Understanding Transformational Leadership

In our day-to-day interactions with managers and leaders in the workplace, there is one thing we often remember - the impact they had on our lives or how they made us feel even when we no longer work with them. The words and/or actions of a leader could be the reason why an individual is motivated to secure an additional professional qualification or the main cause of that individual's struggle with his/her mental health.

The impact that transformational leaders have in an organization is often underrated or even overlooked completely but they can actually be the main reason why your employees feel engaged in the workplace. We must constantly remind ourselves that a typical organization is essentially made up of people and when these human resources are privileged to get quality leadership, the results can be outstandingly impressive.

The term transformational leadership was first coined by American sociologist James V. Downton (a renowned expert and researcher in the field of charismatic leadership) in the early 1970s and it was further expantiated on by an American historian and authority on leadership, James MacGregor Burns. Ever since, the concept of transformational leadership has been widely researched by scholars in the western world. In his 1978 book titled Leadership, James MacGregor Burns analysed two main types of leaders and his analysis has now become fundamental to our modern day understanding of leadership - transactional and transformational leaders. While transactional leadership places emphasis on the relationship between the leader and the followers, transformational leadership prioritises the needs, beliefs and growth of the followers especially on an individual level.

Also, transformational leadership focuses on the future and grooming the follower to become a much better version of his/herself unlike transactional leadership that focuses on the present and ensuring that followers get things done when they should. Both leadership styles can be found in a leader in varying degrees; a typical leader would have more of one and less of the other. We can clearly see that there is a major difference between transactional and transformational leadership; the former focuses on maintaining the relationship between the leader and his/her followers while the latter focuses on the needs of the followers. And this is exactly what makes transformational leadership a great avenue for bringing the best of a person and also for developing new leaders.

Interestingly, transformational leadership also has a positive impact even on the leaders themselves. In James MacGregor Burns' words, "Transformational leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality. That people can be lifted into their betterselves is the secret of transforming leadership and the moral and practical theme of this work." How do we identify the characteristic behaviors of transformational leaders in others or even in ourselves? Are there traits that distinguish transactional leaders from transformational leaders? Transformational leadership has a number of manifest behavioral tendencies that enable us to identify the category that a leader truly belongs to or the ideology that he/she believes in -

• Idealized influence - transformational leaders tend to have a definite impact on their followers and such impact can be spotted through careful observation of the leader and the led. The leader intentionally sets an example for others to imitate and hopes that they would follow in his footsteps. Put simply, leadership really means INFLUENCE.
• Inspirational motivation - transformational leaders 'push' their followers to break barriers and fulfill their highest potentials. Regardless of the odds that may be stacked against the individual, such leaders can give a follower the reason to believe that the seemingly impossible is achievable. We all need a leader to keep us on our toes and 'push' us off the cliff occasionally.
• Individualized consideration - transformational leaders recognize the uniqueness of the every individual and relates with them as such. There are no two individuals with the same needs, ideologies, motivation or expectations. Where possible, it is imperative that a leader is able to customise his investment in the life of a follower in a way that addresses the peculiar needs of that individual.
  ● Intellectual stimulation - transformational leaders challenge people to think and also have a re-think about the way things are done. It goes beyond just sharing new ideas with followers, they are also able to generate useful ideas themselves because they have been empowered to do so. Transformational leaders create an atmosphere that
  is conducive for learning and re-learning.

The proven impact of transformational leadership does not in any way negate the usefulness of transactional leadership which also has its place in the modern corporation. As a leadership style, transactional leadership ensures that work gets done by people who are supposed to do it. Its main emphasis is on performance and the application of rewards and punishment accordingly.

Even though the term was introduced much later in the 1970s, transactional leadership has its roots in the industrial revolution when work was highly mechanical and priority was given to close supervision of workers. Expectedly, transactional leadership has been shown to be help in crisis or disaster management or in situations where strict compliance is required on the part of workers. Transformational leadership has been widely recognized as a good means of earning the respect and trust of followers and when this happens, these followers will not hesitate to put in their very best in achieving collective goals and aspirations. Transformational leadership strengthens the bond between leaders and followers and establishes a team-like mentality in both parties.

Transformational leadership has also been found to enable people to satisfy higher or growth needs (as illustrated in Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs) like self-actualization and esteem needs. Transactional leadership is often associated with the attainment of physiological and safety needs. As employees climb higher in the organizational ladder leaders in the workplace should tweak their leadership style to suit their followers in the best interests of all the parties.

There are quite a number of different leadership styles with varying levels of effectiveness or usefulness depending on factors like organizational culture, modern trends, company policies, personality traits etc but transformational leadership often stands shoulder high above most of them. All things being equal, transformational leadership tends to be much more effective in managing and engaging employees in the work environment.