Transformational leadership
Transformational leadership concept was introduced by Burns who was a leadership expert. The founder claims that this kind of leadership is experienced when followers and leaders help each other to move to higher levels of motivation and moral. This leadership proposes that through their personalitys and visions strength, leaders have the capability to inspire followers to make changes to their motivations, perceptions and expectations and therefore work towards achieving a common objective.
Burns ideas were later expanded by Bass who came up with transformational leadership theory. Bass proposes that transformational leadership can have its definition based on its effects on followers. According to Bass, transformational leaders get admiration, respect and trust from those that they lead. The theory behind this kind of leadership has its basis on the hypothesis that a leader has the capability to exploit the followers needs. The said needs are not necessarily based on dealings which are quid pro quo but needs of a higher order. The needs are about the person as a whole and they also have a close alignment with the followers motivational factors. Transformational leaders therefore seek to satisfy greater needs of followers (Weinstein, Williams Wagner, 2004).
Since this theory was proposed by two people, they both had their own assumptions and conclusions. Transformational leadership according to Burns is a process involving followers and leaders who work to raise each other to levels of motivation and morality. They achieve this by appealing to advanced values and ideals from the followers. They also model such ideals and values and use charisma to pull people towards the same kind of values and to the leader. Burns perspective assumes that associating with a position which requires higher morals and values is motivating and is likely to result into people following leaders in support of this. It also assumes that compared to working individually, working collaboratively is superior.
On the other hand, transformational leadership according to Bass Avolio (1994) is defined in terms of how followers get affected by leaders and the people who are intended to respect, admire and trust transformational leaders. He came up with three ways through which transformational leaders can change followers. First, through increment of their consciousness of task value and importance, making active their needs of higher order and assisting them to focus on organizational goal or team work instead of their individual interests. Bass view assumes that when people are aware of the importance of the task, it motivates them. It also assumes that focusing on organization or team produces better results compared to individual work.
Components of transformational leadership
Transformational leadership has four components according to Bass. First, there is intellectual stimulation. This component proposes that transformational leaders promote creativity among followers as well as challenging the status quo. These leaders encourage the followers or the subordinates to discover new methods of getting things done. Followers are also encouraged to explore new opportunities through which they can learn. Individualized consideration is the second component. According to Bass, transformational leadership is concerned with supporting and encouraging individual followers. One of the ways through which transformational leaders foster supportive relationships is through keeping the communication lines open. This ensures that followers have the freedom to share ideas and opinions. Transformational leaders also get a chance to recognize individual and unique contributions made by the followers (Weinstein, Williams Wagner, 2004).
Inspirational motivation is the third component. One of the characteristic of transformational leaders is that they are visionary. The clear visions which they have enable them to articulate to subordinates. They as well assist followers to experience the same kind of motivation and passion in order to fulfil the organizations objectives. Finally, there is idealized influence as the fourth component. Transformational leadership requires leaders to serve as role models to the followers. Since followers tend to respect and trust transformational leaders, they also end up emulating them and internalizing their ideals.
Types of transformational leaders
In the model of transformational leadership, Burns described several types of transformational leaders. This include intellectuals. These kinds of leaders are usually devoted to see values and ideas which rise above the needs of all. Intellectual leaders ensure the presence of a higher vision and moral purpose which can change the society. We also have reformers under transformational leadership. Leaders who are reformers have movements involving many followers so as to achieve. Such leaders have the capability to change a portion of the society to understand moral principles of higher standards. Revolutionary leaders might ask the followers to sacrifice for the good of all. A revolutionary leader works to see that the whole society has changed. Charismatic leader is considered the final form among transformational leaders. Followers tend to view such a leader as a hero.
Rationale for transformational leadership
The proponents of transformational leadership claim that it is known to work within organizations. This kind of leadership has been tried and according to the findings, it has been concluded that among all the other types of leaders, transformational leaders have the highest ratings (Weinstein, Williams Wagner, 2004). People have the perception that such leaders lead the organizations more effectively than the other kind of leaders. Analysts have concluded that transformational leadership works because of the seven following reasons. First, it operates on a shared vision. Transformational leaders have the tendency to create an imaginary picture which shows the organizations future as having potential. They share this kind of thinking with their followers and encourage them to own it. Once the vision is raised and shared for the common good of the organization, the leader and the followers increase each others morality and motivation.
Second, there is communication of the vision. For the vision to be effective, it has to be communicated to everyone within the firm. This should be done repeatedly so that it can sink. Leaders can also use inspirational appeals since they are found to be effective when one wants to persuade people about the visions importance. Leaders live the vision through giving it life. The followers on the other hand examine their leaders to see whether there is consistency between what they say and what they do. Thirdly, transformational leadership is achieved through building relationships. Transformational leaders are not only informal but also friendly and approachable. They encourage two way communication and they are usually sincere when they are inviting people for the same. They act in many capacities like teachers, coaches and mentors to the people they share the vision with. They formally and informally emphasize reward and recognition.
They also promote professional development opportunities as well as social functions. Such kinds of actions promote trust between the leaders and the led. Fourthly, there is development of an organizational culture which is supportive. They achieve this by treating people with integrity, honesty and respect irrespective of their backgrounds. They also correct injustices and distribute justice equally among different kinds of people within their organizations. Another thing which helps them to accomplish this is constant communication at all levels of the organization. Fifth is the guiding implementation. Transformational leaders lead by example. They shape the organization by implementing the shared vision as well as through their actions. They lead efforts for strategic planning, innovation and team building. They also set high but achievable expectations for excellence which require incessant quality improvement. Transformational leaders adopt the role servant leader whereby they get enriched through serving the people who follow them.
The sixth point is the exhibition of character. These kinds of leaders have a highest order kind of character. They demonstrate unquestioned nobility of mind and heart, integrity and honesty. They exude native intelligence, commitment, passion and self confidence. They might be charismatic but instead of using their charisma to attract followers for their own individual interests, they instead make use of their leadership to promote the shared vision. Transformational leaders perspective is broad and they show respect for cultural diversity, organizational history and high levels of forbearance for ambiguity. Lastly, we have achieving results as the seventh reason for transformational leadership. In most cases, these leaders usually succeed in attaining the shared vision. The followers are also moved to very high levels of satisfaction and accomplishment. The leaders and the followers are viewed to have improved their effectiveness as well achieving higher performance levels (Weinstein, Williams Wagner, 2004).
Strengths and weaknesses of transformational leadership
As it is with all the other approaches of leadership, transformational leadership has its own strengths and weakness. The proponents of this theory feel that transformational leaders can influence associates at all the levels in the organization. They not only assist individuals but the whole organization as well to raise their moral values. Transformational leaders are usually visionary and charismatic. They have clarity of where they want to go and how to achieve things within the organization. These helps to give the followers clear direction of where they are headed. They are inspiring and motivating. The proponents contend that transformational leader motivate the workforce and helps them to go beyond rewards and exchanges. Transformational leadership is also known to have effectiveness in sharing and creating knowledge at one-on-one level as well as groups levels. This ensures individual performance and group performance. When the workforce puts effort at the individual and group level, meeting the organizational objectives becomes easier.
Transformational leaders are known to be enthusiastic about their work. They also tend to pass this enthusiasm to the followers and this makes them to perform more effectively and also to enjoy performing their various jobs. The proponents agree that with the tougher and shifting economic climate where most businesses are just surviving, transformational leadership can be put in place to help reinvent and recreate an organizations ways of doing business.
The opponents feel that the components of transformational leadership are many and too broad. They argue that this theory treats leadership like a personality trait instead of a behavior which is learned. Transformational leaders have the potential to abuse the power which is endowed to them due to characteristics like charisma. They also argue that the assumptions made about the theory concern issues affecting most people and in most cases they do not apply. They therefore conclude that though it is a good theory, it is a bit impractical since there are few individuals who have the required transformational leaders qualities.
Application of transformational leadership theory
Transformational leadership tends to cover a variety of aspects within leadership. Therefore, there are no specified steps which managers can follow when adapting this kind of leadership. For one to become a transformational leader, a long process is involved. The implication is that they must apply conscious effort in order to succeed being transformational leaders. Understanding the transformational leadership fundamentals can however help managers to adopt and apply this approach.
Transformational leadership proposes the following characteristics to be possessed by transformational leaders. Transformational leaders help organizations through assisting others to make positive contributions to the organizations. They act as change agents through leading by example on how to implement or initiate change. They create visions by making use of people within the organization. They also listen to the various points of view so that they can develop cooperation within the organization. They act as strong role models who have high values that can be emulated. They also empower subordinates to perform the best way possible and do what the organization requires.
Transformational leaders are people who are known to look into the future so that they can spot new possibilities and opportunities. They are changers of context in that they help transform the way people think. This enables the people to see new opportunities in the areas they could not previously see them. Such leaders usually speak to, stand up for and take the organization to be answerable to its mission and vision. They do not only deal with competences but they as well create new organizational capabilities. They work to see that the organization is always exceptional, unique and different. They work hard to make organizations to be self managing such that all would be required of them is only to show direction and the organization would follow. Transformational leaders are not necessarily heroes but they as well work humbly and quietly to put the right processes, purpose and people in the right place within the organization. This makes the organization to perform better generally.
Finally, transformational leadership supports and promotes ethics and social responsibility. Studies actually show that it has been employed as an enhancer to develop the strategies whose focus is to communitys interest. Ethics has been said to be an essential element to the strategic analysis. The studies have indicated that transformational leadership is positively connected to the organizations planned direction towards achieving social responsibility. It is found to use two dimensions in order to achieve this. Individualized consideration and inspirational motivation are found to be directly associated with strategies for social responsibility. Much of the literature regarding transformational leadership has been aligned with moral character and virtue. Transformational leaders lead by example and are likely to be emulated by their followers. The implication is that for them to be true transformational leaders, they have to be ethical otherwise their unethical behavior would be distributed to the whole organization.
Conclusion
Transformational leadership is a very important role for the managers who want to be effective. This is because the effectiveness of the leader is a strong determinant of level of success in an organization. Organizations which set aside time and funds to teach leadership stay ahead of competition. Transformational leadership cannot only be applied to individuals but to groups as well. By using this kind of leadership, leaders and followers are transformed to improve performance in the organization. It also helps organizations to be successful and productive.
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