2-2 Journal: Transformational Leadership Versus Transactional Leadership
This journal will discuss two types of leadership styles, Transformational
leadership and transactional leadership.
Transformational leaderships – focuses on inspiration stimulation and
motivating their followers(employees) to achieve results greater than
expected. This leadership style requires effective communication skills to
relay to their workers. Some characteristics of a Transformational leader is,
being role model for your employees(followers) to look respect and trust,
putting the need of your followers(employees) above your own incorporating
values and principles, encouraging team spirit being optimistic, creative and
innovative. Lead by providing an example, essentially being a mentor and
coach to your followers(employees).
Transactional leadership also known as managerial leadership focuses on
supervision, orgranisation and group performance. Transactional leadership
uses Maslows basic model “basic level of need satisfaction: safety and
security, Love and belongingness needs, need to know and understand,
aesthetic needs, and self-actualization needs. Some characteristics of a
transactional leader are:
They punish and reward, such as offering incentives as a means of
motivating their employees when set goals are achieved. Work to maintain
status quo, evaluates their employees work to identify faults and deviations.
They are usually action oriented. This leadership style is found in fields such
as sales, or manufacturing. This type of leadership is useful in emergency
situations or when projects need to be fulfilled in a certain fashion.
In my opinion, it would be important to determine the needs of the various
stakeholders when communicating. Depending on the types of questions and
concerns that are presented by the stakeholders should allow leaders to determine
what to communicate. It would be in the best interest of the leader to be flexible
and incorporate both transformational and transactional leadership. There would be
a need for more direct and bottomline communication as well as optimistic and
motivating “ big picture” communication to ensure all stakeholders are satisfied. If
the leaders fail to adjust their communication style, the audience is lost.
