Transformational leadership was a very confusing term to me when first hearing the term. I initially thought of a motivational speaker, or a mentor, ” He wrote of leaders as people who tap the motives of followers in order to better reach the goals of leaders and followers (p. 18).” I realized I was on somewhat of the right track. It then states that the leader is inseparable because they are connected to the followers’ needs.
The book discusses Ryan White who raised awareness of AIDs and became a spokesperson for the government’s support of its research (Northouse, 162). After this given example, I thought of a transformational leader as someone who experiences an event and it causes them to change their lifestyle. The public and people who suffer from it needed to be educated. He didn’t do it for himself, he did it because it needed to be done.
On the other hand we have the pseudo-transformational leaders. These could be politicians. People who make promises they can’t keep. People who are only in it for themselves. A pseudo-transformational leader are people such as Adolf Hitler or Saddam Hussein.
At my highschool graduation, it seemed like time stood still as I heard my favorite teacher say, “This world does not need another money motivated CEO developing new technology altering the way we communicate. This world needs people who are kind to one another. We need you to be compassionate, often putting in the needs of others before your own. This is what I desire for my kids at home and for you, my children in front of me today.” I never thought I’d hear those words echo through my head until today.
Even though there is no specific set of behaviors to determine who is a transformational leader, “it provides a general way of thinking about leadership that emphasizes ideals, inspiration, innovations, and individual concern” (Northouse, 179). They are aware of their power and influence and how it is to be used for good, beyond the benefit for themselves.
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California. Sage Publications.
Benjamin George Pacific says
I enjoyed your post about transformational leadership. I agree with your teacher saying that the world doesn’t need another money hungry CEO and that we need to be more kind to each other. After reading the lesson about authentic leadership I think that these two types of leadership go hand and hand.
A transformational leader has to have morals and values that they uphold for themselves and their followers. An authentic person stays true to their morals and values no matter what. A transformational leader is always looking to improve and make situations better for everyone around them. That is the same for an authentic person. They often reflect on themselves and look for improvement.
I believe that in order to be a transformational leader one must be an authentic individual. If the followers cannot believe in the leader as an individual nothing will last, they will look at him/her as a fraud.
sam6428 says
The teacher which you quote sounds like a transformational leader. It sounds like he/she was trying to make an impact and had the desire of influence “that moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them” (Northouse, 2016). This teacher had the hope of motivating youth to focus on compassion in a world that is excessively motivated by money. I feel that we can have both, but there tends to be a fine line between transformational leadership and pseudotransformational leadership. There seems to be many individuals in high positions taking on pseudotransformational leaders focusing on their own interests with distorted moral values.
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California. Sage Publications.
Renee Tillman says
Morgan: It wasn’t such a conscious decision. If I’m being a psuedo-transformational leader, I probably wouldn’t know perhaps because of my pride. When my teacher said this, at the moment I didn’t know what a transformational leader was, but today as of now it’s not really my goal to be a specific type of leader such as transformational or authentic. Having my knowledge on these different types of leaders, my own goal is to avoid being the money hungry CEO, psuedo-transformational leader. I believe that as a transformational leader the need, obligations and passion to do for others and if benefitted in the process than so be it. Such as Gandhi, when we did our movie essay, he didn’t plan on being famous or changing the world. He just wanted to free the people.
Jamie Lucas says
Thank you for your post, I find I am very interested in the transformational and pseudo-transformational leadership roles. What I find so interesting is the very fine line distinguishing them and yet they have drastically different goals. The transformational leader inspires people to positive action and is inspired by their followers and their cause, whereas pseudo-transformational leaders are motivated by their own needs and yet have the same ability to inspire others to follow them and to influence them in ways that meet those needs. Northouse defines it as “self-serving, is unwilling to encourage independent thought in followers, and exhibits little general caring for others (2016). It’s actually quire scary if you think about it! Cult leaders, extremists, dirty politicians, and even world leaders that can be so charismatic that people will buy into their destructive agendas. I found your teachers words inspiring so it’s no wonder they ring in your head to this day. It sounds like she was a great example of a transformational leader in your high school.
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, California. Sage Publications.
Morgan Dreisch says
Renee,
After hearing your principal say that, did you develop a plan to be a transformational leader rather than a pseudo-transformational leader? If so, what were some of the ways you planned to accomplish this? Do you believe that there is no part of a transformational leader that is not driven by self want?
Morgan