Transformational Leadership - Assignment Example

Lead 711.W3 – Theories of Leadership (1617FA2G)

Fall II, 2016

Instructor: Dr. Lawrence Davenport

Styles of Leadership Annotated Bibliography

Submitted by: Toni Smith

November, 2016

Assignment 1: transformational leadership

Deinert, A., Homan, A.C., Boer, D., Voelpel, S. C, Gutermann, D. (2015). Transformational leadership sub-dimensions and their link to leader’s personality and performance. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(1), 1095-1120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.08.001

Through a meta-analysis approach, the relationship between sub-dimensions of transformational leadership, personality traits and performance is determined. The link between the Big 5 personality traits and sub-dimensions of transformational leadership is noted and indirectly linked to a leader’s performance. Different combinations of character traits relate differently to leadership behaviors. However, the restriction on using a meta-analysis is a bias by omitting useful qualitative studies.

A large sample is used (58 studies) and supported with comprehensive analysis. The meta-analysis is restricted to the number of available quality studies, thus limiting the number of studies in order to address the moderator variables. However, the meta-analysis adds to significant reliability. Inferences are based on previous empirical studies with no bias. Therefore, the objective of separately exploring sub-dimensions of transformational leadership regarding personality traits and influence performance is successful. The article deeply explores how sub-dimensions of transformational leaders relate to personality traits.

The article explains how transformational leadership relates to their personality traits. It is useful in the detailed discussion of how sub-dimensions of transformational leadership relates to personality traits (big 5) and impacts on leadership performance. Therefore, a new understanding of transformational leadership regarding a leader’s behavior is achieved. The source explains the link between transformational leader traits, sub-dimensions, and performance.

Hechanova, R. M. & CementinaOlpoc, R. (2013). Transformational leadership, change management, and commitment to change: A comparison of academic and business organizations. Asia-Pacific Edu Res, 22(1), 11-19. doi: 10.1007/s40299-012-0019-z

The article presents findings from a qualitative study comparing the differences in commitment to change between business and academic organizations with high commitment reported in academic organizations. Academic respondents rated their leadership high regarding elements of transformational leadership. Therefore, commitment to transformational processes is high in academic organizations. The authentic evidence and detailed analysis of the findings make this article worthwhile.

The article is based on real data through surveys of employees in both academic and business organizational contexts. The accurate and thematic analysis provides complete results. However, the survey and the cross-sectional designs limits the research; thus, objective indicators like a longitudinal approach would explore the variation of commitment to change over time. The internal consistency of 0.85 indicates reliability. No bias is evident while successfully fulfilling the goal of explaining how commitment to change depends on organizational culture.

The article applies in explaining how transformational leadership depends on the prevailing organizational culture. By comparing business and academic organizational commitment to change, it proves useful. It will shape my argument on aspects of academic organizational context that fosters change management. Overall, the source explains how transformational leadership is situational, depending on the prevailing culture.

Assignment 2: two annotations for articles on authentic leadership

Duignan, P. (2015). Authentic Leadership in Educational Leadership: History, ideal, reality. Leading & Managing, 21(1), 1-21.

The article is exploratory, digging deeper into the basis and evolution of authentic leadership in education. Authentic leadership begins with one’s self by accepting moral force as the basis for self-fulfillment. The authors also note that current authentic leaders are operating in a world of paradoxes, pressures, and ethical dilemmas. The author asserts that authentic leaders operate in a world marked by accountability, standards, and assessment for the performance outcomes.

The strength of the article is the impressive organization, from exploring the history of authentic leadership, to applications in real world contexts like schools. The author also authenticates his inferences with empirical evidence (literature). However, Duignan, (2015) has not clearly indicated areas of emphasis of authentic leadership in educational leadership context, but no bias is observed. In retrospect, the author successfully accounts for the origin of authentic leadership and links it to the concern on one’s self, thereby providing a reliable reference on authentic leadership.

I will apply the source in explaining how authentic leadership concerns self-assessment and behavior towards followers. It will also help in understanding how to develop-authentic leadership behavior despite not being identified by any literature. I have learned how self-authentic behavior is necessary for educational leadership context, an argument I never had before.

Monzani, L., Ripoll, P. & Peiro, J.M. (2014). Follower’s agreeableness and extraversion and their loyalty towards authentic leadership. Piscothema, 26(1), 69-75. doi: 10.7334/psicothema2013.67

The article presents a report from an empirical research substantiating how agreeableness and extraversion among followers moderate loyalty to the authentic leadership. Transactional leadership was used as a control, with a higher level of loyalty among members in authentic leadership noted. However, follower agreeableness negates positive interactions while extroversion influences positive relationships. All elements that build on the strength of research are present; therefore, the article is quite informative.

The researchers compare the mediating roles of agreeableness and extroversion on transactional and authentic leadership coherently. Conversely, using students as a sample is a limitation; employees would have been better. The hierarchical regression and presentation of the simple slope analyses indicated the accurate relationship among the variables, thus adding to the reliability of the information. Traits of the followers influence their loyalty as it affects attitudes, thereby calling for an integrative approach (like authentic leadership) for moderating negative behaviors.

The article is useful in explaining how leadership behavior influences attitudes of the followers, and, the same can be used to instill positive behaviors. It will be used to explain how leadership can succeed by understanding behaviors and attitudes of employees. I have learned how employee attitude should be moderated by attending to their needs and the impacts of extraversion on the success of authentic leadership.

Assignment 3: Servant Leadership Annotation

Parris, D. L. & Peachey, J.W. (2013). A systematic literature review of servant leadership theory in organizational contexts. Journal of Business Ethics, 113(1), 377-393. doi: 10.1007/s10551-012-1322-6

The article is a systematic review explaining how morals, ethics, and virtues relate to servant leadership. Findings from the study reviews (39 studies) reveal no concise definition of servant leadership theory, but overall it improves the followers’ well-being. In their view, the authors hope to contribute to servant leadership in both theory and practice.

The study is the first to review studies on servant leadership, exhausting different definitions and carries out a cross-sectional analysis of the studies to draw conclusions. By using a systematic review approach, it ignores relevant qualitative studies. Not all conclusions are based on real leadership contexts but inferences from studies and this creates the possibility of bias. However, the reference to empirical research and meta-analyses leads to the reliability of the source and successfully discussing servant leadership as an excellent approach to improving an organization through welfare of the followers.

I will apply the article in explaining servant leadership as an approach focusing on the plight of the members. Therefore, it will be used in explaining how leadership can be tailored to improve performance with an emphasis on the needs of followers. It has indeed shaped by the argument that by attending to the needs of members, leadership can create an organizational culture that fosters high performance.

Zou, W.C, Tian, Q. & Liu, J. (2015). Servant leadership, social exchange relationships, and follower’s helping behavior: Positive reciprocity belief matters. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 51(1), 147-156. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.08.012

The article is a qualitative research on servant leadership and how “helping behavior” depends on a leader's exchanges with members and member-member exchange. In each case, (leader-member and member-member exchanges) positive reciprocity moderates the servant leadership relationship. Through positive exchange, helping behavior becomes higher. Notably, sampling five hotels reduced bias in the research.

The hypotheses are based on theoretical underpinning (servant leadership) with a reliable sample including human resource managers, supervisors and frontline employees. However, other variables like the group norms are not considered in deducing the relationship between employees and the servant leadership, hence a limitation, but still achieve the objective of discussing positive social exchanges and servant leadership. Therefore, the source is insightful in understanding the need for positive exchanges in LMX and TMX to enhance servant leadership.

The article is useful in understanding how positive reciprocity is necessary for servant leadership in social exchanges. It is helpful for a leader to establish positive social exchanges after instilling a culture of “helping behavior,” thereby enriching my knowledge on aspects of servant leadership. The article has improved my perception of servant leadership, especially positive reciprocity while providing the insight for explaining how positive exchanges are the basis for servant leadership.