...What is Transformational Leadership? Is there a relationship between transformational leadership and emotional intelligence? Introduction For more than three decades, the paradigm of transformational leadership has attracted a vast amount of academic interest. A large number of empirical studies lend credibility to this interest by linking aspects of transformational leadership to a range of positive organisational and individual outcomes (Bass, 1997; Bass & Avolio, 1994; Lowe, Kroeck & Sivasubramaniam, 1996). Due to these desirable effects, a significant amount of research has also been undertaken in trying to understand factors that predict or contribute to transformational leadership behaviours. For this reason, the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership is one that has attracted much attention. The following paper examines this proposition in more detail. In order to gain a more detailed understanding of transformational leadership and its relationship with emotional intelligence, the paper first examines the two subjects as standalone concepts. In determining if and how a relationship exists, the paper subsequently brings the two constructs together so that a critical examination and analysis of the research available can be undertaken. Lastly, after examining the case for and against a relationship, a conclusion is drawn from the analysis presented. Transformational Leadership The notion of transforming leadership was first introduced...
Words: 2991 - Pages: 12
... Comparison and Contrast of Leadership Theories Bobbi Warford University of Phoenix Table of Contents 1. Title Page………………………………………………………………….1 2. Table of Contents………………………………………………………….2 3.0 Abstract……………………………………………………………………3 4.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………. 4 5.0 Comparisons and Contrast………………………………………………5-6 6.0 Similarities and Differences……………………………………………..6-7 7.0 Conclusions……………………………………………………………...7-8 Abstract This paper discusses the comparisons, contrast, similarities and differences of the “Great Man” theory, Trait theory, Relationship theory, and Management theory. Great man theories and Trait theories were similar more than different. Transformational is more similar to charismatic leadership than transactional. 4.0 Introduction Great Man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent that great leaders are born, not made. These theories often portray great leaders as heroic, mythic, and destined to rise to leadership when needed. The term “Great Man” was used because, at the time, leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership (About, Inc., 2007). Trait theories similar in some ways to “ Great Man” theories, trait theories assumes that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership. Trait theories often identify particular...
Words: 1325 - Pages: 6
...Name: Instructor: Course Name: Date: Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership is the sort of leadership that inspires changes and transforms individual who follow a transformational leader (Gilbert). The concept of transformational leadership date back to 1978 when James McGregor Burns introduced it in his book, Leadership, where he defined it as a process where leaders and their followers heave one another to higher levels of morality and motivation. Such an approach to leadership has integrity, clear goals, high prospect, encourages others, offer support and acknowledgment, stirs the emotions of people, get people to look past their self-interest and instigates people to achieve for the improbable. John Kotter in his article, what leaders do, states "leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Each having its function and characteristic activities. Both traits are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment." It shows that for corporations, companies and firms to succeed must transformational leadership and management to be implemented hand in hand. Thus, understanding the difference between management and leadership may help companies groom their people to be able to provide both while at the same time shun away the myth that one cannot "manage and lead" (Hawkins). Transformational Leadership and Management Transformational leadership involves the following factors that would...
Words: 576 - Pages: 3
...Transformational Leadership Style I am often told that it is difficult to not be excited when I am expressing my goals and ideas. Leadership styles often vary from person to person. According to the assessment my leadership style is mostly transformational. I believe that there is more than just completing the tasks at hand. There are transformational leadership styles present in many aspects of my life, showing expression in a charismatic way and implanting the same goals and vision that I have into those around me is already a subconscious act on my part. What is Transformational Leadership According to Bass (1985), a transformational leader is one who “actively seeks to change personal values among the followers, so that they can go beyond their self-interest for the good of larger entities such as a group or an organization.” A leader whose style is transformational, leads people to look past their own interests and motives and make some sacrifices to support the organization as a whole. Rather than just working for the sole reason of a weekly paycheck, a transformational leader inspires people to work towered a higher purpose or vision (Bass and Steidlmeier, 1999 as cited in O’Connor & Mortimer, 2013). A transformational leader will try to get his workers to care about the goal in the same way they do. This type of leadership encourages employee satisfaction and makes their work feel more fulfilling (O’Connor & Mortimer, 2013). Accurate Assessment Results When working...
Words: 1086 - Pages: 5
...Leadership Styles 2 Transformational Leadership 2 Individualized consideration 2 Intellectual Stimulation 2 Inspirational Motivation 2 Idealized Influence 3 Introduction Leadership Styles The performance of a company is very much dependent on how it is led by his owner. However, family businesses are not structured as strictly as other large organizations{Bernhard, 2011, Psychological Ownership in Small Family-Owned Businesses: Leadership Style and Nonfamily-Employees’ Work Attitudes and Behaviors}{Bernhard, 2011, Psychological Ownership in Small Family-Owned Businesses: Leadership Style and Nonfamily-Employees’ Work Attitudes and Behaviors}{Bernhard, 2011, Psychological Ownership in Small Family-Owned Businesses: Leadership Style and Nonfamily-Employees’ Work Attitudes and Behaviors}. Consequently, employees possess more freedom to interpret their work task and are not as much restricted in their field (Bernhard & O'Driscoll, 2011, p. 8){Bernhard, 2011, Psychological Ownership in Small Family-Owned Businesses: Leadership Style and Nonfamily-Employees’ Work Attitudes and Behaviors}{Bernhard, 2011, Psychological Ownership in Small Family-Owned Businesses: Leadership Style and Nonfamily-Employees’ Work Attitudes and Behaviors}. Since I am investigating the application of leadership styles to family businesses, I narrow my focus to three particular ones which are transformational, transactional and passive leadership. {Bernhard, 2011, Psychological Ownership in...
Words: 1030 - Pages: 5
...What is transformational leadership? It has been argued by Bass and Avolio (1994) that transformational lead-ership is the new leadership that must accompany good management. Incontrast to transactional models, transformational leadership goes beyond the exchange process. It not only aligns and elevates the needs and values of followers, but also provides intellectual stimulation and increased follower confidence. Bass and Avolio (1994) identified four ‘I’s’ that transformational leaders employ in order to achieve superior results. These are:• IdealizedInfluence: Transformational leaders behavein ways that result inthembeingadmired,respected and trusted, and ultimately becoming a role model. The transformational leader demonstrates high standards of ethical and moral conduct.• Inspirational Motivation: By demonstrating enthusiasm and optimism, the transformational leader actively arouses team spirit and motivates and inspires followers to share in and work towards a common goal.• Intellectual Stimulation: By being innovative, creative, supportive, refram-ingproblemsandquestioningoldassumptionsthetransformationalleadercreates an intellectually stimulating and encouraging environment.• Individualized Consideration: Transformational leaders pay special atten-tion to each individual’s needs for achievement and growth by acting as acoach or mentor.Looking closer at the four ‘I’s’ it can be argued that charisma (the abilityto inspire enthusiasm, interest, or affection in others by means...
Words: 273 - Pages: 2
...Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership revolves around the implementation of new ideas, change, flexibility, adaptability, and continuous improvement. Transformational leaders possess the following characteristics: First, the leader has charisma. This characteristic is hard to define because no one really knows it until he experiences it. We can just be contented with defining it as something that inspires people to follow a leader with this characteristic. These leaders are seen as having special gifts or talents that make them able to influence people who are in distress. It is their personality, their skills and their presence that affect those who are in crisis or problem. These leaders can convince these affected members that their special gifts can alleviate their pain or solve their problem. When this happens, the members feel safer and directed and believe that the problem has been 'solved' and these leaders have an impact on their lives so they follow them. However, charisma involves dependency. Second, these leaders have vision. They can create a compelling picture of the future and make people develop commitment and a common goal in which achievement of that goal is a way to feel successful. Third, they can stimulate the intellect of their followers by presenting new ways of looking at the problems that have been there before and were not solved right away. The transformational leader creates a group of followers who follows him because...
Words: 1795 - Pages: 8
...Nowadays, whether a leader is charismatic enough is based on his leadership style. A person with a high leading ability will be valuable to the corporation. Most of corporations prefer employees who have a high level of leading ability. It is very crucial to choose leaderships because the corporations’ cultures, productivity, effectiveness and loyalty of employees are all rely on the leader and his leadership. There are two leadership theories that are transactional leadership and transformational leadership. Most of researches have discussed the definitions, factors, and frameworks of these theories, however, as for the contrasting evaluation of transformational leadership, it has been neglected. Therefore, this paper will briefly explain both transactional leadership and transformational leadership, and then report the negative side of transformational leadership. Moreover, how transformational leadership applies to the hospitality industry will be discussed as well. 1. Transactional leadership and transformational leadership From Northhouse (2015), transactional leadership is a traditional leadership style that concerns about the exchanges between leaders and followers. Bass (1985) states that transactional leadership primarily focuses on the exchange process and those exchanges have an impact on followers’ performance (as cited in Rothfelder, Ottenbacher &Harrington, 2013). It means that there is a transaction between the leaders and followers. It is premised by the...
Words: 2182 - Pages: 9
...Transformational Leadership Introduction “The goal of transformational leadership is to ‘transform’ people and organizations in a literal sense – to change them in mind and heart; enlarge vision, insight, and understanding; clarify purposes; make behavior congruent with beliefs, principles and values; and bring about changes that are permanent, self perpetuating, and momentum building” (Covey, 1990, p. 287). The goal of the transformational leader is to change the ineffective to the effective. The leader would make changes to ensure the effectiveness, growth and outcome benefits the corporation. Transformational leadership is the “style of leadership in which the leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executes the change with the commitment of the members of the group” (Transformational Leadership, n.d.). Northouse (2007) goes further to explain transformational leadership as the process whereby a person engages others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower (p. 176). Two of the most inspirational transformational leaders of this generation have been Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. King, with his “I have a Dream” speech inspired the Civil Rights movement. President Kennedy’s vision of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth” inspired the space race of the 1960s and 1970s (Greenberg, 2005, p. 364). These men...
Words: 2856 - Pages: 12
...| Transformational Leadership: Characteristics and Criticisms Iain Hay School of Geography, Population and Environmental ManagementFlinders University A prime function of a leader is to keep hope alive. (John W. Gardner)Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means. (Albert Einstein) Collectively, these three short quotations capture some of the key characteristics of transformational leadership, a form of leadership argued by some (Simic, 1998) to match the Zeitgeist of the post-World War II era. Academic debate about the nature and effectiveness of transformational leadership has developed since key work on the topic emerged in the 1970s. This short paper sets out to provide summary answers to three main questions about transformational leadership. What is it? How is it applied? What are some of its key weaknesses? In the course of the discussion, the following pages also provide a brief background to the origins of transformational leadership theory and point quickly to a possible theoretical future for a transformed transformational leadership. Transformational Leadership TheoryAccording to Cox (2001), there are two basic categories of leadership: transactional and transformational. The distinction between transactional and transformational leadership was first made by Downton (1973, as cited in Barnett, McCormick & Conners, 2001) but the idea...
Words: 24361 - Pages: 98
...Transformational leadership is defined as a leadership approach that causes change in individuals and social systems. In its ideal form, it creates valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of developing followers into leaders. Enacted in its authentic form, transformational leadership enhances the motivation, morale and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include connecting the follower's sense of identity and self to the mission and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that optimize their performance.... Background James MacGregor Burns (1978)[1] first introduced the concept of transforming leadership in his descriptive research on political leaders, but this term is now used in organizational psychology as well. According to Burns, transforming leadership is a process in which "leaders and followers help each other to advance to a higher level of morale and motivation". Burns related to the difficulty in differentiation between management and leadership and claimed that the differences are in characteristics and behaviors. He established two concepts: "transforming leadership" and "transactional leadership". According to Burns, the transforming approach creates significant change in...
Words: 1786 - Pages: 8
... The Heart of Leadership, Michael Keeley argues against transformational leadership. He believes that the only to prevent harm done to the minorities by the majorities is “to keep majorities from uniting around a common interest – the reverse of what transformational leaders are supposed to do” (Ethics, 124). In general, I agree with Keeley. He attributes this idea to James Madison, although other scholars have disagreed about Madison’s true options. I will not enter the dispute about Madison’s ideas and opinions; that would be an exercise in history. Rather, I will discuss the content of the argument: whether transformational leadership harms minorities. Other issues, such as the effectiveness of transformational leadership and other ethical implications of the leadership types are beyond the scope of this paper and will not be discussed. To clearly present the issue, I will first define the two types of leadership. The definition of transactional leadership is quite intuitive. This type describes the interaction between leader and follower as a transaction. This is akin to the factor market studied in economics; a follower agrees to serve the leader in return for some sort of incentive. This could be a wage if it is in business, or perhaps just a feeling of accomplishment in a volunteer situation. Transformational leadership, which has been researched for the last 25 years, runs much deeper than the previous type. With transformational leadership, “the object is...
Words: 889 - Pages: 4
...Frontiers in leadership research Spring 2010 Final paper Sofia Nilsson Altafi TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN THE INDIAN MICROFINANCE ORGANIZATION Introduction During the last two decades, microfinance has received considerable public and institutional attention – accumulating in the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 – and is today presented as the “magic bullet” for fighting global poverty. A country with a particularly interesting microfinance sector is India; in 2008, the total outstanding microfinance loans amounted to USD 8 billion, and more than 50% of all low-income households are covered by some form of microfinance product (Srinivasan, 2009). Yet, while Indian MFOs are assumed to help bring the country’s poor out of poverty, and thereby contribute to reaching the Millennium Development Goals, private capital is pouring into the sector and supporters have started to ask for financial returns on their funds. MFOs are hence expected to balance between having a social mission on the one hand, and running a profitable operation on the other. A first natural question is to ask whether the corporatized MFO manages to stay on track and deliver both on the social and on the financial side, if it is “mission drifting” or not. “Mission drift” is related to the performance of the MFO, mainly measured in how well the organization succeeds in reaching poor borrowers who lack access to formal financial institutions (Copestake, 2007). With an increased pressure from...
Words: 2956 - Pages: 12
...Transformational leadership Western Governors University May 24, 2015 This paper will describe the evaluation of my personal leadership theory. I believe in being inspirational to employees and keeping them encouraged. One subject that I should focus on is managing the department(s) better by making sure all tasks are completed in a timely manner and that all deadlines are met. In addition, I believe that performance and accuracy are crucial in any area of management. After completing my seven habits profile, many things about my best performance were revealed. According to the results, my overall performance is very good. I scored the highest in category 7 which was titled ‘Seek first to understand’. I do believe it is essential to be sensitive to others feelings as well as to seek to understand the viewpoint of others and to listen with an open mind. I also scored exceptionally high in category 6 which was titled ‘Think win-win’. As a result of these scores, I find that I would be a natural as a compassionate and understanding leader. A good leader believes that achieving goals within an organization would require team effect that starts with the leaders and continues on with their subordinates. This effort would initiate sincere trust among the coworkers whether they are in the position as an executive, mid-level management or laborer. Therefore, the transformational leadership style would be most fitting to describe my management expertise. ...
Words: 2664 - Pages: 11
...Transformational leadership is a form of leadership that occurs when leaders “broaden and elevate the interests of their employees, when they generate awareness and acceptance of the purposes and the mission of the group and when they stir their employees to look beyond their own self-interest for the good of the group” (Bernard Bass, 1990). James MacGregor Burns, a respected scholar and authority on leadership, used it in 1978 to describe leaders who “engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality.” Together they shape a common purpose and use their respective power to achieve it. As they work towards this shared vision those involved discover and employ a more highly developed self. Transformational leaders apprehend the future, see and articulate a compelling vision for what is possible, and ignite in others the enthusiasm and energy to make that vision a reality. Transformational leaders achieve the vision by employing a specific set of capabilities and attributes that call forward the best in others. Transformational leadership theory is all about leadership that creates positive change in the followers whereby they take care of each other's interests and act in the interests of the group as a whole. At times of organizational change, and big step change, people do feel insecure, anxious and low in energy - so in these situations and especially in these difficult times, enthusiasm and energy are...
Words: 739 - Pages: 3
