Transformational leadership

Transformational Leadership Total Number of Words: 325 Q What are the key attributes of the transformational style of leadership? Transformationalleadership style is composed of four components known as: (1) charisma or idealized influence, (2) inspirational motivation, (3) intellectual stimulation, and (4) individual consideration (Bass, 1998; Bass & Avolio, 1993). For this reason, transformational leaders are considered as optimistic individuals who are capable of creating a collective vision, ability to communicate organizational vision, and inspire a group of diverse employees to support the vision (Epitropaki, 2001).
According to Palmer et al. (2001), charisma is highly correlated to a person’s ability to monitor their own emotions around other people. Therefore, as a form of a referent power, the personal charisma of transformational leaders makes it easier for them to attract and win the support of their subordinates (Posakoff & Schriesheim, 1985).
Q. 2Have you seen effective transformational leaders in action? If so, share some examples.
Yes. In the company where I used to work, my supervisor is a good example of a leader that uses transformational leadership style. Rather than imposing strict rules and guidelines, my supervisor is more focused on motivating us to become self-efficient workers. By trusting our work capabilities and putting up high expectations on our work performances, my previous supervisor indirectly trains us to become leaders in our own little way. His leadership technique also inspires us to work together as a team in order to achieve the organizational goal.
Q. 3Which of the other leaders that you have seen come close to being effective transformational leaders? Justify your answer with appropriate examples.
Among the other types of leaders, authentic leaders resemble close to an effective transformational leaders. In general, authentic leaders are individuals who show strong confidence, hope, optimism, and resiliency which are needed to allow them to develop greater self-awareness and self-regulated positive behavior among their subordinates (Luthans & Avolio, 2003, pp. 241-258). Similar to transformational leaders, authentic leaders are able to recognize the value of each individual based on their personality type and special talents (Avolio & Gardner, 2005). Since authentic leaders allow each employee to go through the process of self-reflection and self-awareness, the team members are free to express themselves and inspire other people within the workplace (Avolio & Gardner, 2005; Covey, 2004).
References
Avolio, B., & Gardner, W. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(2005), 315-338.
Bass, B. (1998). Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military, and Educational Impact. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.
Bass, B., & Avolio, B. (1993). Transformational leadership and organizational culture. Public Administration Quarterly, 112-121.
Covey, S. (2004). The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. New York: Free Press.
Epitropaki, O. (2001). What is Transformational Leadership? Institute of Work Psychology . England: University of Sheffield.
Luthans, F., & Avolio, B. (2003). Authentic Leadership Development. In Cameron K. S., Dutton J. E., and Quinn R. E. (eds.) ‘ Positive Organizational Scholarship’ . San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Palmer, B., Walls, M., Burgess, Z., & Stough, C. (2001). Emotional Intelligence and Effective Leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 22(1), 5-10.
Posakoff, P., & Schriesheim, C. (1985). Field Studies of French and Ravens Bases of Power: Critique, Re-analysis, and Suggestions of Futre Research. . Psychological Bulletin, 97, 387-411.