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2012, 2016

Understanding Transformational Leadership Theory

By |December 20th, 2016|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

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Transformational leadership theory is accepted in academia as legitimate due to sufficient research data. Bass (1994) distinguishes four factors that characterize this theory including: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Transformational leaders integrate creative insight, persistence and energy, intuition and sensitivity to the needs of others to “forge the strategy culture alloy” for their organizations (p. 542).

There is little mention of introspection, genuineness, or emotional maturity as part of the transformational leader’s attributes, but some tangentially associated leadership theories point to these skills (or states of being) as central to being a credible and effective transformational change agent. A few of these theories include authentic leadership theory, servant leadership theory, reflective leadership theory, and emotional intelligence theory. Landy and Conte (2007) refer to authentic leadership as being “…added to the discussion of transformational leadership” (p. 522). Authentic leadership is distinguished by relational transparency and emotional balance. Walumbwa, et al., (2008) further present research results that show that employees are more engaged at work under this style of leadership because they feel “…supported, recognized, and developed by their managers” (p. 122).

Among a list of attributes that resemble transformational leadership theory, Spears (2009) identifies the following skills as primary in servant leadership: listening, empathy, healing, and awareness (p. 20). Closely related to servant leadership theory is reflective leadership theory. This type of leader has “awareness of thoughts and feelings to gain more complete views, new paradigms of thought, and other new perspectives leading to more effective action”(Welch, 1998, p. 3).

Another important theory is emotional intelligence. Landy and Conte (2007) grudgingly mentions the concept referring to the minimal amount of empirical data and dismissing the concept as “…occupying a minor role in predicting work success” (p. 110). Alternatively, Goleman (1995) describes emotional intelligence (or EQ as opposed to IQ) as highly correlated to performance, and presents the following data:

  1. Research on 181 jobs at 121 companies worldwide showed that two out of three abilities vital for success were emotional competencies such as trustworthiness, adaptability and a talent for collaboration.
  2. According to a study of what corporations seek when they hire MBAs, the three most desired capabilities are the EQ elements of communication skills, interpersonal skills and initiative.
  3. Emotional intelligence matters in surprising places such as computer programming, where the top 10% of performers exceeded average performers in producing effective programs by 320%, and the superstars at the 1% level produced an amazing 1,272% more than average. Assessments of these top performers revealed that they were better at such things as teamwork, staying late to finish a project and sharing shortcuts with coworkers. In short, the best performers didn’t compete — they collaborated.
  4. Studies of close to 500 organizations worldwide indicate that people who score highest on EQ measures rise to the top of corporations. Among other things, these “star employees” possess more interpersonal skills and confidence than “regular employees” who receive less favorable performance reviews.

The absence of acceptance of theories that value emotion and authenticity is understandable both in academia and in organizations. Acceptance of our emotions involves sometimes painful awareness that the intellectual academic environment avoids like a plague, and the achievement-oriented business world views as a time-wasting annoyance. Transformational leadership theory, however, points to the high success of leaders who are able to model congruent behavior therefore engendering trust. But the absence of an explanation related to how these leaders developed “transformational” abilities is conspicuous and may be contained in these associated theories.

Carl Jung (1966) offers a glimpse into the true root of transformational leadership, writing, “We do not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by calling the darkness into consciousness” (p. 129). In this unique time in history when a cascade of prominent business leaders have been toppled by their lack of consciousness, there may be a small crack in academic and organizational rigidity allowing the exploration of the inner path to enlightenment toward true mature leadership.

References

Bass, B. M. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications (4th ed.). New York: Free Press.

Bass, B. M., Avolio, B. J. (1994). Transformational leadership and organizational culture. International Journal of Public Administration, 17, 541-554.

Jung, C. (1966) Two Essays in Analytical Psychology. Princeton University Press.

Landy, F. J., & Conte, J. M. (2007). Work in the 21st century: An introduction to industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Spears, L.. (2009). Servant leadership. Leadership Excellence, 26(5), 20-31).  Retrieved October 22, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global.

Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Wernsing, T. S., & Peterson, S. J. (2008). Authentic leadership: Development and validation of a theory-based measure. Journal of Management, 34, 89-126.\

Welch, D. V. (1998).  Reflective leadership: The stories of five leaders successfully building generative organizational culture. Ph.D. dissertation, The Union Institute, United States, Ohio.

1312, 2016

What’s the Difference Between Transactional Leadership and Transformational Leadership?

By |December 13th, 2016|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

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Leaders operate in many different capacities. Bass (2008) describes the evolution of identifying leadership functions from early simplifications such as “planners”, “organizers” and “controllers” to descriptions that include over 66 leadership roles. Tom Peters (2003) concludes his bold writing on leadership excellence with 50 functions that leaders fulfill. Leadership styles are equally diverse. Bass (2008) refers to leadership styles as “ways that leaders and managers pattern their interactive behavior with those they influence” (p. 41). This writing will first examine manager vs. leader roles and then transformational leadership vs. transactional leadership styles.

One way to view the topic of leadership roles is to distinguish between the functions of managers and leaders. The management role is focused on the present and making sure things get done efficiently and properly whereas leadership can be described as being more concerned with vision, growth, inspiration, and planning what is to come. Addis (2008) writes, “Managing is about stewardship, control, planning, organizing, resource allocation and problem solving. Leading is the process of influencing others to achieve mutually agreed upon goals for the good of the organization” (p. 230).

Both of these roles are concerned with the ultimate achievement of shared goals and are required in functional organizations. As an artist with some well-developed abilities to imagine possibilities and inspire creativity, this writer has failed miserably in organizational settings when not partnered with a true manager who revels in the day-to-day details. Conversely, a former colleague and co-director (or manager) of a non-profit could be heard whistling merrily as she juggled the numbers (her favorite activity) for our successful community service project.

The transactional leadership style is different from the transformational leadership style in much the same way. Transactional leaders focus on the material outcomes and transformational leaders are more interested in inspiration, vision, idealism, and challenge to the status quo (Bass, 2008, p, 42). Transactional leaders sometimes operate on a reward and punishment model to accomplish tasks. An example might be the politician who is a master at making deals. On the other hand, an example of a transformational leader is Lou Gerstner – retired Chairman and CEO of IBM. He turned IBM around from an $8.1 billion loss in 1993 after identifying part of the company’s problem as ‘success syndrome’. That is, having been one of the greatest commercial institutions on earth from the 1960s-1980s, IBM had become insular and rigid. Gerstner completely transformed the culture of the organization through, for example, modeling desired behavior and abolishing IBM’s notorious dress code to reflect better the attire of their customers (Sheppard, 2002). This style relies on a different set of motivational techniques than the more Pavlovian transactional style.

Most leader’s roles and styles operate on a continuum depending on the situation, and the full range of abilities is required for long-term success. Whether as an internal personality function or through partnering, the visionary leader needs the task-focused manager—practical transactional leadership needs the skills of inspirational transformational leadership.

References

Addis, S. (2008). Leading vs. managing. Rough Notes, 151(9), 230-233.  Retrieved October 13, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global.

Bass, B. M. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications (4th ed.). New York: Free Press.

Peters, T. (2003). Re-imagine! Business excellence in a disruptive age. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Sheppard, P. (2002). Leading the turnaround: Lou Gerstner of IBM. Wharton Leadership Digest 7(5).

712, 2016

Donald Trump’s Popularity is a Healthy Sign for the Direction of Leadership in America

By |December 7th, 2016|Categories: news|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

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It is almost impossible to be vulnerable and transparent as a public leader in our culture. That is why Clinton remained wooden and completely absent from her body during the election. If she showed emotion, she may well have been torn to shreds. See Smith, Brescoll, & Thomas (2016) on the extra challenge women have to face in leadership roles.

We will never know what might have been different if she had shown some emotion and acknowledged the hurtful rhetoric about her marriage. Imagine this scene: “Donald, that is a very painful memory for me, is that really necessary?” and to allow a natural tear to come. It could have been a powerful moment, but she chose to be very controlled—understandable but unfortunate.

Trump, on the other hand, very carefully says things that seem spontaneous and off the cuff: “Nasty woman”, “build a wall”, “illegal votes”, etc. He knows that we crave authentic leadership (Goffee & Jones, 2000; Nienaber, Hofeditz & Romeike, 2015). He plays that card boldly, and apparently even a rehearsed and poorly performed version of genuine expression is good enough for many of us who crave anything real.

There is growing research that points to our strong desire for authentic leadership, genuine, and emotionally intelligent people in leadership positions (Brown, 2012). The upside of Emotional Intelligence (EI) is that it can be trained (Goleman, 2006) – a downside is that it can be faked.

The basic components of emotional intelligence are “Self Awareness” or paying attention to internal emotional states, “Empathy” – caring about the emotional states of others, “Emotional Regulation and Expression” – having the ability to effectively manage anger or fear and to express it when appropriate, and “Presence” – being vulnerable and spontaneous. In short, emotional intelligence is being emotionally connected and real. Though certainly not a model of emotional intelligence, Trump intentionally played to our desire for authentic leadership.

I train leadership teams to use Emotional Intelligence as a way to succeed in their business. It works. Most of these leaders desire genuine transformation and acquire the ability to be much more present and effective in their leadership roles (see below).

https://creativelifeinstitute.com/leadership-programs/authentic-leadership-programs/

The Authentic Leadership process has given our tier one management team clarity and purpose. The tools have allowed us to disagree, change, and achieve 40% growth revenues! We have expanded the program to our tier two leaders.
–Bud Walters, Owner Pieper Electric

Bob and his team are master facilitators.
–Jeff Goldring, Owner Republic Beverage

The program helped our leader team get real. It was a major turning point for us and is an ongoing breath of fresh air for the entire company.
–Jim Mousner, Principal Origin Design

 References

Brown, B. (2012). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. New York, NY: Gotham Books.

Goffee, R., & Jones, G. (2000). Why should anyone be led by you? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/1710.html

Goleman, D. (2006). Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Books.

Nienaber, A.-M., Hofeditz, M., & Romeike, P. D. (2015). Vulnerability and trust in leader-follower relationships. Personnel Review, 44(4), 567.

Smith, J. S., Brescoll, V. L., & Thomas, E. L. (2016). Constrained by emotion: Women, leadership, and expressing emotion in the workplace. In M. L. Connerley & J. Wu (Eds.),Handbook on well-being of working women (pp. 209–224). Springer Netherlands.