Transformational Leadership Essay

In his 1978 book ‘Leadership’, James McGregor Burns gave life to the concept of transformational leadership. His definition of a transformational leader was the following: ‘A process where leaders and their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation’.
Through this leadership style, the leader recognises the need for change and he therefore builds a vision to guide the change by inspiring other members of the group and achieves the change with commitment. ‘Transformational leaders don’t start by denying the world around them. Instead, they describe a future they’d like to create instead’. (Seth Godin)
From Theory to Practice
In order to be able to select an appropriate leader, one must first be able to comprehend the term transformational leadership. ‘Transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms individuals’ (Northouse 2001). The four factors which contribute to this leadership style are the following:
Idealized influence defines managers who are the example of role models for associates. These associates trust and respect such managers to make the best decisions for the firm.
Inspirational motivation speaks about those managers who motivate their employees to be committed to the vision of the organisation. Managers encourage team work to reach the goals of market growth and improved revenue for the company.
Intellectual Stimulation is all about leaders who inspire modernisation and originality by challenging the normal beliefs of team members. Such managers stimulate problem solving and critical thinking to make the organisation a better one.
Individual Consideration talks about those supervisors who take the role of advisors and coaches for their employees. These managers encou...

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...ganisation through reflection and continuous improvement. Gain knowledge by making the best practices steady rather than reinventing the wheel with each new project.

The following diagram is a summary of the above mentioned values, sections and principles.

Conclusion
Transformational Leadership is a vital technique used for effective managers because leader effectiveness defines the success level of a company. Hesselbein and Cohen (1999, pg.263) suggest that organisations that take the time to instil leadership are far ahead of competitors. In my opinion, as can be seen from this paper, a learning organisation is even more possible to excel if it is led by a transformational leader. Therefore, one will lead to the other. If the person leading the company does not make use of any leadership styles, then it is nearly impossible to achieve a learning organisation.