Running head: TRANSFORMATIONAL APPROACH CASE STUDY

Transformational Approach Case Study

Rogelio Nava Jr.
Concordia University Texas

TRANSFORMATIONAL APPROACH CASE STUDY

Transformational Approach Case Study

I was particularly struck by Dr. Cook in Case 9.1 because of his ability to read and
understand his followers and adjust his delivery, approach, and work philosophy to meet their
individual needs. Dr. Cook essentially differentiated his way of managing his team of followers
while also inspiring them to achieve a common goal.
This case concerned college professor Dr. Cook and the task of bringing college students
to the Middle East to perform an archaeological dig. Dr. Cook set expectations for the group of
mostly inexperienced students but noticed they were not adhering to the trip rules or working
hard to achieve the team goals. Upon making this observation, Dr. Cook addressed the group by
treating his followers as equal in power to himself as well as by encouraging their autonomy.
This resulted in the followers taking ownership of their work and also had the effect of eliciting
pride in what they accomplished. By giving the followers a platform to voice their feelings,
concerns, and issues Dr. Cook inspired the followers to work hard to meet and exceed his
expectations. He acted as a transformational leader by adopting a humanistic approach to
managing his followers, which in turn yielded positive results.
This case reaffirmed the idea that as a leader one must remain cognizant of the needs and
feelings of followers and endeavor to address them. Doing so will create a positive work
environment from which high-quality work and follower satisfaction will flourish. Effective
leaders must take a prescriptive approach to managing followers by recognizing and addressing
their personal needs. This will elicit positive attitudes towards work as well as a sense of
fulfillment and accomplishment.

TRANSFORMATIONAL APPROACH CASE STUDY

As a principal I would use this information to remind myself to build and maintain
positive rapport with followers in order to inspire them to be intrinsically motivated to work
towards our common goals.

TRANSFORMATIONAL APPROACH CASE STUDY

Works Cited
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.