Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Michael N. Phan
Transformational Leadership
Common leadership studies mainly focuses on how to lead a given team smoothly and
efficiently, which is often called transactional leadership. These leaders can be very popular but
bring little innovation. Applying a common saying, these people may be able to change the way
the Titanic deck chairs are arranged, but cannot save the sinking ship. Sadly in most of the
organizations, the ratio of the transactional leaders to transformational leaders is high. Therefore
these organizations face negative growth due to large gap between how things are done and how
Transformational Leadership is about innovation which means new thoughts are derived
and put into practice. James Mc Gregor Burns first used the term transactional leadership in
1978. According to him “transforming 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 by transforming leadership which ultimately becomes moral in that it raises the
level of human conduct and ethical aspirations of both the leader and led and, thus, has a
transforming effect on both.” These leaders welcome changes and constantly bring about
changes in themselves and those around them. In history we find both types of transformational
leaders- reputed leaders and notorious leaders. (Transformational Leadership Primer, 2008)
Bass is a modern leadership theorist who wrote in his book improving organizational
effectiveness through transformational leadership, the four basic theoretical qualities that a
transformational leader should possess. The four qualities are charisma—a quality that is difficult
to describe and which is something you know only from experience. Charisma results in the
followers being identified with the leader, vision—a quality with which the leader draws a clear
picture about the future of the team years ahead which includes all the people around him such
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that they feel motivated to work for a common objective, and this motivation induces dedication
enable the followers to exercise a different approach to older problems and break the barriers of
conventional thinking and inspiration—a quality which demands a fair knowledge of human
mind and behavior. Legatee is a leadership—training center, which describes the four core
strengths a transformational leader should possess. They are the ability to control oneself, an
attitude, which welcomes constant changes, the ability to create an impact on others and the
The transformational leader works with such a style that the followers are highly
motivated and enjoys the work. The transformational leaders give their percent into everything
they do. They are people oriented and therefore they consider the people and crave for their
leaders develop a vision, which is capable of motivating and bringing about changes in the
followers. 2) The vision developed should be accepted by the followers. Very few people accept
the sudden change while most people slowly welcome the change, therefore a leader should
possess great dedication and energy and to sell the vision. Also to develop followers, the leader
should be cautious in building faith. 3) The path to reach the goal. Some leaders may know the
path to the goal and the followers should just follow him while some others would not have but
would lead the team with pleasure. Though sometimes the path may not be known, with a well-
defined vision, the path is clear. 4) The final aspect is that the transformational leader should be
in the front leading the team. They shoulder the responsibility of leading the team to success.
They remain as roll model for the whole team. They induce enthusiasm in the team constantly
motivating all with effective communication. Sometimes it appears that the goal is only a
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tantalizing dream very far from realty. But with their incessant dedication, the leaders keep the
procession going. Transformational leaders also arrange celebrations, religious functions and get
together to boost the morale of the team. Also even insignificant changes get a huge applause by
which the transformational leader gathers trust from the followers. The transformational leader
parallely focuses both on the team progress and morale boosting of the team members because
Transformational leaders do know that only motivated team members brings success to the team.
organizations. The term transformational leadership was evolved by the political philosopher
James McGregor Burns in 1978 who defined it as a leadership which happens when one or more
individual participate with others and the associations creates a situation where the leaders and
followers appraise each other to higher standards of motivation and morality. The outcome of
transformational leadership is the boosting of morale whereby the conduct of individuals and
ethical aspiration of leaders and followers improve, and there is a resultant transformational
effect on both. The significant aspect of transformational leadership is the resultant relationship
Transformational leaders have the ability to recognize their own capability and the ability
of other employees at workplace, which enables them to guide their performance and thereby
indulge in shared activity by creating a conscious atmosphere where behavior and task is
adjudged. Transformational leaders have unlimited power in them and this power is distributed to
all workers around the leaders. These types of leaders in an organization give importance to
substance and empower all who surround the leader’s professional activity. From the business
perspective, transformational leaders envisage involvement in the long run with all parties
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concerned with the business like customers, shareholders, communities, employees and
suppliers. When equals importance is given for the opportunities of all concerned shareholders
and stakeholders also enjoy the advantages of transformational leadership. The implementation
(Venkateswaran, 2007)
There are four behavioral aspects that contribute to the formation of a transformational
leadership. They are intellectual stimulation, charisma, individualized concern and inspiration.
Charisma is explained as the ability, which leaders have to stimulate emotion in followers that
will lead to a strong recognition of the followers with the leader. The charisma evokes the vision
of the leaders and gains the trust and respect of the followers. The transformational leader has the
ability to gain the inspiration of colleagues and subordinates by exhibiting good behavior while
speaking about high performance, the utilization of symbols to acquire the attention of followers
and acts as a role model for appropriate behavior. Individualized concern is exhibited whereby
the transformational leader gives personal care and guidance to followers and gives recognition
for outstanding performance and creates self-confidence in the person. Intellectual stimulation
deals with knowledge transfer and promotion of intelligence and rationality, which enables
followers to develop skill to find creative solution for complex problems. (Venkateswaran, 2007)
The positive behavioral traits of the transformational leader will influence the followers
by lifting their morale which leaders to better performance and self development instead of
working for the sake of the organization leading to overall security. However, the disadvantage
of this concept is the assumption that leadership is a position where the leader is portrayed as the
boss. The modern concept of transformational leadership paves way for an improved level of
performance. In this concept all concerned work towards a common goal and works towards a
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future objective. This concept also all concerned to question and deal with problems with a new
primarily among board of direction. The application of this leadership in board of direction will
lead to the success of the organization irrespective of the size and geographical location in the
world. Transformational leadership should be executed in a way that is comfortable for the
followers. The implementation of this strategy may instigate an attitude of threatening in certain
circumstances especially when the new policy involves cooperation, people may feel their
Transformation leadership starts with varying ideologies about the self and people around
the person. The initial change occurs when the leadership views the task from the perspective of
being and not as a job. The second change occurs when the ideology has a difference from the
past policy of power and control over subordinates and associates. The latest leadership strategy
is to enable associate to recognize his or her own ability and leadership capability. In the past,
leadership meant that human resources conducted their task according to the direction of the
leader according to the leader’s aspiration but the recent trend of leadership is mutual recognition
where both parties can transcend their limitations of performance for a reasonable cause and
exhibit their attitude with good moral, enthusiasm, courage, trust and integrity. (Venkateswaran,
2007)
organizations give importance for human resource policies in the short run and are more interest
in reducing cost and increasing target to keep in pace with the changes in the world. The purpose
and objective of every business in today’s world is transformation. Transformation requires new
objectives and renewed perspective that is above the current myopic managerial culture that
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hinders the required qualification for execution of work. According to Kotter, the association of
cultures that block change and mangers who are advised to handle transition in recent times is
The requirement of leadership after ten years will be more than change. It will be of
transformation that can be obtained through learning rather than training. The training and
orientation provided for functional skills will be inefficient. Transformational leaders should be
appointed by a company’s board of directors by taking risk because they differ from
organization because the management will have a better idea about the quality and conduct of the
individuals. The person should preferably be a person who has a good working experience. The
present day working environment requires transformational leadership since this adds to the
morale and raises the standard of human attitude and performance and aspiration of all involved
in the process. It has a diversified effect on all involved and the participants seem to contribute
and customers. Women usually follow this type of leadership and it is time for organizations to
follow this method as the basic leadership policy. The survival and efficiency of organizations
orientation gives individuals the opportunity to conduct self-examination and then evaluate their
conduct based on present values and prospective high value actions in the organization for total
at regular intervals in a year with a relevant party or institution. Retreats give opportunities for
business executives to revive their present plan and apply critical transformation policy and
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would enable them to use them in their further conduct in the organization and bring novel strata
management and leadership that effect business transformation and finally leads to better results.
The management of a company is more systematic and formal when compared to leadership.
Managerial policies and procedures are evolved from globally accepted skills like planning,
controlling and budgeting. Further management relies on accepted tools and techniques arrived
through testing and reason that can be applied to various situations. This is in contrast to
leadership, which revolves around the vision of taking the organization to a pre-determined goal.
The basic requirements of leadership is teamwork and cooperation from a large group of
individuals by maintaining the key personnel in that group motivated so that the predetermined
goal is achieved as a result of the correct transformational outcome. There are various guidelines,
which can help a person to become a transformational leader. A person should develop a vision,
A well-defined vision will enable followers to achieve the goal and sense something good
in practicing a new method. A person should express a policy that can be applied as a vision to
one’s life, which is precise and has a short way to achieve it. The vision should be promoted
among others and it should have compelling voice with relevant anecdotes. The leaders should
submit the proposed vision with confidence and optimism. If followers sense inadequate
confidence in the leader, the chances of its achievement are less. The leader should also show
confidence in the follower’s capability to achieve the vision. Confidence building is also required
accomplishment. If one set of employees are successful with the new vision it will serve as
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motivation for others and there will be added enthusiasm for hard work. Success and
accomplishments are ought to be celebrated to create optimism and dedication. The role of
transformational leader should include dramatic action to create waves in strategic organizational
values. Employees should be able to understand the seriousness of vision from the actions of the
leader, which include denial of poor quality work and the absolute rework requirement of work
example for hard in order to transform a company’s work culture and trajectory. The path
towards success is to challenge subordinates to improve their performance above the standard
expectation of the company and acts as a stimulator for innovation and creativity to attain
collective leadership capability. Transformational leadership is not applicable for people in the
managerial level. It can be imbibed by individuals at all levels and in all circumstances. Hence
leaders should make sure to develop leadership qualities among subordinates. This kind of
leadership is applicable to people from all walks of life. This has application in school, sports,
family, social change, etc. A change in ideology or opinion or culture can be effected by
exchanging or assuring rewards. In business terms transactional leaders offer financial reward to
motivate employees and increase productivity and deny increments for poor productivity. In the
political scenario, politician ensures to provide jobs for votes or subsidies for assisting them
paying attention to follower’s requirements and placing the objectives of the person, leader and
the entire team and the organization at ease. In short, transformational leaders have the capacity
to bring out an outcome that exceeds the requirement of the organization and enable followers to
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achieve better satisfaction and commitment towards the team and the organization.
Transformational leadership has been a successful tool in the military. However, latest findings
state that it is applicable to all sectors and every social circumstance. Psychology and economics
leadership ensures that the follower will be rewarded only for a specific outcome but
transformational leadership ensures that the follower is comfortable with the idea and there is
compliance and commitment and the vision engages the person and feels self worth. Therefore
used by transformational leaders has turned havoc on followers in the case of charismatic leaders
like Adolf Hitler and Osama Bin Laden who exploit followers for personal and self-aggrandizing
objectives. Authentic transformational leaders give more and exhibit high levels of involvement
explaining the meaning of the challenge. They adorn the role of model followers, which creates
interest for all associated with the leader. True leaders are respected, admired and trusted.
Followers then identify themselves with the leader and would like to follow them by admiring
extensive levels of capabilities, determination and persistence. This is called idealized influence.
The level of follower’s commitment is measured through the nature of interaction, which the
leader initiates. A collective enthusiasm is usually formed to achieve the mission and reassure the
followers that hindrances can be overcome. Leaders who cast idealized influence have the
willingness to take risk and have consistency in their approach. They are reliable and can be
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trusted for doing the right thing due their moral and ethical orientation. As an inspirational
motivator, transformational leader evokes team spirit. (Bass & Riggio, 2005)
Optimism and enthusiasm are other positive traits. This enables leaders to attract
followers to accomplish future objectives through clear communication and instill a feeling that
followers will also require to meet the target. Since this is a shared vision all concerned should
be demonstrated about the reason for achievement of a high set goal. Contingent reward is an
aspect of constructive transaction that has resulted in good outcomes for higher performance and
development levels. Contingent reward leaders assign work and take the consent of the follower
for satisfactory performance of the task. This is a transactional reward but it will turn to be
transformational when the reward is psychological when the follower is appreciated for the good
through delegation. The best methods of delegating work are learnt by a manger through practice
and on the job experience. The manager should recognize the fact that learning is an outcome of
the opportunities encountered during a job. This is the reason why people with more exposure
and opportunities and people who have worked with a number of assignments during their career
have the additional edge of developing and growing in a professional manner to evolve later into
Organizations can bestow opportunities on potential managers by rotating their task and
by giving more opportunities in various departments for a particular period of time. The rotation
of managers can also be used to evaluate their ability to function in various situations comprising
different tasks and challenges. This gives room for conversion of latent talent into practical
talent. The rotational strategy of the organization to tap the potential of transformational
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leadership is a short duration process and it may sometimes obstruct the flow of the
organization’s function. Hence alternate methods are required to develop a leader within the
making process or a method to get things done by others especially when performance is
expected above the preconceived levels. Delegation is sometimes viewed as a narrow method of
using the ability and potential of a person though it gives several opportunities for improving
development leader because the leader exchanges a value based idea, which involves the
development of the follower with a need for negotiation for betterment. The objective of the
leader is to correct an issue or to get into an agreement to increase the likelihood of achieving
better outcomes. It includes the requirement for a change in the follower’s beliefs, need and
all concerned and gives opportunity to increase a person’s performance capability under
pressure, challenging work atmosphere and deal with problems at work. Therefore the leadership
aims to implement change by strengthening the ability of person by enhancing the interaction
capability of a person in a complex situation to utilize creativity when there are obstacles and
conflict for improvement. Behavioral change is one of the key factors for transformation of an
of a person where the learning of the person is directed towards an improved trajectory. The
outcome of such training is a cycle of personalized experiences that penetrate into a person for
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deeper progress and results in powerful performance. Transformational leaders instill increased
increased understanding about structural factors and a greater sense of individual authority in the
followers. The followers will also be empowered to recognize and contribute their work with
diversity in an informed and enriched working atmosphere, which results in better effectiveness
together process where both the leader and follower involve in a particular task. The influence of
the leader is more on the behavior, which results in the action of the subordinate and getting
people to involve in their work especially in the case of multi-tasking. The word criticism does
not hold well in transformational leaders for the mistake of a follower. The mistake or error in
the performance is corrected by the leader’s involvement and guidance about how the work has
to be performed. Encouragement is the most important part for followers who have already
implemented the new policies while appreciation; praise and reward are the significant factor to
sustain the performance of followers who have already accomplished the vision and mission of
the transformational leader. This boosts confidence and instills credibility about the ideas and
invoking leadership. The leader prototype is self-defining for followers wherein the experience
of leaders in other settings stimulates the actions to influence action of followers. The action of
leaders from different demographic regions varies and they display different leadership self-
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schema. Besides this, there are gender differences when it comes to transformational leadership.
Male and female leaders manage followers from different perspectives. (Hogg & Tindale, 2001)
group by implementing their self developed policies and the strategies they have arrived at from
previous work experiences. The transformation leaders is not a boss who directs followers to
implement actions, but the leader is a member of a group or team who instills confidence,
improves intellect and functionality and builds confidence among the team members. By
involving in the team, the leader finds better acceptance for new policies and procedures, which
leads to the substantiation of the leader’s vision. The leader also gives opportunity for followers
to discover their individuality and personal capability, which eventually leads to better
performance and improvement in the assigned task that is beyond the expected level of
performance. Therefore, a transformational leader lead the change in any set up and contributes
References
http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/leadership/breaking.html
http://www.legacee.com/Info/Leadership/LeaderResources.html
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/styles/transformational_leadership.htm
Hellingsworth, B., Best, R., & Valence, Gerard de. (2002) “Design and Construction”
Butterworth-Heinemann.
Hogg, M. A., & Tindale, R. S. (2001). Group Processes. New Jersey: Blackwell Publishing.
http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC512/fc512.html