Is the leader the really engaging with other and creating a connection that raises the level of motivation ad morality in both themselves and follower, or are they a leader only pretending to do that while they are truly “self-consumed, exploitive and power hungry with warped moral values”? (Northouse, 2012) This is a difficult question to answer because as in Aesop’s fables “the wolf in sheep’s clothing” the wolf was able to fool the Shepard by donning a sheep skin to get in the flock of sheep, the leader wears a sheepskin of pseudotransformational leadership, disguising their real self underneath. The wolf was only looking out for his own interests and not the good of the flock (sheep). Transformational leadership, as noted by Northouse, “is concerned with improving the performance of followers and developing followers to their fullest potential. People who exhibit transformational leadership often have a strong set of internal values and ideals and they are effective at motivating followers to act in ways that support the greater food rather than their own self-interest.” While interviewing for associates as a Store Manager I always asked “what motivates you?” typically I caught people off guard as this is not something people expect to be asked. I felt it was important to know what makes them want to work and get the associate to think about why they want to work for the company. I then gave them the vision of the company and the vision for our store.
The difference between a pseudotransformational leader and a true transformational leader is the intent of the outcome. Transformational leaders are also called charismatic leaders, as they are “strong role models for the beliefs and values”, who appear competent and are able to “articulate ideological goals that have moral overtones.” (Northouse, 2012) Also transformational leaders communicate “high expectations for followers and they exhibit confidence in followers abilities to meet the expectations. [and] charismatic leaders arouse task-relevant motives in followers that may include affiliation, power, or esteem.” While a pseudotransformational will expect others to act a certain way that may lack moral tone to allow the leader to achieve their self-fulfilling goals. They may struggle to set goals and give followers direction towards a goal. Also may have lower expectations from their followers and they may struggle to positively motivate followers. They may use negative ways to motivate followers such as motivating them to avoid a punishment, an example is sell 3 bottles of perfume today to reach your goal or I will cut back on your hours for next week.
I started asking this after I fell victim to a Wolf, or a pseudotransformational leader, who was so consumed with his own interests she ran the store we worked in to ground and the parent company closed the store. She was more interested in getting herself promoted to a better position with a new company she ruined the job she had. She did not care about all of the employees working for her and our jobs. At the time she kept telling the associates she was on the phone with corporate office trying to keep our store open, and that we had nothing to worry about and we would all have jobs. However we found out it was all a lie; she was on the phone interviewing. She motivated her associates to work with threats of having our hours cut if we didn’t work harder for her. She would only set goals for the day and we did not have a clear picture of the overall goal. She maintained the “big picture” goal to herself and maintained control by keeping her associates in the dark.
Now that I have the experience of working for a pseudotransformational leader I think discovering that a leader is one will be easier for me in the future. A pseudotransformational leader is about getting followers to do what they want and doesn’t care about needs or personal development of the followers. If a leader will not sit down with you and set out a plan for your future in relation to how it fits in with the company then that should raise a red flag. Also a leader should be able to give you the goal for the company and how the goal is going to be achieved, if they cannot do that than they are lacking a vision for the company and you should be careful that they are a pseudotransformational leader. Looking at a leader from a far they will blend in with other leaders just like a wolf hiding in sheep’s clothing, but as you get closer and get to know the leader you will be able to see the wolf underneath if you know what you are looking for.
Reference:
Daily, D. (2007). The classic treasury of aesop’s fables. Running Press Kids.
Northouse, P. (2012). Leadership: Theory and practice. (6 ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publishing.