THE WELL ROUNDED LEADER
Imagine this scenario- a woman went to college, earned a four year degree in finance, was able to land a job at a hedge fund company making 55K a year. Pretty great start for a young 23 year old college graduate. Sounds great, however- her boss hasn’t even introduced himself to her after she has been with the company and been under his supervision for the past 8 months. Not one word, no interest at all in this amazing college grad who just worked hard to earn her degree and land a job that could potentially be a lifelong career and solid investment in her future. What would this intelligent, full of energy, broad eyed young woman think of her position and how quickly she would or would not climb in the ranks at this company? She most likely isn’t very optimistic about how her boss views her, or if he’s even aware that she works for him. She most likely doesn’t feel appreciated or great about the last four years of dedication she put into getting that hard earned degree. She most likely feels stuck, and the first issue is her boss. This leader is the opposite of what a transformational leader encompasses.
The book defines transformational leadership as “change agents who are good role models, who can create and articulate a clear vision for an organization, who empower followers to meet higher standards, who act in ways that make others want to trust them, and who give meaning to organizational life” (Northouse, 190). This definition seems like a “jack of all trades” kind of deal. When explained, it sounds like someone who possesses this leadership style has the ability to be capable of leading, but at the same time is not afraid or too bigheaded to get down and dirty to help/teach/encourage/lead/ and pick up the few people who seem to need that extra push in order to complete the tasks. This leadership style sounds very well rounded, and it may be difficult to take on, but imagine how the people who are under this leaders wings feel, when they have the full support and encouragement of a higher up who has these qualities.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said-“If you want to be great and successful, choose people who are great and successful and walk side by side with them”, this is one attribute that someone who maintains transformational leadership has. They are able to fully encourage and boost up their fellow partners, no matter if they are above or below them, encourage them to succeed, and celebrate in their successes. They truly are willing to do what it takes and roll up their sleeves and dig into the job in order to make sure it is a success, and that everyone involved has a hand and is involved and learns. One thing that stood out in Northouses book is that these leaders are able to “create a vision” and “become social architects” (Northouse, 176), all while they are “out in front interpreting and shaping for organizations the shared meanings that exist within them” (Northouse, 177). This truly must be a unique style to come by, and once a company has found someone who can work under all of these strengths and consider their style transformational, I’m betting that they will try to keep them in order to better the quality of not only their product, but more importantly, their employees. This type of leader I’m sure has an extremely low turnover rate!
Some may say that this style is too relaxed or broad in its definition, some may also say that its too close to charismatic leadership, however, one of the main focus’s of this style is the relationship between the leader and the follower. No matter if the leader is being too charismatic, if they are able to successfully help a follower reach a goal of theirs and encourage that, shape that image in the followers eyes and stick by them step by step until the reach success, then that’s a win in my book. This leadership style seems to be too good to be true, and even the weaknesses are debatable. But if I were able to have a leader who encompassed this style, I would consider myself lucky, its almost like a “big brother/big sister” role. Just simply people encouraging people along the path of common goals in a community that is striving to work towards something together.
Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: theory and practice. Seventh edition. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.