I. Abstract
Each one of each has often found themselves working within a given group. Within every group there is a unifying factor that causes its members to exhibit a uniform group think. However, it is important to note that realizing such a pattern is caused by the effort of a person within the group who conveys to the rest of the group members a clear picture of what the goals of the group are. This particular individual possesses a passion of the objective that the group aims at achieving which in turn causes the rest of the group members to follow suit. This person who has the power to mobilize a group of people to work towards realizing a given objective is termed to as a transformational leader.
Transformational leadership is a skill that requires energy, enthusiasm, and passion towards a given endeavor. Transformational leaders are not only interested in realizing the set goals and objectives but it is their responsibility to make sure that each and every group member is able to reap some degree of benefit by being a part of the group. The transformational leadership theory draws its concept from this phenomenon. This theory argues that leadership is meant to realize a positive change in the lives of the members of a particular group. Transformational leaders are meant to make sure that they address the interests of every group member so as to enhance the motivation and the performance of each group member. Scholars explain that the transformational leadership theory articulates of the fact that increased group performance is caused by the capitalizing on the “being” and not the “doing.” Therefore the satisfaction of the group members is more important than the level of productivity exhibited by the entire group. Inducing change at an organizational level has to subsequently induce a change at the personal level. Bearing this mind the magnitude of the changes realized both at the organizational and at the individual it is important that the actions of management within the transformational leadership structure be in position to provide adaptive solution in case the change realized does not end up benefiting every group member.
II. Introduction
One of the important things to realize is the fact that though transformation leadership is meant to induce change, realizing change exposes the transformational leader to some form of complexity. Every time a change is induced within a given organization there are some elements within the organization that are bound to go wrong. However, for a change within the transformational leadership theory to be considered as being positive, the change must have the following elements. First of all, the kind of transformational leadership used in inducing the change must be in a position to directly address the resulting changes and the emotions of the group members. The end result of this endeavor has to provide some of form of motivation and inspiration to the entire group. Secondly, the methodology used in realizing a positive change within a given society has to be multi-dimensional. This means that the model of the methodology has to be flexible to be able to address the multiple and diverse needs and factors within the organization. Third, the management skill employed in the practice of transformational leadership must be able to address the specific problems facing every group member. Finally, transformational leaders should have the ability to train and motivate other group members to push themselves beyond their own capabilities. In order for someone of be a transformational leader with a given society, one must be prepared to be strides in front of the other group members which means that transformational leaders should have a higher level of passion and enthusiasm compared to their followers. This paper looks at the definition of the transformational leadership theory, how it works, and its components. This paper also focuses on the characteristics of transformational leadership as well as the distinction between transformational and transactional leadership theory.
III. Definition of Terms
Before embarking on trying to formulate a concrete definition of the term transformational leadership, it is important to note that leadership is an attribute that is has been exercised in virtually every facet of the society for many years. Though the term leadership has been around for a long time even scholars have failed to agree about a fixed definition for the term. This is because the term leadership keeps on evolving over time thereby making it difficult to come up with a fixed definition. Likewise many definitions have created by different scholars trying to define transformational leadership. However, these scholars have faced the challenging fact that leadership styles and their applications have changed over the years in different contexts such at the business level, within religious and spiritual groups, and at the family level. J.V. Downton was the first scholar who came up with the term transformational leadership in his book entitled Rebel Leadership: Commitment and Charisma in a Revolutionary Process which is published in 1973. Downton defined Transformational leadership as being a set of behaviors exhibited by leaders to increase the motivation, morale, and the passion of a given group of people in approaching the objectives a given organization. However, this approach seemed to be more rigid and not time sensitive. This prompted James Macgregor to publish his book entitled Leadership in 1978. In his book, Burns argued that transformational leadership was not a set code of behaviors as stipulated by Downton but was instead “an ongoing process by which leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation” (Burns, 1978, p.20). Burns writes that, “Transformational leaders offer a purpose that transcends short-term goals and focuses on higher order intrinsic needs” (Burns, 1978, p.21).
Burn’s definition of transformational leadership was shaped by the Theory of Human Needs which was coined by Abraham Maslow. The Theory of Human Needs argues that people within a given group or organization have needs that differ within a wide spectrum. The efficiency and productivity of every member of a given group or organization depends on how well the needs of every member of the group is met. Burns concept of transformational leadership drew from the Human Needs Theory but fits into a broader picture because it capitalizes on the idea of a higher level of self-actualization and esteem. Burns argues that “the task of the leader is consciousness-raising on a wide planethe leader’s fundamental act is to induce people to be aware or conscious of what they feelto feel their true needs so strongly, to define their values so meaningfully, that they can be moved to purposeful action”(Burns, 1978, p.43-44). In a nutshell, burns saw transformational leadership as not only being able to induce a positive change and achieve set objectives, but also increases the relative gain of both the transformational leader and the followers.
Bernard Bass who was a student of viewed transformational leadership from a different perspective. Bass viewed transformational leadership from an ethical standpoint. Bass defined transformational leadership as being “how the leader affects followers, who are intended to trust, admire and respect the transformational leader” (Bass, 1985, p.36). According to Bass’s definition of transformational leadership it is clear that ethics and morality are key components of the transformational leadership theory. Bass argues that there are three ways in which a transformational leader is able to stamp a sense of ethics and morality within a given group or organization. First, a transformational leader has to be able to make sure that every group member is aware of his or her value to the needs of the organization(Albritton, 1998, p.21).This makes every group member to feel as being important and worth being with a given group or organization. Second, a transformational leader has to be able to make every follower to develop a connection to the organization such that each member has a preference for the goals of the organization rather than self-interest. The third important that a transformational leader has to be able to do is to make sure that the organization is able to address even the needs that members would consider as being high order needs. This creates a sense of security and belonging within the followers of a given transformational leader.
IV. Historical Background of Transformational Leadership Theory.
Transformational leadership theory has evolved over time and many scholars have tried to coin different definition of the term over the years. It is therefore important to look at how transformational leadership theory has developed over the last century. Going back to the 1900’s leadership was viewed a skill that was inborn. Scholars believed in the idea that some people are born bearing leadership skills. This leadership theory was known as the “Great Man Theory.” In the 1900’s the study of leadership as a concept was viewed as a concept that played uniformly in all fields (Bass, 1998, p.46). This means that elites, political leaders, military leaders, and cultural chiefs were seen as possessing the same skill of leadership. Therefore, leadership was viewed as being an art that was only possessed by a few people in society. These people were believed to have an in-built genius and were admired by the rest of the society. However, the fact remains that this theory was not necessarily true. This is because some of the leadership skills were handed over through a hierarchical framework which means that the recipients and heirs of a given position of leadership did not necessarily have the skill to lead.
In the 1930’s, leadership studies developed a new concept known as” Group Theory.” In this theory, scholars believed that leadership had the ability to be created and developed within a particular group of people. Since the Great Depression took place during this time, governments sort for leadership skills that would be more effective in getting more people to participate in the process of economic reconstruction. It became evident that more egalitarian forms of leadership would cause more people to cooperate with their leaders. This caused many organization and business units to shun the “great man” theory so as to allow more people to participate in the reform process.
Between 1940 and 1950 there was the development of the trait theory. This theory argued that all leaders across the world had some characteristics that were the same. This theory took the position that “leaders are born, not made, and that a leader has a specific set of traits” (Bass, 1985, p.18). This theory had that assumption that leadership traits could be passed across genes which means that a leader would also beget a leader. The trait theory seemed to draw many of its assumptions from the “great man theory.”
In the period between 1960 and 1970, there was the development of another leadership theory known as the “contingency or situational leadership theory”. This theory held that there wasn’t a specific set of characteristics that helped define an effective leader (Bass, 1991, p.24). This theory attempted to connect different leadership traits to different situations. However, this theory failed in that there were different incidences where traits that were not considered as being practically workable in given contexts end up producing unexpected results.
In the late 1970’s onwards, scholars developed the idea of transformational leadership. The transformational leadership theory capitalized on the idea of group excellence. The Transformational leadership theory argued that “the interaction of traits, behaviors, key situations, and group facilitation would allow people to lead different groups and organizations to higher levels of excellence” (Burns, 1978, p.33).
V. Components of Transformational Leadership
The second component of transformational leadership is inspirational motivation. This refers to the extent to which a leader is able to bring an idea on the table and make the ideal appealing and inspirational to his or her followers. Transformational leaders have to be able to handle pressure from the members of the group or organization. This is because some group members require them to have a higher ability to be able to convince them (Yuki, 1999, p.287).Therefore; the leader has to set his or her bar relatively higher to their followers, failure to which the leader would face massive opposition within the group or organization. Some of the skills that a transformational leader has to possess so as to be able to convince his or her followers are good communication skills and persuasion. In order to successfully persuade a group of people a transformational leader has to have the ability to make their ideas seem visionary. They have to be able to account to their follows how their ideas will be able to raise member of the group to a higher level.
The third component of transformational leadership is intellectual stimulation. A transformational leader has to be a risk taker. They have to be in a position to challenge workable hypothesis to come up with their own way of doing things. In addition, transformational leaders have to be able to encourage their followers to be more creative. This means that no idea within the group is considered as being wrong (Yuki, 1999, p.291). Any innovative idea within the group is welcome and is worth being evaluated. In this way followers can be able to interact in a better way with their leaders and with their fellow followers. Overcoming the communication barriers within a given group or organization allows more people to feel as being part of the group. In this way they can be able to speak their mind in that they can identify themselves with a given group or organization.
The fourth component of transformational leadership is individual attention. A transformational leader has to have the ability to meet the needs of every member of a given group or organization (Bass, 1994, p.32). There is no member of the group that should feel left out. This is because the lack of cooperation from one of the group member has a negative effect to the organization no matter how minute the effect is. Therefore, transformational leaders should act as mentors to every member of the organization. They should be ready to listen and act to the problems facing their followers. Transformational leaders should not only focus on address the needs and concerns of their followers but they should also respect the contribution that every follower brings into the organization. It is important to note that every group member makes a different contribution to the organization. They are group members who make financial contribution, physical contributions, or even the provision of physical labor to the operations of the organization. The diversity of the contribution within a given organization is in retrospect the strength of the organization. This means that the organization cannot operate efficiently without the contribution of one of the follows. Therefore, transformational leaders should take time to celebrate the contributions that each follower brings into the organization.
VI. Transformational Leadership Theory in Practice
The success of the transformational theory rests on the transformational leader. A transformational leader has to have a clear sense of his thoughts, emotions, and ideas. Transformational leadership call for a greater awareness about how one’s action as a leader affects the actions of the followers of a certain group or organization. A transformational also has to be consistent in the way that they act and conduct the operations of the organization. Consistency in the part of the transformational leader increases the authenticity of the transformational leader in the perspective of his or her followers (Greenleaf, 2003, p.39).
The approach to leadership with the transformational leadership is different from other models of leadership. Unlike other entities like the nation-state where the leadership is characterized by competition and hierarchy frameworks, transformational leadership articulates the idea that leadership should seek to improving social relationships between leaders and their followers making the outcome of teamwork sustainable in the perspective of all parties. This outcome is different in other models of leadership in that every member benefits thereby making the people with power not to exercise their control to their own selfish advantage.
In a nutshell, the practice of transformational leadership rests on the ideas that the transformational leader should have a clearly defined line of thought and ways of acting so as to enhance consistency. Secondly, a transformational leader has to have to ability to be connected not only to his own ideas but also to the ideas of his followers (Pielstick, 1998, p.63). This means that a transformational leader should not be ignorant of the ideas of the followers. Third, a transformational leader has to be flexible enough to be open to new entrepreneur ideas brought to the table by his followers and be ready to learn from his followers (Bass, 1994, p.57). Finally, a transformational leader has to pay attention to his followers at an individual level so to enhance trust and stimulate motivation within the entire organization.
VII. Distinction between Transformational and Transactional Leadership Theory
Unlike transformational leadership theory that gives attention to followers at an individual level, transactional leadership theory “seeks to motivate followers by appealing to their own self-interests. Transactional leaders use conventional reward and punishment to gain compliance from their followers.” (Bass, 1990, p.28) Instead of a Laissez Faire framework that is exhibited within a transformational Leadership framework, transactional leaders do not trust their followers. They subject their followers to constant monitoring in that they understand that unless an incentive is extended to their followers they are not motivated to work towards meeting the set goals of a given organization. Burns explains that transactional leadership ” occurs when one person takes the initiative in making contact with others for the purpose of an exchange of valued things”(Burns, 1978, p.19).
VIII. Conclusion
In conclusion, transformational leadership theory focuses on the idea of enhancing sustainable gain of both followers and leaders of an organization. This theory has evolved over the years in that scholars have tried to come up with a concrete definition of this form of leadership. However the four components that constitutes this theory center on the role of the transformational leader. These components include the charisma of the transformational leader, the ability of the transformational leader to instill motivation in his followers, the ability of a leader to stimulate entrepreneur ideas among his followers, and the capacity of a transformational leader to address the concerns and needs of his followers at an individual level.
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