Transformational leadership can help transform a group of people to accomplish a goal. Transformational leaders engage with followers and create a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower (PSU WC, 2020). In my last movie review group, we focused on RuPaul Charles and the Psychodynamic Approach but he is also a good example of a leader. He led and brought out drag queens that showed them to be more accepted.
While Transformational leaders have a brighter view to the future, Transactional Leadership does not hold leaders and followers together and does not result in change. RuPaul is a leader that is passionate and a driven individual who have a vison of the future. When drag queen started out a long time ago, they were not as accepted as they are today. One can find shows in mainstream television such as RuPauls Drag Race which he created. He had this vision of having a more accepted world towards drag queens and he did this by gaining trust by his followers. Transformational leadership serves to change the status quo by appealing to followers’ values and their sense of higher purpose (PSU WC, 2020).
RuPaul has all the traits of a leader in which he built a community and turned drag into an art and made it a more accepted in society as well as created more opportunities.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH485 lesson 10: Transformational Leadership. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2045005/modules/items/ 28166658
Krupali says
A leadership can be defined in multiple different ways including it having many different yet specific characteristics on the approach that is used. Transformational leadership is just another type of leadership skill that many leaders have used in the past and will continue to use in the future. When it comes to bringing change, anyone can be a leader and help make the needed change around them.
You have included some of the great points about transformational leadership being something as trying to achieve a goal by increasing motivation. It is true that perception is important, but a leader certainly goes through getting all the needed facts before pursuing (Northouse, 2016).
Yes, you have certainly included the leader when it comes to bringing out the knowledge to the world about drag queens and what is needed for others to understand more about them in order to accept them. He is known as one of the successful drag queens and was named as the most influential people in the world. It is very hard for people even now to go through the process of understanding what drag queens are but when you have a great leader who is already helping answering all the questions, then the created path for them is created to reach their desirable goals.
This type of title comes from how individuals respond to others comment and then turning into something positive to continue portray message about focusing on the future and how to lead others into believing in themselves. As you stated, he certainly used all the traits of transformational leadership to not only help others but establishing trust along the way for his followers. When it comes to transformation, a leader must have the energy and be passionate about the work they are doing.
Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH 485. Lesson 10: Transformational Leadership. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2045005/modules/items/28166658
arw5778 says
RuPaul is certainly a public figure that made huge strides in changing not only the drag queen world but also mainstream media. Though you mentioned transactional leadership as something that is not necessarily connected to RuPaul I believe that to be false. It is true that RuPaul makes efforts to change the perception of drag queens in the media but through his TV show I believe that he is, in fact, partaking in a dual approach involving both transformational and transactional leadership. Transactional leadership “…occurs when leaders and followers are in some type of exchange relationship in order to get needs met” (Pennsylvania State University World Campus, 2020).
Through his TV show, Rupaul is trading public awareness and exposure for the ability to mold the personas and actions of the drag queen participants. This may not be something that comes across to the viewer but it is certainly a transaction that is taking place. Our social media driven world thrives on people knowing your name. Therefore, exposure is something that can been seen as part of the exchange. With this in mind, there is a spectrum that leads to a successful leadership style. Explicitly transactional leaders are detached and do not have a relationship with their employees (Pennsylvania State University World Campus, 2020). Transformational leaders can use aimed transactional leadership as a way to motivate certain employees based on their needs. Overall, I believe that Rupaul does a great job of leveraging his platform to break the social norm while also elevating his subordinates in the TV show to new social levels.
References:
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH 485 Lesson 10: Transformational Leadership- Transformational Leadership Defined . Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules/items/28001794.