AS A YOUNG LEADER IN ANY ORGANIZATION,
EXPLAIN HOW YOU CAN APPLY THE COMPONENTS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP TO
ENSURE THE ATTAINMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS.
Introduction
Leadership
— or the lack thereof — can make or break a business. But great leadership can
come in many forms. Some people naturally gravitate toward one approach,
whereas others thoughtfully and intentionally hone their leadership abilities
over time.
For an
aspiring organization, learning about different theories of leadership can
provide a framework for interacting with, influencing, and inspiring others.
One highly regarded theory is that of transformational leadership. But what is
transformational leadership, and why does it work so well? Read on to learn
more.
What Is
Transformational Leadership?
The concept
of transformational leadership was popularized by James MacGregor Burns after
the publication of his 1978 book, Leadership. According to Burns,
“transforming” 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.”
The
transformational leader cares deeply about their followers — from helping them
excel at the task at hand to encouraging them to reach their full potential
across all aspects of life. Transformational leaders inspire and empower those
around them to be the best they can, from an ethical standpoint as well as a
performance perspective.
Transformational
leadership is often connected with positive outcomes, including meeting or
exceeding organizational goals and it has been proven to be effective in
ensuring organizational success.
Application of components of leadership in aim
of attaining organizational goals.
a)
Inspirational Motivation.
The following
are some of the ways of implementing inspirational motivation.
- Setting goals.
The
workforce needs to have it in mind that they’re working in anticipation of
something concrete. At times, a company's leadership knows what the big picture
is, and ways to get there. Other times, the team figures out the goals and
steps to arrive there. Either way, the leader's role is to help make clear of
the mission for all the employees working on it. The goals should be realistic,
measurable and specific.
- Offer regular feedback.
Nowadays,
majority of employees want to receive more feedback on their work than they
actually get. Wise leaders can regularly check in, make themselves more
accessible and offer informal feedback that is honest and frequent. Employees
won’t get an opportunity to share their thoughts without such kind of dialogue.
Feedback is of mutual benefit, with both parties benefiting from the
conversation.
- Incorporate flexibility and work-life
balance.
Workers
might at times want to do their work on their terms, but can't really do so.
It’s possible to incorporate other jobs e.g. part-time jobs and not limiting
employees to a single job. At times employees might have other urgent and
important understandable issues. They can be allowed to look into them without
necessarily being sacked. Offering more flexible workdays and remote work
opportunities is one of the best ways to inspire productivity.
- Provide a healthy work environment.
The
workplace should be conducive to harbor creative thinking and satisfaction. The
employer should reflect the values and personalities of employees in some way.
The workplace should be a place that upholds personal space, good air quality,
minimal noise pollution, adequate natural light and any other important
factors. To get more knowledge on this, a leader should consider circulating a
survey among employees to find out what they want and what they’d change.
b)
Individualized consideration
One of the
key transformational traits is the ability to transmit a sense of the larger
culture to the team, giving employees a feeling of ownership in organizational
goals and a sense of independence in the workplace. A transformational leader
should not dictate ideas and leave employees to carry them out. They should be
concerned with professional development of employees and foster positive
relationships with them. You can often identify a transformational leader by
the trust, respect and admiration others show towards them. A transformational
leader leads by communicating a clear vision and creating a workplace where
seasoned employees are trusted to make decisions in their assigned areas. All
employees are encouraged to think creatively in finding new solutions to
challenges.
c)
Intellectual stimulation
Intellectual
stimulation is the extent to which transformational leaders challenge
assumptions, take risks and solicit employees or followers’ ideas. They
recognize followers through stimulation, creativity and innovation. Such a
leader acknowledges that they don’t know everything and seeks opinions from
others, advancing intellectual stimulation in order to find solutions. They
encourage their teams or employees to think independently arousing their team’s
creativity and imagination to solve organizational problems. These leaders
aren’t invested in getting their teams to conform rather they embolden
employees by providing support, while giving them room to create and
collaborate. When people are given an opportunity to engage in critical
thinking and reinvent the preconceived “my way or the highway” thoughts, they
can be intellectually stimulated to realize higher levels of potential and
self-leadership.
d)
Idealized influence
Transformational
leaders act as role models for their followers. As a leader, I ought to embody
the values that this organization's subordinates can learn and internalize.
Promoting consistent values and a sense of consistent vision would be my
foundational go-to for enhancing transformational leadership. By providing them
with a sense of meaning & challenging them to see a bigger ideal than
what's at play, the followers would thus easily be guided into what to do in
the organization. The leader can help make this unfold in the following ways:
- Promoting a broad, inclusive vision
-
Confident
and clear communication of the vision and values in a way employees understand
and want to be a part of is key. Sharing the vision is a key part of
transformational leadership as it helps employees understand expectations and
the end of the organization
- Leading by example
-
This
process of creating idealized influence is also known as impression management.
In this way, the transformational leader uses impression management by leading
by example and demonstrating their willingness to put the employees and
organization first.
- Showing strong commitment to goals
-
A
transformational leader will show that they are willing to take risks so as to
achieve the goals set for the organization. This inspires in the employees a
sense of commitment to the goal by their leader.
- Creating trust and confidence in employees
-
The
end state of idealized influence leads is employee respect, trust, and
confidence. Transformational leaders are able to achieve this by putting their
employees' needs over their own.
- Representing organizational goals,
culture, and mission
-
A
transformational leader must embody the ideals, goals and vision of the
organization so much that they can be trusted to carry the image of the
organization into sectors outside of it. They ought to be the representation of
what the organization stands for & is all about.
Conclusion.
Whether
it’s for a small startup or large, multifaceted organization, the quality of
leadership can make all the difference when it comes to achieving both
objective success and subjective wellbeing. As the evidence has shown, adopting
a transformational style may well be integral to these ends. While
transformational leadership likely won’t offer a ‘quick fix’ – especially for
larger organizations resistant to change – this isn’t grounds for despondency.
It’s never
too late to change the approach, and the power of a compelling, inspiring
vision to motivate shouldn’t be underestimated.
References
1.
Adair, J. (2009), The inspirational leader: how to motivate,
encourage & achieve success, London: Kogan Page.
2. Zineldin, M. (2017). Transformational
leadership behavior, emotions, and outcomes: Health psychology perspective in
the workplace. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 32(1),
14–25.
3. Arnold, K.A., Turner, N., Barling, J., Kelloway, E.K., & Mckee, M.C. (2007). Transformational Leadership and Psychological Wellbeing: The Mediating Role of Meaningful Work, 12(3), 193-203