- Characteristics of transformational leaders
- Transform
- They motivate people
- They produce vision changes in their followers
- They are charismatic and inspiring leaders
- Pay attention to individual followers
- They generate emotional ties in their followers
- They promote cooperation
- They promote the cascade or domino effect
- They intellectually stimulate their followers
- Shared leadership is important to them
- They are symbolic roles of authority
- They are defined according to moral values
- They try to minimize errors
- They encourage creativity
- Traits and competencies
- Advantages of transformational leadership
- Has an impact on self-esteem and well-being
- Increase worker performance
- They can respond to organizational complexity
- Disadvantages of transformational leadership
- It is not a style for all followers
- Little orientation to detail
- Realistic need for support
- References
The Transformational leadership is exercised by persons performing profound changes in society. It is characteristic of leaders who create changes in the behavior and attitude of their followers (members of the organization), changing their vision and obtaining in them the necessary commitment to achieve the objectives of the organization.
An example of this type of leadership is Steve Jobs, who encouraged and challenged his employees to create better products. Another more recent is Elon Musk, who with his vision of a world with electric cars or the man arriving on Mars inspires large crowds.
Transformational leaders care for their followers and appeal to moral ideals. It implies different values such as: honesty, responsibility or altruism. In this way, he urges them to look out for the interests of the organization and overcome individual selfishness.
Transformational leadership involves increasing the capacity of the members of an organization to solve problems individually or collectively. It represents the culture of change.
Transformational leadership motivates people to do more than they expect, which ends up moving and changing groups, organizations and society itself. To achieve this they use an inspiring vision, organizational values, a good organizational climate and a satisfactory personal relationship.
Characteristics of transformational leaders
These are the most important characteristics of transformational leaders:
Transform
Transformational leaders transform their followers and the organizations they are in. What's more, the most prominent ones even transform people's history and lives.
They motivate people
It is a leadership style that motivates and transforms people, because it is related to human needs, self-realization, self-esteem and personal growth.
The exercise of transformational leadership encourages more effective behaviors, its workers are motivated to give even more than is expected of them.
They produce vision changes in their followers
Transformational leaders exert influence on group members, produce changes of vision that encourage people to put aside personal interests to seek the collective good.
They will even seek the collective interest even if their most basic needs such as security, health or love are not satisfied.
Transformational leadership is appropriate when you want to change the vision or mission of your organization because the environment is dynamic and rapidly changing. In these environments the most appropriate leadership style because it is what these leaders achieve.
They are charismatic and inspiring leaders
They are leaders with charisma, who show influence through their character, their influence and their exemplary behaviors. Transformational leaders end up becoming a role model for their followers.
Transformational leadership ends up generating an impact on followers because they identify with it, with its beliefs, with its values and its objectives.
These leaders have the ability to enthuse their followers and convey confidence and respect. In addition, they are inspiring because they increase optimism and enthusiasm.
Pay attention to individual followers
The transformational leader pays attention to his followers, in a way that promotes their development and growth. It also stimulates them intellectually, that way they initiate actions, try to do new things or think about problems in a new way.
You are available to them, communicating high expectations, and being trustworthy and willing to help them. In addition, they serve members individually, advising and training them.
They generate emotional ties in their followers
Followers end up forming a strong emotional bond with the transformational leader, thus forming a shared vision.
Followers feel more self-confident, with greater self-esteem, so they respond positively to what the leader requires of them, striving for collective achievements.
They promote cooperation
They are leaders who adapt very well to the demands of the organization.
This means that they promote cooperation within the organization, that all members understand each other and that the expectations of both the organization itself and the group are met.
They promote the cascade or domino effect
The cascade or domino effect refers to the ability of transformational leaders to turn their followers into potential leaders.
In this way, when in other situations it is necessary, it is the followers themselves who will become transformational leaders, guaranteeing that the organization is sustainable.
They intellectually stimulate their followers
Another of the fundamental characteristics of transformational leadership is the intellectual stimulation of its followers; They favor new approaches to problems and pose questions to the challenges they encounter.
In addition, they consider that continuous training is important, because they believe that followers grow personally in this way.
Shared leadership is important to them
For transformational leaders, “shared leadership” is important, that is, they seek a consensus with workers on the values of the organization, on the objectives and on the way of working.
For them, teamwork is important, because better results are achieved within the organization.
They are symbolic roles of authority
Transformational leaders take on a role of "symbolic role of authority", so that they become responsible agents. They know and feel responsible for the organization, so they carry out specific behaviors to set an example.
They are an example of availability to the company, of being honest, responsible and of working hard to be able to achieve the objectives and be consistent with the organizational values.
They are defined according to moral values
They have effects on their followers based on values such as trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect. They care about the conscience of their followers, appealing to values such as freedom, justice or peace.
They achieve effects on their followers by making them aware of organizational goals, induce them to go beyond their own interest and activate their higher needs, such as self-realization.
They try to minimize errors
Transformational leaders try to minimize mistakes; they try to anticipate so that they do not occur. When mistakes happen, they don't complain or retaliate, they just try to turn them into learning experiences.
From mistakes you learn and therefore do not punish subordinates for having committed them.
They encourage creativity
They invite followers to contribute new ideas, they encourage creativity to be independent. To do this, they invite them to creatively discover the best way to solve problems and carry out tasks.
He has a future-oriented vision and directs all his energies in solving complicated problems, not using conventional thinking and using his intelligence to achieve success.
Traits and competencies
In some studies on transformational leaders, different personal attributes have been identified.
For example, it is emphasized that they are trusting towards people and attend to their needs, see themselves as agents of change and are flexible and learn from experience.
In addition, they are visionaries, with good cognitive skills and believe in the need to analyze problems. They are people who promote values to guide people's behavior and are cautious when taking risks.
Advantages of transformational leadership
Has an impact on self-esteem and well-being
Given the characteristics of transformational leaders, followers end up feeling self-confident, with greater self-esteem and a feeling of being part of the group.
All of this has an impact on the organization because the followers respond positively to what the leader requires of them.
Increase worker performance
Followers try their best to achieve the efforts of the organization and therefore greater performance and performance is achieved by the workers.
Different research has shown that transformational leadership has a positive impact on the psychological and emotional reactions of followers, which is why their performance at work is also higher.
For example, some research from the US showed that followers of transformational leaders, compared to other leaders, show more performance at work.
This happens because they have more confidence and commitment, which ends up having repercussions at the work level.
They can respond to organizational complexity
Another advantage of transformational leaders is that they are able to adapt to what the organization requires of them, increasing their efficiency and effectiveness.
These types of leaders promote cooperation and responsibility, and are able to respond effectively to the complexity of organizations.
Disadvantages of transformational leadership
Nelson Mandela is an example of a transformational leader
On some occasions, transformational leadership may not be the most beneficial style for the organization.
For example, when we move in a dynamic stable environment, with little change, where the followers have experience and enjoy their work, the transactional style may be more appropriate.
When followers have a status, belong to an equitable organization, and that promotes self-control in its members, the transactional style can also be the most beneficial style that maintains balance.
It is not a style for all followers
The transformational style is not the most optimal for all followers. Employees who are more dependent, who are unable to do what the leader expects or teaches them, and who cannot develop their skills will feel more uncomfortable.
Little orientation to detail
Although transformational leaders are known for their ability to motivate, they sometimes have little orientation to detail. Experts say these types of leaders would need the support of more organized and detail-oriented people.
Realistic need for support
Because transformational leaders rely heavily on passion and vision, they sometimes need a realistic partner who will give them a realistic insight into the organization's situation and goals.
References
- Ayala-Mira, M., Luna, MG, and Navarro, G. (2012). Transformational leadership as a resource for well-being at work. Uaricha Journal of Psychology, 9 (19), 102-112.
- Bernal Agudo, JL (2001). Leading change: transformational leadership. Education Yearbook of the Department of Educational Sciences of the University of Zaragoza.
- Bracho Parra, O., and Guiliany, JG (2013). Some theoretical considerations on transformational leadership.
- Godoy, R., and Bresó, E. (2013). Is transformational leadership decisive in the intrinsic motivation of followers? Journal of Word and Organizational Psychology, 29, 59-64.
- Moreira, CM (2010). Transformational leadership and gender in military organizations. Doctoral Thesis of the Complutense University of Madrid.
- Nader, M., and Sánchez, E. (2010). Comparative study of the values of transformational and transactional civil and military leaders. Annals of Psychology, 26 (1), 72-79.