Transformational Leadership
Transformational Leadership
Transformational Leadership
Presented by:
Demetrilita Cantada
Mentored by:
It is a leadership stype that can inspire positive changes in those who follow. Generally energetic
Transformational leadership is a style of leadership where a leader works with teams to identify needed
change, creating a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executing the change in tandem
with committed members of a group.[1] Transformational leadership serves to enhance the motivation,
morale, and job performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms; these include connecting
the follower's sense of identity and self to a project and to the collective identity of the organization;
being a role model for followers in order to inspire them and to raise their interest in the project;
challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and
weaknesses of followers, allowing the leader to align followers with tasks that enhance their
performance
The concept of transformational leadership was initially introduced by leadership expert and
presidential biographer James MacGregor Burns. According to Burns, transformational leadership can be
seen when "leaders and followers make each other to advance to a higher level of moral and
motivation."
Through the strength of their vision and personality, transformational leaders are able to inspire
followers to change expectations, perceptions, and motivations to work towards common goals.
To be a leader and manager you need to have a solid understanding of things such as project
management, organizational skills, managing employees and monitoring their performance, but even
masters of these skills aren't necessarily transformational leaders. These skills are simply the foundation
Some people are just born with leaderships skills and the rest of us have to work at it. You've seen them
before--the charismatic leaders who have a way of motivating the people around them. They instill a
Leadership Styles
Kevin Ford co-author of the upcoming book, "The Leadership Triangle" and CIO of Tag Consulting says he
believes there are three kinds of successful leadership styles and that each one has its own place
• Tactical: These leaders are solving pretty straight-forward problems. "Tactical issues are solved
by expertise. Tactical challenges are the daily bread of the operations-oriented manager," writes Ford in
• Strategic: These leaders are working towards the future with a vision. "Visionaries are different
in that they tend to be creative or generative in their approach. They have the ability to see the future
• Transformational: This leader is a facilitator who doesn't make decisions or establish strategic
plans but, instead, facilitates a series of conversations among key stakeholders. "Transformational
leaders are driven by a strong set of values and a sense of mission. Often times the strategic leader will
have a vision but can't execute it because they can't deal with the transformative issues. A
transformational leader has a more generalized vision, that's one of the common good or what's in the
• Instincts: The instinct theory of motivation suggests that behaviors are motivated by instincts,
which are fixed and inborn patterns of behavior. Psychologists including William James, Sigmund Freud,
and William McDougal have proposed a number of basic human drives that motivate behavior. Such
instincts might include biological instincts that are important for an organism's survival such as fear,
• Drives and Needs: Many of your behaviors such as eating, drinking, and sleeping are motivated
by biology. You have a biological need for food, water, and sleep. Therefore, you are motivated to eat,
drink, and sleep. Drive theory suggests that people have basic biological drives and that your behaviors
• Arousal Levels: The arousal theory of motivation suggests that people are motivated to engage
in behaviors that help them maintain their optimal level of arousal. A person with low arousal needs
might pursue relaxing activities such as reading a book, while those with high arousal needs might be
According to Bass, these are the hallmarks of a transformational leader that sets
Exemplifies moral standards within the organization and encourages the same of others
Fosters an ethical work environment with clear values, priorities and standards.
Builds company culture by encouraging employees to move from an attitude of self-interest to a
Provides coaching and mentoring but allowing employees to make decisions and take ownership
of tasks
To be a leader and manager you need to have a solid understanding of things such as project
management, organizational skills, managing employees and monitoring their performance, but even
masters of these skills aren't necessarily transformational leaders. These skills are simply the foundation
Some people are just born with leaderships skills and the rest of us have to work at it. You've
seen them before--the charismatic leaders who have a way of motivating the people around them. They
What qualities should a transformational leader possess? Here are thoughts from experts on the topic.
"If you want to transform something, you have to know what it is and not just the technology
that supports it. You need to have a vision of where you want to go and be able to communicate it," says
Rucker.
In order to be transformative, according to Rucker, you need to have diversity of thought. You
have to make sure that all the key stakeholders are represented in any decision that you make. You
shouldn't just have your own team coming up with ideas on what they think they know about the
projects, the company or the industry. You have to honestly care about what these people [peers and
stakeholders] want and need in order to make sure those needs are adequately represented and that
You need purposefully find good people with different perspectives who will shake things up
and bring in new ideas. You can't come up with all the ideas yourself. Find a way to look for experts in
whatever you are trying to achieve, you have to challenge long-term assumptions people may have,"
says Rucker.
"A transformational leader has to be strategic from a planning and objective setting perspective,
a strong communicator that can be trusted so that by extension people are willing to 'get on the bus',
and both be passionate & focused in order to drive change from inception to a successful conclusion,
"Some people see a transformational leader as someone who comes in and radically changes everything
and I don't see it that way," says Jeffrey S. Shipley, vice president and CIO at Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Kansas City.
"I see it as more of a mentoring or coaching role. It's about motivation, empowerment and morale of
the employees. You have to take the time to individualize, be the role model and understand people and
how they think. You need to challenge long-term assumptions and beliefs and think about things a
"Transformational leadership, as we understand it, is mobilizing people to the common good. The ability
to create a safe place to have conversations and voice ideas is very important. Ethics, morality and
integrity are a huge part of transformational leadership, even if it's not in the best interest of self. The
transformational leader needs to build trust and that can't be done in the short-term, it can only be
done in the long-term. Anyone can be a transformational leader; it's all contextual and it's all driven by
1. Intellectual Stimulation
By rocking the boat and asking questions, transformational leaders are always challenging the status quo
and aren't afraid of failure. They foster an environment where it's safe to have conversations, be
creative and voice ideas, a place where all team members feel valued. They challenge cultural norms
and work to inspire passion with their teams and peers. As Rucker puts it, they are adept at, "turning me
Shipley says that managers who have a command-and-control style of leadership can get a lot
accomplished, but, he says, they achieve short-term. You can have great success but you can't maintain
A better approach, Shipley says, is to guide your team, but let them solve the problem on their own.
2. Individualized Consideration
Is the golden rule flawed? Maybe not but consider this: Don't treat people how you want to be treated,
treat them the way they want to be treated. People are different and what motivates and excites you is
different from your peers and coworkers. "You have to learn to adapt your style to accommodate the
3. Inspirational Motivation
Know where you want to go and create a vision or strategy to get there and then articulate, with
optimism and passion, your vision to show them how all this matters in the big picture. "It's really the
meaning behind why you're doing the job you're doing that's so important to communicate to people. I
take great pride in understanding my employees and what motivates them," says Shipley. He offers this
analogy:
Two guys are digging a ditch, so I asked one of them, "What are you doing?" He says digging a ditch,
what's it look like I'm doing? I asked the other guy the same question and he says, "I'm building a
hospital."
It's getting into the minds of the people so that they understand that whatever task they're doing,
they're not doing that task, they're a part of something larger "They aren't digging a ditch or writing that
code; they are transforming the way healthcare is delivered in this country," says Shipley.
4. Idealized Influence
"Divorced from ethics, leadership is reduced to management and politics to mere technique," writes
Burns.
Transformational leadership requires decision-making that works towards the greater good. You need to
be a mentor of sorts and lead by example. "Values-based leadership is necessary for driving sustainable
change as this ensures that the results achieved are underpinned with a strong moral and ethical
foundation, thus they can also stand up to any scrutiny or resistance to change," says Stewart.
Experts agree that transformational change will create conflict. You're going to have people fight and/or
ignore you. "You have to master the role by figuring out how you're going to get all these people to work
with you. Doing that will change the position you have into the power you need to change the
Examples of Transformational :
called the family. They have the task of turning an extremely selfish entity called a child into a human
being. I had a friend say to me once that children are animals, they must be transformed in human
Coaches. The transformational task of a coach is dual in nature. First, one must install in players the
skills and motivation to keep trying despite many set backs. And in some sports such as basketball and
soccer, one takes selfish individuals and turns them into team players.
parents.
Religious Leaders. A tougher challenge here. They seek to turn the flawed into the moral and the selfish
Entrepreneurs. Almost all the writing focuses an the managerial side of being an entrepreneur.
However, they must must also exhibit transformational leadership or their organizations fail to grow. It
Transformational Leaders create vision that inspires other, they must be committed to the mission not
just for personal gain, their’ integrity inspires others to take action. A transformational leader cultivates
their team’s professional and personal development. They recognize each and everyone’s effort and
performance. They encourage their team members to develop ideas, embrace originality, and they
REFERENCES:
Transformational Leadership/Wikipedia.com
Transformational Leadership/changeactivation.com