Application of Transformational Leadership

Описание: Rather than being a model that tells leaders what to do, transformational leadership provides a broad set of generalizations of what is typical of leaders who are transforming or who work in transforming contexts. Unlike other leadership approaches, transformational leadership does not provide clear assumptions about how leaders should act in a particular situation to be successful.

Rather, it provides a general way of thinking about leadership that emphasizes ideals, inspiration, innovations, and individual concerns. Transformational leadership requires that leaders be aware of how their own behavior relates to the needs of their followers and the changing dynamics within their organizations.

It has been suggested that transformational leadership can be taught to people at all levels in an organization and that it can positively affect a firm’s performance. It can be used in recruitment, selection and promotion, and training and development. It can also be used in improving team development, decision-making groups, quality initiatives, and reorganizations. Programs designed to develop transformational leadership usually require that leaders or their associates take the MLQ or a similar questionnaire to determine the leader’s particular strengths and weaknesses in transformational leadership. Taking the MLQ helps leaders pinpoint areas in which they could improve their leadership.

One particular aspect of transformational leadership that has been given special emphasis in training programs is the process of building a vision. For example, it has become quite common for training programs to have leaders write elaborate statements that describe their own five-year career plans and their perceptions of the future directions for their organizations. Working with leaders on vision statements is one way to help them enhance their transformational leadership behavior.

Overall, transformational leadership provides leaders with information about a full range of their behaviors. These behaviors range from nontransactional to transactional to transformational.