Leadership and Teams - Conformity
Challenges business faces in today’s society are numerous; determining how to lead teams in this challenging environment can be a daunting task. This paper will briefly review the topic of conformity among business team’s as well as challenges with this concept. We will then discuss one modern view of leadership, transactional versus transformational leadership and how this leadership model is functioning in today’s business and finally, briefly look at how this leadership model can be applied in the workplace as well as personal reflection from the author of this paper.
Conformity in the workplace
Teams and working groups conform to business norms frequently in the workplace. Conformity, as defined by Robbins,
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Transactional leadership guides and motivates through exchanging rewards for productivity whereas Transformational leadership inspires employees to go above and beyond. Transformational leadership develops from transactional leadership (Robbins, S.P., De Cenzo D.A., & Coulter, M. 2015) so both aspects are important and go together. Transformational leaders help team members to challenge thoughts, norms and ideas. For example with the e-mail discussion related to conforming to team and group norms, an employee under a transformational leader may feel more empowered to challenge this type of normal over an employee with a strictly transactional …show more content…
Benefits a transformational leader can have on an organization can be substantial, providing teams are enabled to perform at high levels and transfer ideas into action. “Leaders cannot lead everyone in every situation effectively, because they cannot be effective in leading others all the time. Allowing others to lead may be more effective and efficient.” (Malakyan, P. G.2013) This concept of allowing others to lead through enabling responsibilities is critical to business in today’s operating environment. Speed, in combination with quality sets companies apart from competition. Relying on teams, inspiring members to reach higher and go beyond set goals will help influence speed while maintaining quality of work. A transformational leader can deliver engaged, motivated employees, who will drive business forward faster than a leader can on their
...selbein and Cohen, “organizations that take the time to teach leadership are far ahead of the competition. By becoming familiar with the transformational leadership approach and combining the four I's, managers can become effective leaders in the business world.” (1999, p. 263). Transformational leadership can be applied in one-on-one or group situations. Using this approach, the manager (leader) and the associates (followers) are “transformed” to enhance job performance and help the organization be more productive and successful. All of these leaders have the attributes mentioned here. History will decide the greater impact they had on society as it is being written every day. Therefore, the qualities of transformational leadership make the essence of transformational management and the key to successful management of transformational organizational changes.
Transformational leaders exhibit personal and professional qualities that other want to emulate and follow. These leaders advance the mission in combative environments. Transformational leaders propel the growth of the team through communication. Finally, transformational leaders leave a legacy that instills pride, moral, and determination for future success.
According to Riggio (2009), the most popular theory of leadership is transformational. Many believe that these leaders get the job done through inspiring, modeling, and helping others develop their skills as leaders. Research provides clear evidence that groups lead by transformational leaders have higher levels of performance and satisfaction than groups led by other types of leaders (Riggio, 2009). Clear communication is vital to transformational leadership and in order to succeed further, one will need to work on their own skills, and set aside time and space for personal development (Manktelow, 2005).
This is where transformational leaders excel in their roles as motivators and change agents; however, one characteristic that resonates most with followers is the leader’s ability to define vision and mission. Ballou (2015) used the analogy of an orchestra conductor possessing the musical score that provides the details for every participant in the ensemble. The ability of the leader to bring clarity to the vision enables followers to understand the ‘why’ of their hard work. While seemingly autocratic, followers accept direction from transformational leaders because they demonstrate selflessness and are most interested in the team’s success, not their own. These highly regarded traits can alleviate tension in diverse groups by focusing on the vision, not individual differences. While there are similarities between the servant and transformational leader, there are important differences as well. In the book, The Leadership Challenge (2002, p. 153), the authors suggested that transformational leadership affects not only the followers, but the leader as well, by raising each other to achieve the higher purposes of motivation and morality. Another vital component of transformational leadership is the fostering of participation when making decisions. It is never the intention of the leader to inject his or her opinion, especially at the onset of the process. This ability allows followers to arrive at consensus by encouraging team participation, which invites involvement and buy-in of the vision, while decreasing the likelihood of inter-team conflict. The true transformational leader inspires the team because they have achieved a high level of self-actualization, which allows them to encourage and recognize the achievements of others without feeling threatened. When followers are fortunate enough to be led by a transformational
While transactional leadership relies on a system of rewards and penalties it doesn't provide a lot of in conditions of inspiration to encourage folks to travel past the fundamentals. Given this truth the supporters of transactional leaders may get happy and develop a propensity to attain smallest expectations solely that might facilitate them avoid penalties (Bass, 1990). Therefore the leader and also the follower ar in associate conformity on what the follower would take delivery of achieving the negotiated level of performance (Bass, 1990). The success of such leadership depends on the extent of satisfaction the leader and followers have in following this technique of performance based mostly appraisals (Bass, 1990)
There are four more attributes added to the transactional leadership theory and forms the transformational theory. Basically, it is the process where the leader and follower raises their hand for each other towards a greater benefit (Dems, 2015). This type of leadership style is very energetic, enthusiastic and passionate and it’s not confined in a hierarchical relation. Here leader exposed the clear goal to the follower and having a high expectation. But he never forgets about his follower to help them, encourage the. Leader shares his opinion and welcome every input from group members (Transformational Leadership, 2015) . The four qualities are intellectual stimulation to followers to explore new ideas. Considering each individual despite only group or team. Inspirational motivation for creating an inspiring vision to the group which is really achievable. Most important thing the behavior of transformational leader is being a role model to follow (Dawes,
Bass (1990) states that transformational leadership is identified by different patterns of behavior. Firstly , transformational leadership delivers the charisma to be a leader in order to gain respect and trust. Secondly, the characteristics of a leader show efforts to change a purpose of the transformation process and to effectively communicate. Finally, transformational leadership proposes that leaders treat employees individually to show them attention and provide them coaching and advice to show that you care about your employees. However, Wang and Howell (2010) claim that transformational leadership is in every individual.This means an individual can develop their potential to enhance their abilities and skills to improve and overcome any weaknesses. In relation to group work transformational leadership helps to grow common values and beliefs, and to inspire group members to reach their group goals. In this type of situation, leaders treat equally towards members and to make them feel comfortable. However, on occasions problems occur during team work which puts a leader into a situation to overcome the condition. For example, if one of my team members has no belief in me to lead the group, my attitude towards the group and the member will change as they have shown a lack of confidence and interest in teamwork. According to Novicevic, Harvey, Buckley, Brown & Evans (2006) explains that authentic leadership is when a leader shows their individual responsibility in what they were responsible for in their organization. Novicevic, Harvey, Buckley, Brown & Evans (2006) discusses a particular style of leadership which is the matrix of executive leadership. This style of leadership occurs when a leader has lost confidence in them self. The
Borkowski (2015) distinguished between transactional leadership and transformational leadership by explaining that: transactional leadership is directed toward task accomplishment and the maintenance of good relations between the leader and subordinates throw consideration of performance and reward. And, Transformational leadership, contrasting transactional leadership, is directed toward the influence and management of institutional change and innovation through revitalization and
It is my belief that transformational leadership improves organizational effectiveness, and, therefore, should be used in every organization. As my goal is to move up the management chart, I trust this theory and concept will enable me to be a more effective leader. The transformational leadership style is one of the widely used approaches today. Organizations believe that transformational leaders influence performance. In order for me to influence my follower’s to increase team performance, I must build that trust. Meaning, I must become that effective transformational leader in which my followers have trust in me. These learnings will be applied in my workplace. After the readings, I now understand how crucial trust is in transformational leadership. In the workplace, my focus will be on building cognitive trust among team members so that they will put more efforts into performing the given task. Having trust in the team leader and trust amongst team members has a positive effect on team performance. If I want the vision to be fulfilled, it’s imperative that I encourage my employees to work together. As the article mentions, trust is an important factor that mediates the effect of the transformational leadership on group outcomes. Applying the learnings of this article will enhance my leadership skills as well as improving organizational
Bass and colleagues of his, have disputed that transactional leadership is a vital precondition if transformational leadership is to be effective (Avolio, 1999). By providing direction and focus, transactional leadership makes the use of transformational behaviors less confusing and ambiguous. From a somewhat abstract perspective, Podsakoff, Bommer and MacKenzie (2006) seem to agree with this assessment and further suggest that “leader reward and punishment behavior is the heart of what is called transactional leadership” (p.
Transformational leadership is an extension of transactional leadership. Organization should maintain base of transactional leadership while moving their organizational culture towards one of Transformational qualities.
This style of leadership offers the leader an opportunity for growth, often leaders can become process driven and lose focus on how to relate with their employees. Using transactional method keeps that line of communication open and demand a hand on approach by leadership.
In this time of transition and uncertainty, research suggests that transformational leadership is highly effective (Straight, 2006). Leadership research has drifted from emphasis on the competence of leaders to “manage change” to the ability to “transform” organizations. Transformational leaders have attributes and behaviors needed to successfully motivate and empower employees. According to Bernard Bass (1990), transformational leadership occurs when a leader transforms, or changes, his or her followers in three important ways that together result in followers trusting the leader, performing behaviors that contribute to the achievement of organizational goals, and being motivated to perform at a high level. Transformational leaders can achieve greater performance by stimulating innovative ways of thinking and transforming follower’s beliefs and aspirations. Maxwell (Maxwell, 2007) articulates that most of the time, influence is more important than formal power or authority. I agree with him. Influence is very important in organizational and co...
The transaction leader differs approach differs from the transformational leader. In general it is motivated by a change taking place. According to McLaurin and Almiri, transactional leadership is a bargaining exchange process between the leader and the follower, lead to the expected or planned outcomes, focus on maintaining the status quo, does not consider the needs of the followers on an individual basis, and the flow of power is more stable than the transformational leader.
Certainly, an army would not be able to battle in the war without a commander who in charges of the whole strategy. Correspondingly, any organisations cannot function without leaders. Leader is the most substantial element of successful organizations. Becoming outstanding leaders, leadership skill is vital in order to drive the organizations forward. Several leadership principles are extensively used these days. Burns (1978) identified two types of leadership comprise of transactional and transformational leadership. Hence, leaders should be capable to indicate which theory should be applied in accordance with organization’s culture and objectives. This essay aims to evaluate the resemblances and the differences between transactional and transformational leadership as well as the feasibility to utilize a mixture of them by giving the definitions and examples followed by the supporting researches and studies.