A leadership style is a narrow and specific behaviour compared to a model or philosophy. Leadership style may be strongly influenced by the leader's personality, the aims of the leader, and relationship with followers. A style is a description of a leader's behaviours, and may also be like a tool in the leadership models toolkit.
Transformational and Transactional Leadership
James MacGregor Burns, who studied political leaders like Roosevelt and Kennedy, first described these two distinct styles of leadership in his 1978 book, Leadership. He used the word ' transforming ' rather than ' transformational'. Both terms are used here, and they mean the same.
Definitions of the Two Styles of Leadership
Transforming Leadership | Transactional Leadership |
Where the leader taps into his followers' higher needs and values, inspires them with new possibilities that have strong appeal and raises their level of confidence, conviction and desire to achieve a common, moral purpose. | Where the leader causes a follower to act in a certain way in return for something the follower wants to have (or avoid). For example, by offering higher pay in return for increased productivity; or tax cuts in exchange for votes. |
Many political leaders demonstrate the transactional style. Mahatma Gandhi was an exemplar (a typical example) of someone who leads using the transforming or transformational style. The transformational leadership style therefore can overlap with the servant leadership philosophy.
There are three main differences between the two styles of transformational and transactional leadership:
- The first involves purpose
- The second involves morality
- The third involves the timescale or time horizon
Differences between Transformational and Transactional Leadership Styles
Transforming | Transactional | |
| Purpose | A shared higher, the more stretching purpose is central to transformational leadership. | No shared purpose binds follower and leader, other than perhaps maintaining the status quo. |
| Morality | Burns said there is always a moral aspect to transforming leadership.* | There is no explicit moral side to transactional leadership - the leader's aims may be moral or immoral. |
| Timescale | Transforming leadership centres on longer-term, more difficult (often more inspiring) aims. | Transactional leadership usually focuses on leaders' and followers' shorter-term needs. |
* So although Hitler transformed Germany in the 1930s, under Burns' definition he would not be a transforming leader. Some scholars have used the term 'pseudo-transformational leaders' for those who pursue immoral aims.
While the defining feature of transactional leadership is a two-way exchange ("I'll give you this if you give me that"), the main features of transforming leadership are an inspiration, mobilisation and moral purpose.
- Indeed, MacGregor Burns summarised transforming leadership: "Such leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality."
- When he talked about morality, he meant leadership that "...can produce social change that will satisfy followers' authentic needs."
- Of the two styles, transforming leadership is more likely to achieve major change than transactional leadership - mainly because, by definition, the former goes after more ambitious goals.
Bernard Bass
Bernard Bass (author of Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations, 1985) built on MacGregor Burns' ideas. He used the term 'transformational leadership' instead of 'transforming leadership' and since then most authors have followed his lead.
Bass also strengthened the idea that transformational leaders have a greater impact when he wrote: "Transactional leaders work within the organisational culture as it exists; the transformational leader changes the organisational culture. "
Bass argued that there are four keys to successful transformational leadership:
- Trust - building a high degree of trust between leaders and followers by setting a high moral and ethical example. He called this idealised influence.
- Inspiration - providing a vision or goals that inspire and motivate followers to act because they feel the direction they are going in is significant and worthwhile. This he called inspirational motivation.
- Creativity - giving people the big picture and a way of working that allows them to question conventional wisdom and come up with fresh solutions to old problems. He called this intellectual stimulation.
- Personal growth - paying attention to followers as individuals with their own needs and ambitions, offering them coaching and mentoring, enabling them to grow and feel fulfilled. This he called individual consideration.
Can Both Leadership Styles be Combined?
Although we are referring to two different styles of leadership, it wouldn't be correct to say that someone must be either a transformational leader or a transactional leader. It is possible to combine both styles.
- It is also reasonable to suggest that no leader need be confined to one or other of these two styles because as we shall see, other styles certainly exist, and this is before we consider the potential influence of philosophies and models upon any leader's chosen methods and development.
That said, while we are presently concerned with transformational and transactional styles, consider this example of 'style switching':
- While leaders in transformational mode would normally try to attain the backing of followers by appealing to their values and offering an inspirational vision, the leader may meet resistance.
- At times like this, a leader may adopt the transactional style to create more of a traditional exchange by trading something that the leadership can offer (desired by followers) in return for something the leadership seeks from the followers.
The transactional leadership style often works well - provided everyone knows and agrees on the goals, priorities and methods. However, the transactional style may not work when the situation calls for a big change in direction, or circumstances demand creative problem-solving. In such a climate, a transformational style is often required and tends to be more successful.
Overlaps with Other Leadership Philosophies
You will notice that the transformational leadership style overlaps with the leadership philosophies:
- Authentic leadership - in its appeal to values
- Ethical leadership - in its insistence on morality, and as already mentioned
- Servant leadership - in helping followers to achieve bigger aims and personal potential
To a far lesser degree, transformational leadership can be a limited feature within aspects of leadership models which allow and respond to the growth of followers, for example, we can recognise transformational elements in:
- Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum - later stages involving high trust and serious responsibility delegation
- Situational Leadership® - the 'Delegating' (M4) mode of leadership enabling followers to self-lead
As suggested several times previously, we see a demonstration that these various ideas on leadership may be distinct, but they are not necessarily separate from each other.
Acknowledgements
James Scouller Biography
We are grateful to James Scouller for his help, patience, and expert contribution to producing this leadership guide.
James Scouller is an expert coach and partner at The Scouller Partnership in the UK, which specialises in coaching leaders. He was chief executive of three international companies for eleven years before becoming a professional coach in 2004. He holds two postgraduate coaching qualifications and training in applied psychology at the Institute of Psychosynthesis in London.
James Scouller's book is called "The Three Levels of Leadership: How to Develop Your Leadership Presence, Know-how and Skill" which was published in May 2011.
- You can learn more about James Scouller's book at three-levels-of-leadership.com.
- Details of James Scouller's executive coaching work are at TheScoullerPartnership.co.uk.
Charismatic Leadership
Charisma Origins and Definition
The word 'charisma' comes originally from the Greek language. It meant basically 'gift', from the Greek kharisma and kharis, meaning 'grace' or 'favour' - a favour or grace or gift given by God.
- The modern meaning has altered greatly, but the original meaning resonates appealingly today because charismatic leaders rely on their personality 'gifts' to influence people and shape their future.
These gifts can include great wisdom or insight, heroism, extraordinary certainty about the future, and perhaps even the claim of a direct link to God, by which a leader may refer to 'God' (or a similar sense of righteousness) as a guide/justification/judge for a difficult and controversial decision. The use of 'God' in such situations of course avoids a degree of personal accountability (on the basis that 'God's judgement' cannot be questioned, and certainly not by followers), and is also a very effective 'charismatic power' technique - whether conscious or otherwise - for a leader to appeal to a big majority of followers by referring to a big scary mysterious force (God) that is implied to approve of the leader's actions.
- The 'God factor' is by no means central to charismatic leadership, but it very relevantly illustrates the 'follower projection', which is a crucial feature of this leadership style.
What is Charismatic Leadership?
Charismatic leadership demands more than just a remarkable personality. The followers must also project an image of specialness and authority onto the leader and give the leader power over them.
Charismatic leadership, therefore, relies on the twin effect of a leader's personality and a strong belief by followers that this special person is the one to lead them in their hour of need.
German sociologist and political economist Max Weber (1864-1920) too saw charismatic leadership distinctly as a relationship between leader and followers.
- In Weber's view, it has no moral dimension; it can be a force for good or evil.
- Using Weber's definition, there is a single indicator of charismatic leadership, which is: do the followers grant authority to the leader based on their view of his or her special gifts? If the answer is yes, this is charismatic leadership. In Weber's eyes, therefore, Adolf Hitler was as much a charismatic leader as Jesus Christ.
Without separate support (such as a loyal army or secret police) these leaders can only hold power while followers continue to believe in the leader's specialness. If the leader disappoints the followers in some way, perhaps because previously hidden flaws are exposed, or the leader fails to deliver promises, the followers' belief tends to fade, draining the authority of the leader.
For this reason, charismatic leadership runs the risk of being unstable and short-lived.
- Charismatic leadership is greatly dependent on credibility.
- The leader's power remains unless credibility is lost.
- When a leader loses credibility, the followers seek new leadership or ways to oust the damaged leader.
To guard against this risk, charismatic leadership may involve a 'cult of personality' to prevent followers from realising that their leader is less impressive than they think.
- Accordingly, propaganda and manipulation of media are often used to create and uphold an idealised public image of the leader, often backed up by extreme flattery and praise.
- We see this in political 'spin' and the work of 'spin doctors'. We also see it in certain organisations, such as Richard Branson's Virgin empire, in which the leader's image is very strongly managed through intensive PR (Public Relations) activities.
- All large corporations employ PR agencies to help present the corporation in a positive light in the media. For many high-profile organisations, the protection and enhancement of the leader's image is a big priority in these publicity methods.
Although charismatic leadership can be short-lived, it can also leave a lasting legacy if the leader's policies and teachings are preserved in laws, rules and norms and there is a bureaucracy to uphold them. You will see this long ago happening, for example, in the major religions of the world. We are perhaps seeing the establishment of substantial legacies in modern times too in the charisma and reputation of recent charismatic leaders such as Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and Fidel Castro.
Charismatic leadership can be effective in the sense that it can cause swift change:
- Followers become highly mobilised and enthused.
- We see the potential for action by followers on a vast scale when a particularly charismatic figure dies. Princess Diana is a notable example. Millions of people are moved to action, motivated by the effect of a human presence who for extraordinary reasons can captivate a vast audience.
- The same sort of huge effect of a charismatic person on a big group of followers is also demonstrated by the influence of major figures in music and sport. Some people achieve so much success that they are able to transfer their reputations and followings to entirely different arenas, for example:
- Imran Khan, the Pakistani politician and former cricketing hero.
- Victoria Beckham, the wife of footballer David Beckham, has successfully migrated and developed a huge following from the world of pop music to fashion and business.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former bodybuilder and film star became a very long-serving Governor of California.
- And in December 2011 the Russian Duma lower house of parliament welcomed three newly elected members: 'Playboy Russia' Covergirl Maria Kozhevnikova, boxer Nikolai Valuyev, and tennis player Marat Safin.
Many of these examples are not leaders in a traditional sense, but they have commanded/do command a significant following. They influence other people's behaviour and thinking. They do so largely because of their relationship with their followers, within which the vital element and source of the leader's 'power' is the special quality that the followers project onto the 'leader'.
What all this tells us is that charismatic leadership is very much dependent on the perceptions and needs of followers, especially followers who are impressed or seduced by powerful human images of success, capability, achievement, etc. There is a need for many people to follow this sort of ideal image. The decision to follow leaders like this has relatively lower dependence on a reasoned analysis of what the leader will do - it is far more driven by how the leader makes the followers feel.
It is not surprising given the subjective and emotional drivers involved, that charismatic leadership offers potentially big risks for followers, and also to other people who may be affected by such a vast, energised, and emotionally-charged following.
Dangers and Risks of Charismatic Leadership
Here are examples of the risks associated with charismatic leadership:
- Charismatic leadership - probably more than any other sort of leadership style, philosophy, model, or any other leadership method - can be used for evil or unethical purposes. Examples throughout history up to modern times are sadly plentiful.
- Charismatic leadership can create dependency among followers. This may cause followers to assume that the leader and supporting team have all the answers, and so followers take less responsibility for themselves and for (perhaps vital) initiatives. This effect ironically threatens charismatic leaders, when, lacking innovation and responsibility in the ranks of the followers, organisational aims are increasingly missed, group effectiveness and results reduce, and so the leader's credibility suffers, together with the wellbeing of the dependent followers.
- Charismatic leadership can encourage a belief among followers that the leader is infallible. No one questions the leader's authority or judgement or decisions, even when seen to be wrong. And so the group effort fails.
- Charismatic leadership is more likely to produce early group/organisational failures - because the charismatic leader is actually incapable or out of his/her depth.
- Other examples can be seen wherever a leader's power is based chiefly on a specialness projected onto the leader by followers. These situations perhaps teach us more about the inadequacies of followers, than the inadequacies of their leaders.
Charisma does, however, have a part to play in effective leadership when we view it as a genuinely positive quality of the leader, rather than a superficially 'special' quality projected by a group of followers. To understand this it is useful to redefine charisma.
Charismatic Leadership and 'Presence'
James Scouller says in The Three Levels of Leadership that charisma is not the same as 'presence'. He defines charisma as:
- "A combination of outer charm, power and persuasiveness."
Scouller points out that a leader may appear charismatic largely through skilful acting, and describes this quality as an outer image lacking a deeper core. He contrasts this with 'presence', which he defines as: "An inner sense of wholeness with an outer reflection.
- Leaders with presence may be charismatic in style, but equally, they may be quiet or contemplative.
- Leaders who rely on charisma alone - that is, without presence - lack the depth, resilience and capacity for wisdom, which we see in leaders whose charisma flows from their underlying presence."
Overlap with Other Leadership Models/Styles
There is obviously an overlap between the transformational leadership and charismatic leadership styles where the transforming leader is also charismatic. The two styles, however, are quite different.
- The transforming leader's focus is, by definition, on positive, moral change.
- Charismatic leaders may not want to change anything - they may want to preserve the status quo - and, as we've seen, they may also use their power for immoral aims.
- Somewhat obviously, where a charismatic leader behaves also with narcissistic tendencies (very selfish, self-admiring and craving admiration of others) then Charismatic leadership overlaps or may equate to narcissistic leadership, which is explained next.
Narcissistic Leadership
Narcissism Origin and Definition
First, the dictionary definition of narcissism, in a psychological context is:
- "Extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one's own talents and a craving for admiration, as characterizing a personality type ." (Oxford English Dictionary)
In fact, the term is applied far more widely than this, depending on the context, from reference to severe mental disorder, ranging through many informal social interpretations typically referring to elitism and arrogance, and at the opposite end of the scale, to a healthy interest in one's own mind and wellbeing, related to feelings of high emotional security - the opposite of insecurity and inadequacy.
What is Narcissistic Leadership?
As for narcissistic leadership, the dictionary definition of narcissism is a good starting point, but as we shall see, this leadership style is very difficult to define precisely and is arguably better viewed as a flexible scale or a sort of continuum.
- Narcissistic leadership is a style that began to capture public attention from 2000 onwards following a flurry of articles and books by Michael Maccoby, Kets de Vries and others.
In essence, narcissistic leadership refers to leadership by a narcissist and the co-dependent relationship it involves between the leader and his closest circle of followers.
Narcissism - in a negative psychological and leadership sense - stems from an unconscious active behavioural response to deep, unrecognised feelings of inadequacy. This means that the person is unconsciously driven by hidden feelings of inadequacy, to behave in a controlling and energetic way, which enables dominance and initiative.
The passive response to a narcissistic condition does not produce a leadership intent, instead commonly people:
- Feel deeply inadequate
- Believe failure comes from trying new or bold things, and so
- Decide that it's better not to take a risk
- Basically, people think that risk = failure = humiliation, so avoid risk and then for sure feel inadequate, or justify avoidance by saying the risky opportunity was of no value or misguided
However, conventionally described narcissists respond to their feelings of inadequacy in the opposite way and are more extraverted and outward in their behaviours. They tend to strive to succeed in public, to be better than others, to have more than others, to feel superior and to win respect, admiration, and acclaim from others.
The main feature of the narcissist in a leadership context is a drive to succeed, motivated by a (usually) hidden sense of inferiority and inadequacy.
However, as already explained, narcissism varies in intensity from very mild (basically inconsequential) to pathological conditions (referring to sickness/disease/illness).
- At the pathological end is a severe personality disorder. It is tempting to suggest that some of today's biggest corporations, and some countries, are led by people possessing such extreme tendencies, although this might be a slight exaggeration; hopefully, you see the point.
- Narcissism, perhaps especially in extreme forms, can enable and sustain leaders in significant leadership roles, for a significant time. The situation will probably be very unhealthy for their followers and for lots more people connected to the group, but the leader, given extreme narcissism will not be troubled by this at all.
Charisma and Narcissism Overlaps
Conversely, there are various forms and interpretations of positive healthy narcissism. For each possible negative characteristic there exists a positive alternative:
An interesting paper, ' The long-term organizational impact of destructively narcissistic managers ' (Roy Lubit, 2002) published by the Academy of Management in 2002, highlighted examples of this positive/negative aspect of narcissism by contrasting the positive/negative effects of certain impulses, the main examples summarised here:
- Confidence - is potentially helpful or unrealistic ;
- Power/admiration-seeking - is potentially healthy energy or reckless ;
- Relationships - potentially entail concern for others, or 'spin' and remorseless exploitation of others
- Consistency/direction - potentially has values or lacks values
The variable interpretation of this trait inevitably hinders a specific definition of 'narcissistic leadership'. Aside from deciding whether narcissism contains healthy elements or not, assumptions are required as to the extent of negativity. Simply - how serious is the leader's narcissistic behaviour? Logically then we can think of narcissistic leadership as being a flexible concept or continuum.
A very basic presentation of a 'narcissistic leadership continuum' is offered below.
- The continuum is expressed with a strong bias towards the negative extreme because in practice this is more typical in groups where a narcissistic leader is in charge.
- Also, this leadership style would be relatively unremarkable if the majority of narcissistic leaders had positive healthy personalities. In reality, narcissistic leadership succeeds (with limited and qualified and sometimes disastrous effects) because of a leader's negative tendencies. These may combine constantly or occasionally with a few positive aspects, but broadly the effects of narcissistic leadership are negative.
Narcissistic Leadership Continuum
| < ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Narcissistic Leadership -----------------------------------------------------------------------> | ||
| Healthy/Positive | Grey area | Unhealthy/Destructive/Negative |
Visionary. Fun. Attracts followers. Acts boldly. Initiates. Driven. Energetic. Vulnerable. | Positive and negative aspects merge here. Positive aspects may be or occasionally become prominent and enabling towards aims, which helps to sustain the style and the leader, and the followers. | Leader does not have a good self-image. Gathers people who bolster the leader's self-esteem. Co-dependence between leader and followers if they also suffer hidden feelings of inadequacy. Without realising it, followers cluster around the narcissistic leader to feel better about themselves by association. Followers work with the 'impressive, important leader so we too must share these qualities to some degree' - or so they believe. There is an emotional and potentially material and reputational benefit for leader and followers. |
The sense of inadequacy that drives a narcissistic leader is also the source of the common problems of narcissistic leadership. This is because these leaders are often:
- Prone to grandiose, unrealistic visions and over-estimating their wisdom and judgement - so they may take foolish risks.
- Unusually sensitive to criticism and liable to fly into a rage - which makes it hard and risky to disagree with them or tell them the bad news. It can also make them slow to learn.
- Lacking in empathy - and because narcissistic leaders are often very 'street-wise', followers may be exploited with no care for consequences. This is unethical and potentially unlawful too (given the rightful toughening of employment laws), and eventually causes followers to desert or mutiny if exploitation is too great and rewards are too scant.
- Likely to gather a bunch of 'yes-men' around them, which can lead to poor decisions.
- Distrustful and so keen to win that they can create an atmosphere of infighting, suspicion and intense internal competition, making teamwork harder.
Overlap with Other Leadership Models/Styles
Note that narcissistic leadership and charismatic leadership can overlap because narcissists are often charismatic.
- There are other similar characteristics between the styles - potentially many, given the vagueness of the two styles.
- However, not all charismatic leaders are acting from a deep unrecognised sense of inadequacy.
Again we see that a leadership style offers lots of useful insights as to what makes leadership effective and ineffective, but also demonstrates that a leadership style is not a suitable theoretical concept by which to teach, learn, apply and adapt effective leadership.
What is Transactional Leadership?
Transactional Leadership is a behavioural leadership theory which focuses on the link between supervision, organisation and group performance.
- Transactional Leadership is a theory or style first discussed by sociologist Max Weber in 1947 and later expanded upon by Bernard M. Bass, who also played a leading role in the development of Transformational Leadership.
Transactional Leadership is also often known as Managerial Leadership, due to its objective focus on supervision, organisation and group performance.
The basic assumptions of Transactional Leadership are:
- People perform at their best when the chain of command is definite and clear.
- Rewards and punishments motivate workers.
- Obeying the instructions and commands of the leader is the primary goal of the followers.
- Subordinates require careful monitoring to ensure that expectations are met.
It is based on the simple behavioural tenet of motivators. Unlike models such as Transformational Leadership, which target individual development and freedom as a motivator, the main focus of transactional leaders is on specific tasks, using rewards and punishments as incentives and motivation.
- When employees are successful, they are rewarded and when they are unsuccessful, they are reprimanded.
- It is popular in environments such as sports teams and proves an incredibly powerful motivator for players from game to game.
Also unlike Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership focusses on maintaining the status quo, rather than trying to shift the values or culture of the organisation. Leaders do not sell changes to their subordinates, instead, they dictate and assign tasks.
Rewards and Punishments in Transactional Leadership
Transactional leaders view the relationship between employee and leader as an exchange.
- One offers the other something (e.g. a task) for something in return (e.g. a reward).
- Rules, procedures, and standards are crucial to Transactional Leadership, as any deviation from any of these must result in a punishment. Equally, good performance will be rewarded.
Transactional Leaders Clearly Define Organisational and Individual Objectives
Tasks and objectives are the focus of any Transactional Leader - the process is entirely about getting results.
- Transactional leaders will carefully monitor and track the progress of their employees.
- Carefully constructed performance management systems are crucial to ensure that employees are being rewarded or punished appropriately for their output, and for their accordance with the rules and standards of the organisation.
- Rewards and punishments are at the discretion of the leader but must be standardised across employee performance.
Applicability of Transactional Leadership
Transactional Analysis is not about driving or developing new, pioneering visions for the future. Instead, its systematic and objective nature of it is suited to maintaining the status quo.
Individuals are not encouraged to go above or beyond their role, just to efficiently and successfully perform their assigned tasks. These leaders are good at setting expectations and are often expected to clearly communicate roles and feedback on future and previous tasks in order to improve employee productivity.
Transactional Leadership is Most Suitable when Problems are Simple and Well-defined
Transactional Analysis does not encourage employees to look for new solutions to problems. Instead, they are encouraged to enact already-tested answers to regular, well-defined issues.
- It is often suitable in 'crisis situations' where everyone is required to complete their allocated tasks, and it is the leader or manager's role to maintain the status quo and to keep the ship afloat.
- As the model is designed only to maintain the integrity and performance of the group, it is often considered limited to helping individuals (both employee and leader) to achieve their full potential.
Summary
You should now be familiar with the concept of Transactional Leadership; its strengths, weaknesses, and when it is applicable in everyday and workplace scenarios.
The key assumptions of Transactional Leadership:
- Individuals perform best when the chain of command is clear and well-defined
- Rewards and punishments can act as motivators
- Obeying instructions and commands is the primary goal for team members
- Employees require careful monitoring to ensure expectations are met
Four I's of Transformational Leadership
The Four Elements of Transformational Leadership
The modern idea of Transformational Leadership is based on 4 elements described by Bernard A. Bass in 1985: Idealised Influence, Intellectual Stimulation, Individualised Consideration and Inspirational Motivation.
What is Transformational Leadership?
Transformational Leadership is a style first described by American historian and political scientist James MacGregor Burns in his 1978 book Leadership and expanded on during the 1980s by fellow scholar Bernard M. Bass. MacGregor studied various political leaders, including both Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, and it is during this period he developed his theories, including Transformational and Transactional Leadership.
- It is a style which is utilised by leaders possessing specific traits, who look to work alongside their team members to identify change and develop the next action steps.
- But most importantly, they transform others - developing and empowering their individual followers to become leaders in and of themselves.
Transformational Leadership was utilised by notable historical figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela and is thus also often associated with the Servant Leadership philosophy. It is also particularly used in Change Management and Strategic Planning to develop and deliver a specific vision for the team or the organisation, or to change the culture of the company.
More information on Transformational Leadership can be found here.
The Four I's
In Bass' interpretation, he identified four separate elements that make up a Transformational Leader, which became known as the 4 I's. These were:
- Idealised Influence (II)
- Intellectual Stimulation (IS)
- Inspirational Motivation (IM)
- Individualised Consideration (IC)
These 4 elements, in Bass' view, were crucial if a leader wished to inspire, nurture and develop their followers.
- These would be used to create an open, communicative and diverse culture, allowing followers to freely share ideas and therefore empower them on an individual level.
Transformational leaders are often described as mentors and role models as they lead by example, encouraging an environment where innovative thinking is aligned with the values, beliefs and objectives of the organisation, and individuals are openly recognised for their contributions, and for going above and beyond the norm expected of them.
1. Idealised Influence (II)
This refers to the way in which Transformational Leaders exert their influence within a group.
- These leaders are deeply respected by their team due to the example that they set for others.
- Behind this, they provide a clear vision and a sense of belonging which encourages individuals to buy into the long-term objectives of the organisation, and drives them to achieve their own goals.
Therefore, these individuals act as powerful role models, and their followers copy or imitate them as they wish to become a leader based on the example set.
2. Intellectual Stimulation (IS)
Transformational Leaders create a diverse and open environment, within which they encourage others to innovate and to form new ideas for the organisation and themselves.
- They seek other paths to goals which stray from the norm and openly push others to challenge their own beliefs and values, as well as those of the company.
This is why this style of leadership can play such an influential role in Change and Strategic Planning.
3. Inspirational Motivation (IM)
Transformational Leaders play an important role in improving performance, by working to raise through team morale through motivational techniques and acting as inspiration for their followers.
- They are happy to communicate their high expectations to individual followers and motivate them on a singular level to gain their commitment to a shared organisational or team belief.
- When the individual is committed to organisational goals, it intrinsically encourages them to work harder to reach these objectives.
When combined with the Individual Influence that Transformational Leaders exert, Inspirational Motivation helps make up for these leaders' charisma.
4. Individualised Consideration (IC)
Transformational Leaders actively work to create a diverse environment and supportive environment, where individual differences are respected and celebrated.
- They will know each of their followers individually, and will happily listen to any concerns or needs that their team members may have.
- They will act as mentors and coaches for team members, working to develop, empower and inspire them to achieve more and to be more.
This individual effort is key to achieving the best results and creating future leaders.
Becoming a Transformational Leader
You should now have a good understanding of the behaviours and attributes that Bass considers all true Transformational Leaders to possess.
Becoming one is not an overnight phenomenon - individuals have to work to become a leader of high inspiration, and it may be suited to some personalities over others - but here are some steps which one can take to drive themselves towards the next level of leadership:
- Identify individual strengths and weaknesses
- Develop an inspiring vision for the future
- Motivate everyone to buy into the vision
- Manage and involve yourself in delivery
- Reinforce your relationships with the team: trust, loyalty
What is Transformational Leadership?
Transformational Leadership is a style which involves working alongside team members in order to identify the need for change, create an inspiring and motivational vision, and execute the necessary steps required for change in tandem with team members.
Transformational Leadership is a style first described by American historian and political scientist James MacGregor Burns in his 1978 book Leadership and expanded on during the 1980s by fellow scholar Bernard M. Bass. Burns studied various political leaders, including both Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, and it is during this period he developed his leadership theories, including Transformational and Transactional Leadership.
- It is a style which is utilised by leaders possessing specific traits, who look to work alongside their team members to identify change and develop the next action steps.
- But most importantly, they transform others - developing and empowering their individual followers to become leaders in and of themselves.
Transformational Leadership was utilised by notable historical figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela and is thus also often associated with the Servant Leadership philosophy.
It is also particularly used in Change Management and Strategic Planning to develop and deliver a specific vision for the team or the organisation, or to change the culture of the company.
Traits of a Transformational Leader
These types of leaders are often referred to as role models and mentors due to the empowering position they hold in creating a diverse environment, open to ideas and innovations. Their followers hold a level of trust in them, and they are quick to recognise the achievements of others to build confidence. Though they are open to new concepts and ideas, they encourage a culture of thinking which matches thoughts with the goals, values and beliefs of the organisation.
According to Bernard M. Bass in his 1985 book Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations, transformational leaders:
- Act with integrity and fairness
- Set clear goals for individuals and the team
- Encourage others
- Provide individual support and recognition
- Raise the morale and motivation of others
- Steers individuals away from their self-interest and towards selflessness
- Inspire others to strive for the improbable
Though these are important traits and actions of a transformational leader, there is a simple pathway by which everyone can integrate the style into their leadership, or change management techniques.
How to Become a Transformational Leader
As mentioned, Transformational Leadership is often associated with the Servant Leadership philosophy. This is because they both involve working closely alongside members of the team, inspiring and motivating them, using others to help identify the need for change, creating a specific vision to drive change, and executing it as a cohesive team.
Like all leadership styles, one of the key aims is to drive motivation amongst team members. Transformational Leadership does this by operating a number of mechanisms, including:
- Connecting the follower's sense of identity to that of the task and the organisation as a whole
- Acting as a role model and setting the standards for the project, allowing followers greater independence and responsibility for tasks, and assigning tasks which are suited to specific followers' strengths and weaknesses.
We have broken down MacGregor and Bass' thoughts into 5 simple steps to follow when you are trying to become a transformational leader. These are outlined below.
1. Identify the Strengths and Weaknesses of Team Members
Alike Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership, or Tannenbaum and Schmidt's Behavioural Continuum, it is crucial to this style that you are fully understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each and every individual team member.
- It is often the case that this is only something which can be developed over time, and as the relationship between you and your team members develops, it is important to be proactive and openly get to know everyone who you are responsible for.
- Tasks and visions can only be correctly implemented if individual team members are operating in roles which are suited to their experience and capabilities, and this will also allow them to remain motivated and develop a sense of trust.
2. Develop an Inspiring and Motivational Vision for the Future
It is important you involve your team, and together you should develop a vision for the future which instils a sense of optimism and motivates all members of the team.
- This vision should integrate the culture of the team and organisation, and the values that you wish to pride yourself on.
- This will always be dependent on the resources and individuals you have available so it is crucial that you are fully understanding of the team and organisation.
3. Motivate each Individual and get them to Buy into the Vision
When developing the vision for the future, you should consider the values and beliefs of your team members; including what they see for their personal future and the future of the organisation.
- For this stage, you can utilise business storytelling as a way to make it clear what your vision is, and how it is going to help the organisation and its consumers, as well as the team themselves.
- It is important that you understand the various motivational models and techniques in order to encourage employee buy-in.
4. Manage and Involve Yourself in the Delivery of the Vision
It is important for transformational leaders that they involve and integrate themselves in the delivery of the vision.
- Transformational leaders will be able to combine appropriate project management techniques with superb change management skills to ensure successful delivery.
- Roles will be communicated well and in accordance with all of the strengths and weaknesses of team members. Any individuals who require support will be offered help with their progress throughout the process.
- When allocating roles, make sure it is clear how these fit in with the plans, and with the overall organisational objectives - everyone needs to buy into their position within the team.
- Any individual goals set should be set using a carefully thought-out model such as SMART (Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Realistic, Timely).
5. Continue to Develop Stronger Relationships with Your Team Members
A leader is only as strong as their team. It is crucial that any leader looks to develop and retain the trust and attention of all individuals amongst them.
- Leadership is a long-term process: it requires constant attention to facilitate the continual development of yourself, your team, and the relationship between the two.
- Construct regular meetings to get a grasp of individual developmental needs, and how they are finding any ongoing tasks or projects. Ask what they would like to achieve over the next year or years, and try to figure out how you can help them to achieve it.
- Perhaps look to offer coaching sessions if that is something that would help them to improve personally or professionally.
- However, the most important is, to be honest with everyone. Nothing develops trust more quickly and effectively than honesty.
4 I's of Transformational Leadership
In Bass' interpretation, he identified four separate elements that make up a Transformational Leader, which became known as the 4 I's. You can read about these in more detail here. They are:
- Idealised Influence
- Intellectual Stimulation
- Inspirational Motivation
- Individualised Consideration
These 4 elements, in Bass' view, were crucial if a leader wished to inspire, nurture and develop their followers. They would use these to create an open, communicative and diverse culture, allowing followers to freely share ideas and therefore to empower them on an individual level.
Transformational leaders are often described as mentors and role models as they lead by example, encouraging an environment where innovative thinking is aligned with the values, beliefs and objectives of the organisation, and individuals are openly recognised for their contributions, and for going above-and-beyond the norm expected of them.
Summary
As you should now understand, Transformational Leadership is an important style for driving change within an organisation or group. Though it favours individuals of specific personality traits or experiences, it can be utilised by anyone who understands when and how.
Key action points to becoming a Transformational Leader:
- Identify strengths and weaknesses
- Develop an inspiring vision for the future
- Motivate everyone to buy into the vision
- Manage and involve yourself in delivery
- Reinforce your relationships with the team
Reddin's 3D Leadership Model
What is Reddin's 3D Leadership Model?
Reddin's 3D Leadership Model is a simple framework for utilising managerial styles in various situations in order to maximise effectiveness.
Reddin Background Information
Bill Reddin was a British professor and management behaviouralist, who - during his time at MIT, the University of New Brunswick, and as an independent consultant - developed some key theories relating to situational leadership styles and the managerial impact on organisational effectiveness.
The culmination of his action-oriented work was his 3D Model of Leadership, first outlined in his 1983 thesis Managerial Effectiveness and Style: Individual or Situation, which identified several different leadership styles and their effectiveness in any number of typical situations. The most important concept within his work was that there is no single most effective leadership style, considering the numerous and varied situations a leader will find themselves in.
- Related - A related leader enjoys team-based, cooperative working. They do not focus on directing or dictating orders to staff and allow much more freedom and responsibility.
- Integrated - An integrated manager retains the cooperative nature of the group and encourages two-way communication. They emphasise the effectiveness of this communication and building a strong team capable of completing tasks to the best of their potential.
- Dedicated - A dedicated manager is only truly concerned with the end result of the task and focuses on improving the production process. They retain power and responsibility with themselves, allowing them to dictate roles and requirements to others.
- Separated - A separated manager focuses on correcting deviations from the norm. They formulate policies and rules and impose them on others but do not take a direct, commanding role on themselves.
Each of these leadership styles is separated by its position along two major axes:
- Task Orientation
- Relationship Orientation.
The central matrix in the diagram below represents Reddin's initial model, showing the four major leadership styles and their positions along the Task-Relationship axis.
Reddin later expanded on his initial theory, adding in the third dimension of Effectiveness. This effectiveness was defined by the appropriateness of the particular leadership style in any given situation and he argued that this should be the main focus of any manager's efforts.
- As you can see in the diagram, the appropriate versions of the initial styles can be seen in the upper right (Developer, Executive, Benevolent Autocrat, Bureaucrat) and the inappropriate styles (Missionary, Compromiser, Autocrat, Deserter) in the bottom left. These are not new styles in themselves, only the primary styles when applied to appropriate or inappropriate situations.
"Any managerial style has a situation appropriate to it, and many situations inappropriate to it…" - William Reddin
The true strength of a leader or manager is to know when to utilise each of the basic leadership styles, and how to apply them to appropriate situations. Also discussed were two other key concepts:
- Flexibility
- Rigidity
The primary styles are fairly broad and all-encompassing, and also highlighted that leadership style could not necessarily be identified purely by examining the effectiveness of the situation.
Choosing the Most Appropriate Leadership Style
The most difficult part of applying Reddin's theory is for managers to understand when to employ each of the different styles.
- In general, this is something which can only be understood through experience, and close examination of the situation.
- Task-orientated approaches generally are most effective in scenarios when the group is constrained by resources or time, when there is disorganisation which needs to be brought back into order or when the leader is working with inexperienced or low-skilled team members.
- People-oriented approaches are often more effective in more open, creative tasks, when the leader sees the opportunity to develop their staff's leadership and skills over the long term or to motivate them through new experiences and greater responsibility. The leader may also see fit to work on a more people-centric basis in times when they have a highly experienced, skilled and competent team.
Leaders, as people, will likely have a natural predisposition towards certain approaches to the task. However, it is still possible to understand that sometimes it is beneficial to be more flexible in their approach, allowing them to maximise the rewards of the situation at hand.
Leadership Styles (3-Style Model) - Kurt Lewin
What is Lewin's 3-Style Model of Leadership?
This is the oldest of the situational models. Kurt Lewin, a psychologist, led a research team in 1939 and identified what he called three 'styles ' of leadership behaviour in an article in the Journal of Social Psychology.
Kurt Lewin identified three Behavioural styles among leaders.
Now, these three styles could also fit into the Leadership Styles module. However, if you bear in mind the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, you can match them to your circumstances. This is when the Three Styles model becomes a guide to more effective leadership.
Lewin's Three Leadership Styles
1. Authoritarian Leadership
Sometimes called the Autocratic style. This is where leaders spell out the goals, deadlines and methods while making decisions on their own with little consultation with others.
- Here, the leader doesn’t usually get involved in the group’s work and it is less likely to see creative decisions under this style of leadership.
- However, it is a decisive way of leading and can suit high-risk, short-timescale decisions.
2. Participative Leadership
Sometimes called the Democratic style. This is where the leader expresses his or her priorities and values in setting goals and making decisions, but also takes part in the group’s work and accepts advice and suggestions from colleagues.
- However, the leader makes the final decision.
- This style can produce more creative problem solving and innovation than the Authoritarian approach so it makes sense to adopt it in competitive, non-emergency situations.
3. Delegative Leadership
Sometimes called the Laissez-Faire style. The Delegative style means the leader hands over responsibility for results to the group.
- He or she lets them set goals, decide on work methods, define individuals’ roles and set their own pace of work.
- It can work well provided the group shares the same overall intent as the leader and if he/she trusts all members of the group.
Summary
In summary, Lewin outlined three distinct modes of behaviour for leaders. If they were merely descriptive, they wouldn't help leaders wanting to become better at what they do - bear in mind the strengths and weaknesses of each approach as a means of matching them to your circumstances - provided, of course, you can flex your behaviour.
This is when the Three Styles model becomes a guide to more effective leadership.
References and Further Reading
- Lewin, K.; Lippitt, R.; White, R.K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology 10: 271–301.