The lesson on transformational leadership was very interesting to me. Transformational leadership jumped out at me because I have witnessed this on numerous occasions while working in residential programs and with behavioral and emotional students. I feel that this form of leadership is very beneficial to all involved both the leader and follower. I wanted to read mainstream articles about what others thought about transformational leadership when I stumbled across an article in Forbes which made me think about an experience I had with a transformational leader. First let me begin with what transformational leadership is. Transformational leadership involves influencing or appealing to followers to accomplish more than what is typically expected of them (Northouse, p. 161). It appeals to the values and the meaningfulness of the followers. It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals (Northouse, p. 162). The leader and the followers are intimately bound together in this process of transformation. Leadership is not only about the leader but also the follower. The ability for the leader to get others engaged and build that bond that increases the motivation and morality of the leader and follower is the basis for the transformation of both parties. The needs of the follower and the drive to have the follower meet their fullest potential is what an attentive leader acknowledges.
Transformational leaders and followers have certain characteristics that help nurture this relationship. The characteristics of the leader consist of a vision for the future, ability to share their future, building trust in their followers, and having strong personal bonds with the followers (PSU WC, 2016). The follower must share some of these characteristics such as identifying with the leader and their vision, heightened emotional levels, accept the transformational leader’s authority, work hard to achieve larger goals and expect more from oneself (PSU WC, 2016). There are also situational characteristics that go along with transformational leadership. These characteristics consist of crisis situations because when in crisis followers look for a leader and also task interdependence which is when the follower’s task requires a high level of interconnection (working together).
So let me go back to the Forbes article. In the article by Drew Hendricks he brings up a great fact. In most businesses when a manager gives a task that doesn’t have a concrete parameter and has more grey area for flexibility and creativity, the employee will have tons of questions to know exactly what is expected of the task and what is required to complete it (Hendricks). That is because most companies do not follow transformational leadership. Hendricks also goes on to say that according to research from our very own Penn State only rare transformational leaders can help break out of the leader-follower mindset. They found that they were able to get staff to feel empowered and self-guided and prevent them from getting overly reliant on their supervisors.
Transformational leaders have a strong set of internal values and when the followers need motivation the leaders are effective at getting the followers to act in ways that support the greater good. This can help them initiate changes in society and organizations. To improve the performance of the followers and assist the followers in developing to their fullest potential there are some factors that need to be present in transformational leadership.
*Diagram from Top 7 Emerging Leadership Theories article
Let’s take a look at what factors play a part in transformational leadership. The first factor is charisma or also known as idealized influence. This is the emotional component of leadership where leaders are strong role models for followers while the followers want to emulate the leader and they identify with these leaders (Northouse, p. 167). This type of leader is genuinely respected and very trustworthy according to followers. The leader can also be counted on to do the right thing with their high standard of moral and ethical conduct. Idealized influence or charisma is measured by followers through an attributional and a behavioral component. The attributional component is the perception followers have of their leaders based on the leader’s attributions and the observations of the leaders behavior by the followers is the behavioral component (Northouse, p.167). Individualized consideration is where carefully listening to the follower’s individual needs in a supportive climate is provided by the leader ((Northouse, p.169). Assisting followers in achieving ones full potential is done by the leader coaching or advising the follower through this process. Inspiration is a leader holds high expectations of their follower’s through motivation which inspires follower’s commitment to becoming a part of the vision that is shared by the follower and leader (Northouse, p.169). Leadership that encourages and stimulate creativity and innovation that challenges the beliefs and values of the follower, leader and organization is what is considered intellectual stimulation (Northouse, p.169). This supports new approaches and innovative ways, created by followers, to handle situations within the company.
I know this is a lot of information so let me describe what this would look like in an organization by providing you with a real life example I have experienced. I have previously worked at a residential program for teenage girls involved in the juvenile justice system. While working there our program manager was a transformational leader. Laurie had all the qualities of a transformational leader and the staff had the characteristics of followers of a transformational leader. She was always there when we needed her whether on site or with her personal cellphone number given to each and every staff if they needed to contact her about anything. The staff and clients all respected Laurie and also trusted her. She was a role model to all the staff and she was someone we all aspired to be. With twenty four girls under one roof you must have a unified team to support the program and the clients and that is just what Laurie formed. She had charisma which made the staff want to follow the same vision as she had. The vision was to provide the best care for these girls and help guide them to gain the ability to make better life choices when back in their home environment. We all shared this vision and identified with Laurie because of this shared vision. She had high moral standards and always made the right choice for the clients. She motivated all the staff with her inspirational motivation to be outstanding in their work. She would encourage us and give us pep talks to remind us the essential part we play in the development of the program and clients futures. Laurie also used individualized consideration by spending individualized time with employees and treating them in a caring and unique way to help guide them in steps to coach the employee in ways to meet their individual full potential. This really motivated myself and the other staff to perform well beyond our own expectations. She also encouraged us and gave us the platform to come up with new ways to deal with the situations that arose at the program and on each floor that that housed a different group of clients. She supported these innovative ideas and even implemented them in the program for all staff and clients to adhere to. The transformational leadership that Laurie exuded resulted in the staff becoming more engaged in their work and creating a unified program that excelled past the other programs within the non-profit organization. The non-profit ended up going bankrupt due to the presidents misuse of funds but as for all the staff that worked at the program they have all become transformational leaders themselves in their new positions. Thanks to Laurie setting that example and guiding us towards a shared goal we have all continued to make lives better for others as well as the organizations we work for currently. We all continue to go beyond the expectations of ourselves and others at our jobs.
This example shows that transformational leaders try to empower followers and encourage everyone to work for a shared vision. They become role models for their followers and set high moral standards and ethics for followers to achieve, as well as help the follower build a strong sense of who they are. Transformational leaders also create a vision that creates a road map of where the organization is going and creates a sense of identity for the follower with the organization. Change is initiated and implemented within the organization by transformational leaders as well as getting involved with the culture of the organization and being involved in shaping the organizations meaning. Transformational leadership gives the followers a sense of empowerment and it involves emotion, values, ethics, and trust with shared long term goals. After working in an environment with a transformational leader I feel that is the type of leadership I would like to emanate. Dan Hendricks of Forbes is right. Giving up control of your team and empowering them can be scary but giving them room to grow, trusting them, and letting them find their identity will show you their potential. Trust can help build that bond with staff which can increase self-confidence and achievements. So let’s break free from the old school thought of the leader-follower order and start creating teams that can achieve things greater than previously imagined by becoming a transformational leader.
References
Hendricks, D. (2014, January 27). 6 Ways to Empower Your Employees with Transformational Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2014/01/27/6-ways-to-empower-your-employees-with-transformational-leadership/#3d5db5d33268
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California. Sage Publications.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2016). PSYCH 485 Lesson 10: Transformational Leadership. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su16/psych485/001/content/10_lesson/printlesson.html
Top 7 Emerging Leadership Theories. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwio8Z-48svNAhVC1x4KHaTbCzIQjB0IBg&url=http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/leadership/theories-leadership/top-7-emerging-leadership-theories-with-diagram/64020/&psig=AFQjCNH89tCqmIgJE8S0qOGWXveiTpfNTQ&ust=1467238572596507