Transformational Leadership
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Transformational Leadership
Memories of our lives, of our works and
our deeds will continue in others.
Rosa Parks (1913-2005)
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Overview
- Charismatic Leadership
- Characteristics
- Transformational Leadership
- Characteristics
- Transformational Leadership Continuum
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Charismatic Leadership
(House, 1976)
Positive Characteristics
- Passionate, driven
- Form emotional attachments
- Compelling vision
- Heightened emotional levels
- Can result in positive social changes
Negative Characteristics
- Passion can be used for selfish or personal gains
- Loyalty and devotion to leader can result in unquestioned obedience with disregard to one’s self-interest
- Can be narcissistic
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Provided impetus for
Transformational Leadership
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Transformational Leadership
- James McGregor Burns, Leadership (1978)
- Focus of much of today’s
research
- Process that changes and transforms an individual
- Empowers followers and nurtures them in change
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Transformational Leadership Described
- Raises the consciousness in individuals and gets them to transcend their own self-interests for the sake of others
- Must be strong role model and highly developed set of moral values and sense of identity
- Create a vision which is the collective interests of others in the organization
- Always involves conflict and change to perpetuate a cause
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Transformational Leadership Qualities
- Change agent
- Exceptional influence
- Charismatic
- Visionary
- Appeal to higher ideals and values
- Spirit of cooperation
- Controversial
- Inspirational motivation
- Intellectual stimulation
- Raise consciousness
- Listens to opposing views
- Ethical
- Strong role model
- Articulate
- Confident
- Form strong emotional attachment with followers
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Transformational Leadership Model
- Bass (1985) extended Burns’ work then teamed with Avolio
- Gave more attention to followers’ needs
- Unlike Burns, Bass viewed leadership as amoral
- Leaders can transform followers by:
- Increasing their awareness of task importance and value
- Getting them to focus on organization goals, rather than their own
- Activating their higher-order needs
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Transformational Leadership Continuum
(Bass & Avolio, 1985, 1990, 1997)
- Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire
- Evaluates leadership style
- Styles
- Laissez Faire
- Transactional Leadership
- Transformational Leadership
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Transformational Leadership Continuum
Laissez Faire
- “Hands off”
- Inactive
- Avoid making decisions
- Gives no feedback
- Wait for things to go wrong before acting
- No personal/professional growth for followers
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Transformational Leadership Continuum
Transactional
- Focus on exchange between leader and followers
- Focus on expectations and goals; task completion
- Relies on organizational rewards and punishments
- No enduring purpose or societal change
- No moral component
- Doesn’t individualize needs of followers
- No personal development
- Can be marginally successfully
- Can build a base level of trust
- Very common, everyday type of leadership
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Transformational Leadership Continuum
Transformational
- Appeals to followers’ values and sense of higher purpose
- Compelling vision of what society or organization could be
- Connection raises the level of motivational and morality – realize ethical consequences of decisions
- Moral exercise that serves to raise the standard of human conduct – go beyond self-interest
- Focus on followers reaching their full potential
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Transformational Leadership
Criticisms
- Difficult to measure
- Focus on the “great leader”
- Trait rather than behavior to be acquired
- Elitist/heroic
- Potential for abuse
- Research focuses on senior leaders
Strengths
- Widely researched with positive results
- Ethical/moral component
- Emphasis on followers’ needs
- Focus of much of today’s research
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