Transformational Leadership – What is It About?
Have you ever been part of a group where someone provides a clear vision of the goals and make everyone feel enthusiastic and energized? Then you were in luck because you worked with a transformational leader.
Transformational leadership is a type of leadership that inspires positive changes to those who follow. Transformational leaders are enthusiastic, passionate, and energetic. They are not just concerned about completing the task but also focused on helping all members of the group to become successful.
What is Transformational Leadership?
James MacGregor Burns is often credited with introducing the concept of transformational leadership. He was a presidential biographer and leadership expert. According to him, you can see transformational leadership at work when followers and leaders help each other to achieve higher levels of motivation and morale.
Transformational leaders can inspire their followers to change perceptions, motivations, and expectations to achieve common goals. They earn the respect, admiration, and trust from their followers.
Elements of Transformational Leadership
Let’s consider four elements of transitional leadership. These are intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and idealized influence.
Intellectual Stimulation – Transformational leaders encourage followers to be more creative and think outside the box. The leader allows followers to find innovative ways of doing tasks, and explore new avenues of learning.
Inspirational Motivation – Transformational leaders have a clear vision of how to achieve a goal, and can express it to their followers in an articulate manner. They try their best to help their followers get the same motivation and passion to achieve the goals of the group.
Individualized Consideration – Leaders provide personalized encouragement and support to individual members of the team. They will keep communication lines open so that team members can share ideas to them. In doing so, transformational leaders provide direct recognition of the individual contributions of each member.
Idealized Influence – Lastly, transformational leaders serve as the role model of their team members. Members will try to copy the example of their leader because they truly respect and trust the person.
Positive Effects of Transformational Leadership
Studies have shown that transformational leadership has a positive effect on the team. When led by a transformational leader, the group achieves higher levels of satisfaction and performance compared to one with another leadership type.
Transformational leaders believe in their members and know they can perform their best in any given task. In turn, members of the group feel empowered and inspired. To become a transformational leader, you need to be optimistic and have a strong vision of the future. You should believe in that vision, and inspire others to do the same.
Some of the traits of a transformational leader include but are not limited to being supportive, trustworthy, passionate, and genuine. These characteristics can motivate members of the team to support your goals because members know their leader has the best interests of the group in mind all the time.
Transformational leadership is an effective type of leadership. However, there are instances where it might not be the right choice. There are cases in which an autocratic or managerial style can provide better direction, especially if some of the followers require more supervision. What separates a great leader from a good one is that the former knows the type of leadership style required by certain situations.
Remember, transformational leadership is a type of leadership that inspires positive changes to those who follow. They are not just concerned about completing the task but also focused on helping all members of the group to become successful.
References:
http://www.business2community.com/leadership/what-is-transformational-leadership-01640002#M2xrpyvAWkPms32v.97
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/four-elements-transformational-leadership-10115.html
https://www.verywell.com/what-is-transformational-leadership-2795313
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MYrpj5XtbekC&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=%22Transformational+Leadership%22&source=bl&ots=tneKkfjveb&sig=EsygGMrPFXwfWm2Ik2SGwhLhNXA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjMseG4jeTWAhWMrI8KHTM0DpU4MhDoAQg7MAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Transformational%20Leadership%22&f=false
http://www.advanc-ed.org/source/transformational-leadership-matter-perspective
