TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP- HANDOUT

4) Explain the two outcomes of transformational leadership.  (Riggio, 2013): 

• Transformation of the collective: The group is moved to high levels of collaboration and performance. 

Clear vision, specific values, norms, and new philosophies of the future state of their organizations
give the leader and the organization a conceptual map for where the organization is headed (Kouzes and Posner).
Transformational leaders became social architects for their organizations (Bennis & Nanus, 1985) who
visualize positive outcomes in the future and communicate them to others. It was an image of an
attractive, realistic, and believable future (Bennis & Nanus, 1985, p. 89). The vision usually was simple,
understandable, beneficial, and energy creating. It empowers them because they feel they are a significant
dimension of a worthwhile enterprise (pp. 90–91) (Kouzes and Posner). Followers know their roles and
understand how they contribute to the greater purposes of the organization (Kouzes and Posner). Leaders
also listen to the dreams of others and show them how their dreams can be realized.
You can see the image of Ho Chi Minh, the great leader of Vietnam, who helped Vietnam gain
independence and freedom from the invading French and American empires. He is a transformational
leader. People follow him unconditionally because they believe in his vision, and they share the same
values and goals. Millions of people in Vietnam followed him, even worshipped him as a God because of
his transformational leadership style.
By listening to their dreams and interacting with followers, transformational leaders can help followers
increase their level of commitment to the organization (Tucker & Russell, 2004) According to Bass and
Avolio (1993), in a transformational culture, there is generally a sense of purpose and a feeling of family.
Socialized transformational leaders transcend their own interests for the sake of others (Howell & Avolio,
1993). Leaders and followers share mutual interests and a sense of shared fates and interdependence; so it
fosters the collaboration between the leader and the followers. A spirit of cooperation, teamwork
and trust often develops between these leaders and their followers. Followers want to follow
transformational leaders because they trust them, believe in the ideas for which they stand and are treated
with dignity and respect.
By focusing the shared values, vision and the culture, transformational leaders help create productivity
and innovation within the organization (Niehoff, Enz, & Grover, 1990). Transformational leaders are
like pioneers. They help subordinates discover who they are and what part they play in helping the
organization achieve its mission. This can help the organization innovate, grow, and improve. (Kouzes
and Posner)
In summary, charismatic leadership works because it ties followers and their self-concepts to the
organizational identity.
• Transformation of the individual: Followers are transformed into leaders, as the transformational
leader develops leadership capacity within followers (Riggio, 2013). 
 Transformational leadership is concerned with improving the performance of followers and developing
followers to their fullest potential (Avolio, 1999; Bass & Avolio, 1990a). Charismatic leaders emphasize
the intrinsic rewards of work and deemphasize extrinsic rewards. The hope is that followers will view
work as an expression of themselves. Throughout the process, leaders express high expectations for
followers and help them gain a sense of confidence and self-efficacy. transformational leaders encourage
the followers to take on more responsibility and autonomy because transformational leadership might
intrinsically foster more job satisfaction given its ability to impart a sense of mission and intellectual
stimulation. The work tasks would then provide the followers with an increased level of accomplishment
and satisfaction (Emery & Barker, 2007).
5) Explain why transformational leadership has the most popular theory of leadership over the past 15
years. 

Transformational leadership has been the most popular theory of leadership over the past 15 years
because of the following reasons:
First, transformational leadership has been widely researched from many different perspectives, including
a series of qualitative studies of prominent leaders and CEOs in large, well-known organizations. It has
also been the focal point for a large body of leadership research since its introduction in the 1970s.
Second, transformational leadership has intuitive appeal. People are attracted to transformational leadership
because it makes sense to them. It is appealing that a leader will provide a vision for the future.
Third, transformational leadership treats leadership as a mutual process that occurs between followers and
leaders. It emphasizes the importance of followers in the leadership process and The needs of others are
central to the transformational leader. It is not the sole responsibility of a leader but the needs and
contributions of all the followers.
Fourth, the transformational approach provides a broader view of leadership that goes beyond traditional
transactional models. Many leadership models focus primarily on how leaders exchange rewards for
achieved goals- the transactional process. The transformational approach provides an expanded picture of
leadership that includes not only the exchange of rewards, but also leaders’ attention to the needs and
growth of followers (Avolio, 1999; Bass, 1985).
For example, in a transactional leader, the leader gives the employees bonus, salary increase, incentives,
perks as a way of motivating them because they believe that they do not have the real intrinsic motivation.
Instead, transformational leadership focuses on intrinsic rewards, followers’ internal growth and
development.
Do you think Hitler is considered the transformational leader? The answer is no, because he does not
practice morally to others.
Fifth, transformational leadership places a strong emphasis on followers’ needs, values, and morals. It
focusses on higher standards of moral responsibility. This emphasis sets the transformational approach
apart from all other approaches to leadership because it suggests that leadership has a moral dimension.
Finally, there is substantial evidence that transformational leadership is an effective form of leadership.
Yukl, 1999 assessed transformational leadership through use of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire
(MLQ), which measures a leader’s behavior in seven areas: idealized influence (charisma), inspirational
motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, contingent reward, management-by-
exception, and laissez-faire. High scores on individualized consideration and motivation factors are most
indicative of strong transformational leadership. Furthermore, in studies that used interviews and
observations, transformational leadership was shown to be effective in a variety of different situations.