Wang and Oh (2011), detail an abundance of practical research data that, for the most part, shows that transformational leaders have a strong, measurable ability to improve the performance of individual followers as well as a group. Transformational leaders are highly influential on their followers. Transformational leaders accomplish three things:<\/p>\n
Bass argues that there are four distinguishable traits of transformational leaders (as cited in Wang et al., 2011, pg. 230):<\/p>\n
Transformational leaders \u201cenable and motivate their followers\u201d (Wang et al., 2011, pg. 230) by doing five things:<\/p>\n
As described, the positive outcomes of transformational leadership are many. For my purposes, the main benefits of transformational leadership in my organization is in the context of our team. My most desired outcomes for my team are:<\/p>\n
My main \u201ctake away\u201d from this article was research that indicated that followers under the leadership of a transformational leader would \u201cgo above and beyond\u201d their job description. The fact that followers would improve and \u201cget better,\u201d wasn\u2019t surprising to me, but the fact that they would \u201cgo beyond\u201d was a new understanding for me. Another piece of research indicating that innovation and creativity increased under transformational leadership for me was a new insight.<\/p>\n
In the context of leadership, Northouse explains that \u201cethics is concerned with what leaders do and who leaders are. It has to do with the nature of leaders\u2019 behavior, and with their virtuousness. In any decision-making situation, ethical issues are either implicitly or explicitly involved. The choices leaders make and how they respond in a given circumstances are informed and directed by their ethics\u201d (2019, p. 330). Northouse lists five principles of ethical leadership:<\/p>\n
The two of the five ethical principles of leadership that appeal to me most are respect and community.\u00a0 In my leadership context respect in a sense overrides service, justice and honesty because If I don\u2019t have respect from our team, a lack of respect to some degree negates all three. A lack of respect \u201cclouds over\u201d team members\u2019 ability to see or appreciate service, justice and honesty. To gain even more respect I have to listen more intentionally, be more verbal in the team to acknowledge individual contributions and successes, be more verbally affirming and talk less emphatically in team meetings.<\/p>\n
The second component of the five ethical leadership principles which is most important to me is \u201ccommunity.\u201d In a Christian context, much of the church is about community. Gretchen Rubin, author of the best sellers Better than Before<\/em> and The Happiness Project<\/em>, \u201caffirms the centrality of meaningful relationship and important causes to achieving happiness\u201d (as cited in Sasse, 2017, p. 154). Robert Putnam in his book, Our Kids<\/em>, states, \u201cresearchers have steadily piled up evidence of how important social context, social institutions, and social networks-in short, our communities-remain for our well- being\u201d (2015, p. 206). Lukianoff and Haidt argue that \u201cthe United States has experienced a steady increase in at least one form of polarization since the 1980s: affective (or emotional) polarization\u201d (2018, p. 141). Here we see the pressing need for community yet on the other hand we see the growing polarization of \u201ccommunity,\u201d therefore I see the great and growing for community.<\/p>\n Question<\/strong><\/p>\n I wonder if any of you have thoughts about what, if any of the five ethical principles may be more elevated or pronounced in the Scriptures. Is there an order of importance?<\/p>\n References\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n Wang, G., Oh, I. S., Courtright, S. H., & Colbert, A. E. (2011). Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of research. Group & Organization Management<\/em>, 36(2), 223-270.<\/p>\n Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and Practice<\/em>. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.<\/p>\n Putnam, R. D. (2015). Our Kids<\/em>. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.<\/p>\n Lukianoff & Haidt. (2018). The Coddling of the American Mind<\/em>. New York, NY: Penguin Press.<\/p>\n Sasse, B. (2017). The Vanishing American Adult<\/em>. New York, NY: St. Martin\u2019s Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wang and Oh (2011), detail an abundance of practical research data that, for the most part, shows that transformational leaders have a strong, measurable ability to improve the performance of individual followers as well as a group. Transformational leaders are highly influential on their followers. Transformational leaders accomplish three things: They \u201cmotivate their followers to … <\/p>\n