Transformational Leadership
Out of the myriad definitions of the term, the one that I found most applicable to any situation is “ it is a process that changes and transforms people” , “moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them” (Northouse, 2016. p.161) . As per Burns (1978) it is a leadership style that emphasizes change and inspiration by motivating employees through visions and values. Though it has also been likened to charismatic leadership ( House,1976), I think they are slightly different . The charming leader gains their followers’ admiration, whereas the transformational leader inspires and motivates them. Four common strategies identified by Bennis and Nanus (1985) used by leaders in transforming organizations – having a clear vision, being social architects, creating trust, using creative deployment of self.
We must keep in mind how transformational leadership differs from transactional and pseudotransformational leadership.Transactional leaders do not focus on their followers’ personal development, rather they exchange reward / things with followers in exchange for their own agenda . ( Kuhnert, 1994). Bass coined the term pseudotransformational leadership in 1998, to refer to leaders who did not exhibit that morality that was usually associated with transformational leaders. These leaders are ‘self consumed, exploitative and power oriented’ ( Bass & Riggio, 2006, as quoted in Northouse, p. 163)
When we talk about real world transformational leaders, the leader who first comes to my mind is Martin Luther King Jr, among others like Mohandas Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela. King was the most visible spokesperson against the Civil Rights Movement. He motivated his followers to protest against racial inequality using ‘non violence’ and ‘civil disobedience’. (excerpt from Wikipedia , 2017). He was a charismatic leader, who also had a clear vision, was a social architect and created trust among his followers.
References
Bass, B.M., & Riggio, R.E. (2006) . Transformational leadership (2nd ed). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Bennis, W.G., & Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: The strategies for taking charge. New York: Harper & Row
Burns, J.M. (1978). Leadership. New York, NY: Harper and Row
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership theory and practice . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Kuhnert, K.W. (1994 ). Transforming leadership : Developing people through delegation . In B.M. Bass & B.J. Avolio (Eds ) , Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership ( pp10-25). Thousand Oaks , CA: SAGE
Martin Luther King . ( 2017, October, 16) . In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 16, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.
Simarjit,
As a “Maximizer” on the StrengthsFinder, I absolutely love this aspect of transformational leadership — leading people to do more than they thought possible. I have frequently been told by those I lead that they did some of their best work when they worked for me — and that they didn’t think it was possible to accomplish what we accomplished together. However, before that sense of accomplishment and pride, they has also said they thought I was just a bit crazy to think we could accomplish what I was suggesting, within the timeframe outline and to the level of excellence that was expected. Although Northouse (2016) and other writers don’t often mention this aspect of transformational leadership, I think it’s in important part of the process. Once team members have accomplished impossible things, it’s often easier to do it a second time, but the first time can be challenging (for both leaders and followers).
I’m also struck by this statement you wrote: “The charming leader gains their followers’ admiration, whereas the transformational leader inspires and motivates them.” I think this ties well with the video we viewed this week of Maxwell’s “Five levels of leadership.” He provides some further insight into this concept of admiration/inspiration/motivation. I’d love to hear your thoughts on that!
— Leadership Prof
— Leadership Prof
I do agree with Maxwell on most points he makes in this video . Especially when he says towards the end that how followers respond to a leader is different depending on what level they are. In this context, I believe then that the 5 levels are not actually levels of leadership, but rather levels of the leader-follower relationship .
In reply to your comment about ‘admiration/inspiration/motivation’ , most of this work seems to be needed to be done by level 2. There are 3 more levels to be achieved after this, to reach the pinnacle of leadership as per Maxwell. It is indeed a very long journey !
-Simarjit