Drew Hendricks: Article Analysis

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s marked an important social event in American History. A decade after the abolishment of slavery of African Americans, African Americans have yet to receive equal social, political, and economic opportunities when compared to whites and minorities. Slavery was reinitialized slavery in other forms such as the Grandfather Clause, Jim Crow Laws, and share cropping. Instead of accepting racial injustice, civil rights activist Martin Luther King taught passive methods of achieving equality. Inspired by Gundi, MLK organized the “I AM A MAN” march, Selma march, and countless other demonstrations.

The transformational leader induces employees to perform beyond expectations by empowering and motivating them, and sometimes by leading by example.

As a result, transformational leadership distinguishes between managerial and leadership roles (as previously discussed) and two distinct approaches to leadership—transactional versus transformational leadership. Firstly, transactional leadership is aligned with more classical, managerial views of leadership, involving exchanges between leaders and employees in which the former sets goals and expectations and compensates and rewards the latter for fulfilling those expectations (Mumby, 2013, p. 265). On the other hand, transformational leadership is considered a new approach to leadership theory where leaders recognize and raise the aspirations of organizational members so that they think and act beyond their own self-interests (Burns, 1978). Therefore, transformational

In the article Bell, Powell and Sykes began by mentioning that a hallmark of transformational leaders are effective communication skills, and using a coaching and empowering approach to communication is a key component of a transformational leadership style. They went on to state that the transformational approach is increasing workers’ capability to develop and draw on their abilities and increase their confidence.

In order to move forward and keep ahead, I believe an organization need change leaders who have capabilities to have their workforce go from change avoidance to change acceptance. “One of the most significant strengths of an effective leader is the ability to create a positive work climate where people are energized to do their best work, free of unnecessary distractions” (Cronkite, n.d.). During this part of the change process I feel the change leader would have better success if he would be tactful and harness the skills of others by working in a collaborative rather than hierarchical way. Leadership in an organization involves instilling motivation and enthusiasm in the employees. An effective leader knows how to manage and tackle difficult situations and people. Many reasons can cause a force of change in organizations but I feel it’s up to change leaders to manage these planned and unexpected changes. (Word count: 548)

Northouse 2012) concluded that transformational leaders empowered and supported followers during change, while they also “raise the consciousness in individuals and to get them to transcend their own self-interests for the sake of others” (p. 199). These leaders also have high moral values, know how to express their vision, and “listen to their followers” (Northouse, 2012, p. 200). These leaders build trust through their relationships with followers and motivate those under them towards the mission of the company or organization. These leaders influenced me greatly throughout my Navy career and have helped transform me into a better leader by empowering, building, and creating an environment in which I could thrive as a Sailor. “In the end, transformational leadership results in people feeling better about themselves and their contributions to the greater common good” (Northouse, 2012, p.

(1990). From transactional to transformational leadership: learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, 18, (3), Winter, 1990, 19-31.

Transformational leadership theory provides a solid foundation to address complex matters related to leaders and organizational leadership. As a reliable theoretical approach (Bass & Riggio, 2010; Judge & Piccolo, 2004), the theory’s historical and current applications in the workplace provide decades of support based on successful development outcomes of leaders and followers (Antonakis, Avolio & Sivasubramaniam, 2003; Bass, 1999; Bass 1997; Hatula, 2006; Hernandez, Long, & Sitkin, 2014; Mao & Chang, 2012; Malik, Javed, & Hanssan, 2017). One of the originating authorities of transformational leadership co-created the Multiple Leadership Questionnaire to quantitatively assess TL behavioral dimensions from multiple perspectives of leaders and followers (Bass, & Avolio,

The 1970s brought a number of emerging leadership theories, these theories focused on the importance of a leader 's charisma to leadership effectiveness. Many of these theories and models were the same. Transformational leadership theory separated itself between the transactional and the transformational leader. This leadership theory focuses on role and task requirements and utilizes rewards contingent on performance. Research shows that in contrast, transformational leadership focuses on developing mutual trust, fostering the leadership abilities of others, and setting goals that go beyond the short-term needs of the work group.

It is observed by many authors that transformational leadership enhances transactional leadership by which improving the performance of the organization (Bass & Avolio, 1994; Howell & Avolio, 1993; Lowe et al, 1996). While according to Weihrich (2008) transformational theory is a sub-division of transactional theory. The concept of transformational and transactional leadership behavior in recent years has received a lot of attention to social scientists. Several empirical studies on Transformational Leadership focuses on leader behavior described to inspire and motivate people to perform beyond expectation and in Transactional leadership, as described, plays a positive role on large organizations that reflects on a wide range of employee attitudes and behaviors (Bass & Bass, 2008; Bass & Riggio, 2006; Judge & Piccolo,

Transformational leaders have effective communication skills and the ability to create an environment of trust, while promoting their employees personal development. Transformational leaders gain their credibility because they are genuine, can connect with their employees, and have positive attitudes that are influential and empowering. Since transformational leaders value the organization as a whole, and serve as active role models, employees have open communication and tend to identify more with them (Bell, Powell, & Sykes, 2015).

The last challenge is that there is high employee turnover rate due to poor management in resource allocation which creates an unfavourable work environment. In this situation, the leader can use transformational leadership to change organizational structure. Leaders can perform as role model for followers to trust and respect them through their action. Leaders can also offer support to their followers and reward them for their better performance. In this way, the leaders can overcome the challenges.

The leader must manage the trust through consistency. Without mutual trust, the leader would not be able to delegate authority to others. In addition, the leader must be consistent and predictable, that the actions were consistent with the vision and values. Transformational leadership does subordinate leaders. Employees are given relative freedom so that they can independently control their activities within defined boundaries. They are involved in the process of solving problems and learn new ways of working, thereby increasing productivity. Transformational leadership puts the needs of employees with a lower physiological level (security, reliability) to a higher level of psychological (self-esteem, the realization of their

Transformational leadership is regarded as one of the most effective leadership styles in times of change and uncertainty. It is used to not only create a long term vision within an organization, but also inspire its employees (Tyssen et al, 2014). For example, if an organization’s main goal is to increase sales, instead of thinking of the process as a “strictly-business” type process, transformational leaders look to motivate and encourage his or her followers to think of new ways to increase these sales. Transformational leaders thrive in an environment where there is encouragement and motivation. These leaders tend to create an environment that is conducive to creativity and the sharing of ideas. They inspire through innovation (Bryant, 2003).

employees are found to be less innovative, less risk taking and transactional style of leadership