My own boss recently confided in me that she was having trouble with her supervisor’s leadership style. She told me that the problem wasn’t with his production or outcomes necessarily, but the fact that she never really understood where she stood with him and he was “hard to read”. I nodded and listened, and smiled just a bit because in my head was finding it rather ironic because I have often thought of her in the same context. And after those few minutes of conversation I reflected for a moment on what I thought made a great boss. And the answer was pretty clear- a great leader makes for the best boss. And in lesson 10 on transformational leadership we discussed an approach to leadership that I find to be one that is used by those leaders that are thought of as dynamic and engaging and inspirational, and what I would deem as some of the best.
I work in healthcare. And not as a nurse, or a provider, or even as a receptionist or CNA. I work in the central billing office as a medical coder. What this means is that I read physician reports, translate the services and diagnoses into codes, and then charge them out to the insurance companies or patients. It sounds pretty uneventful, but I actually like it. It’s interesting, complicated and challenging, and to be honest revenue is the only way a hospital or office can run. But also, the job is one that is “invisible” to the public, and that means we are the jobs that are a bit forgotten and boring, hidden in the back because really, no one wants to get a bill. What this does for morale is quite negative; even the most optimistic employee can lose passion and purpose after months of monotony. That’s why transformational leadership is an approach that is so absolutely necessary for a job like mine.
According to our lesson, there are two types of leadership: transactional and transformational. (PSU WC, 2019, Lesson 10) Transactional leadership is pretty self-explanatory in that it occurs when there is a specific transaction taking place between two people, give and take, or an “exchange”. (PSU WC, 2019, Lesson 10) This happens often in the billing office, where certain individuals find themselves in a leadership position because they are training a co-worker on a system or showing them the way, they approach a certain problem. And when the situation is complete and there is no more crisis or issue, the leadership bond can be broken quite easily, and nothing major changes at the office.( PSU WC, 2019, Lesson 10) Transformational leadership on the other hand occurs when an individual inspires others to reach higher, to work harder, to find their own purpose and pursue it, all based on a connection made between the leader and the follower. (PSU WC, 2019, Lesson 10) This is where our office can find renewal. We’re already all hard workers, we have loyalty for our company, and we have good moral compasses. But a transformational leader can take those things and help us to find motivation, to go above and beyond, and all because we decide that we want to. (PSU WC, 2019, Lesson 10)
In lesson 10 our discussion states that transformational leadership is able to “generate high levels of excitement” and for a leader to be able to connect with their followers in a way that provides that they need to be very charismatic. (PSU WC, 2019, Lesson 10) Our supervisors do a fine job on the day to day tasks and leadership, but when motivation falls and morale is low, our company has brought in transformational leaders to bring this excitement back to the forefront. We have met with Dough Hanson, a motivational speaker from Texas whose focus was to help us find passion through centering our lives and daily tasks in gratefulness, laughter, and engagement. Our company also brought in a woman named Maureen G. Mulvaney who goes by MGM, who was able to use heartwarming stories, humor, and logic to help us refocus and find our passion in work. Each of these speakers were clear leaders, holding many of the qualities our lesson discusses as important: strong communication skills to help convey their vision and tell their stories clearly to their followers, strong self-confidence, clear morals, and the ability to connect their audience enough that their followers trust them. (PSU WC, 2019, Lesson 10) And one important aspect of transformational leadership is that connection between the followers and the leader; a great transformational leader has to be able to read the situation, or the need, and gauge the group of followers in order to approach them the right way and inspire real change. (PSU WC, 2019, Lesson 10)
Walking away from serious, effective, and inspirational seminars with individuals who use a transformational leadership approach is beneficial, and it makes me think of one thing. What if a direct supervisor, on a day to day basis, could use transformational leadership to direct their employees and help them find their way every day? Being able to come into an office where the morale is high because employees connected to their boss on this type of level seems like it would be a dream, and I hope to one day find it. And if I can’t find it, maybe I could even be it.
Resources:
Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2019) PSYCH 485. Lesson 10: Transformational Leadership Characteristics. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1972967/modules/items/25704958
Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2019) PSYCH 485. Lesson 10: Transformational Leadership Defined. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1972967/modules/items/25704957
rko4 says
Hi Lauren
I did not realize that transformational motivational speakers to boost morale within organizations was so well utilized. Beyond the charismatic aspect of the tranformational motivator (Northouse (2016)), and his.her ability to energize people, I would be curious about the longevity of the effect. A comparison of the strengths and weaknesses (Northhouse pg, 176- 179) does not address this aspect. It would be interesting to see the results of energized audience after a a 6 month period of time. Very enjoyable post to read.
Carri Rae Davis says
Hello Lauren, I enjoyed reading your post
I especially liked how you talked about your company bringing in outsiders to help lift your motivational spirits. For example, you mentioned that they help you to find a passion in your tasks and to be grateful. This seems like it would improve your engagement. According to Northouse (2016,) from Bass’s model on the transformational leadership factor number 2, which discuss the involvement of the inspirational motivation is when the leader communicates to the followers, the need for high expectations, and which become a commitment towards the shared vision (p. 169). This results in the employee being inspired by the expectations of the leader (p. 169).
Additionally, charismatic leadership helps to connect a follower to the collective identity which also helps to emphasize the intrinsic rewards of work, and this is thought of as transforming the worker self-concept (Northouse 2016, p. 165). It does seem like Dough Hanson’s passion finding methods may have helped to increase your intrinsic rewards from work
This further creates a connection between the follower and the leader (p. 165). This brings me to my question, did you feel connected to Dough Hanson, MGM, or your actual leader?
I wonder if, after Dough Hanson, and MGM had left, did you still feel as motivated?
Were you more motivated towards your actual leader?
Was your actual leader involved in this process to learn a way to continue these motivational techniques?
Great post!
Carri
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.
lrh162 says
I have been in that position myself where I have had uncertainties about my superior, only to have that person confide in me the same issues with their boss. Coincidentally this boss also used transformational motivational speakers to boost morale in the organization as well.
It sounds like your company cares enough about the employees to harness the power of top-notch motivational speakers to inspire the workforce. Though I haven’t benefited from that live-experience, in a former sales job I did enjoy regular morning meetings where my boss would routinely play audio or videotapes of famous speakers such as Zig Zigler, Tony Robbins, and Lou Holtz, to name a few. Those two stood out in my memory because their messages encouraged
employees to constantly give their best effort, even when less would be acceptable.
Zig Ziglar was a particularly transformational speaker to listen to because of his personality characteristics of confidence and strong moral values (Northouse, 2016, p.165). He spoke confidently and focused on setting goals in a way that made a successful outcome seem imminent. His folksy common language was easy to follow, but it also made sense; as if he was stating an obvious thing that no one had yet said. He was easy to relate to and we all believed it and went the extra mile to improve ourselves.
The situational characteristic reasons to cue up the motivational speakers were task interdependence and crises (PSU WC, 2019, L. 10). Because we all contributed individually on a sales team task interdependence built our confidence and desire to collaborate. Not everyone on the sales team was as willing to combine their efforts, but when a crises came along then each person was more inspired to work towards team goals.
Having an employer that cares enough to motivate you with positive messages from transformational leaders, benefits an employee by inspiring them while they are on the clock. But just as important, is what carries over to your personal life when you are off the clock. The satisfaction of a job well done at the end of the day and the sense of achievement is a powerful motivator in itself.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 7th Edition. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Pennsylvania State University. (2019). Lesson 10: Transformational Leadership PSYCH485. Retrieved at: https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/sp19/21911–17103/content/10_lesson/printlesson.html