management. Vol. 36(5), pp. 499-515. Strange, J. M., & Mumford, M. D. (2005). The origins of vision: Effects of reflection, models, and analysis. Leadership Quarterly. Vol. 16(1), pp. 121-148 Waldman, D., & Bass, B. M. (2001). Transformational leadership at different phases of the innovation process. Journal of High Technology Management Research. Vol. 2, pp. 169-180. Xenikou, A., & Simosi, M. (2006). Organizational culture and transformational leadership as predictors of business unit performance. Journal of Managerial Psychology. Vol. 21(6), pp. 566-579. Read More