Intellectual Stimulation: Transformational Leaders

They constantly practice integrity and commitment. Transformational leaders seek to engage and re-engage their followers with a high level of commitment to the vision. While transformational leaders seek to transform organizations, they simultaneously seek to transform the followers.

There are many components to being a leader; a strong leader has to be able to clearly communicate, to intensely inspire others to collaborate in bringing the vision to fruition. James MacGregor Burns a leadership expert introduced the transformational leadership concept he suggested that “the transforming leader as one with the ability to create visions and employ charismatic behaviors, they are purposeful and seek to understand the motivation and needs of their followers (Crowell, 2016). Not only does a transformational leader have the ability to empower and motivate others “transformational leadership emphasizes the importance of interpersonal relationships, and the goal is to generate employee’s commitment to the vision or ideal rather than to themselves” (Sullivan & Decker, 2009). According to Smith, (2011) the ultimate goal of transformational leadership is the leader and the follower to discover meaning and purpose in relation to their work, in addition to growth and maturity. There are four I's of transformational leadership " individualized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation" (Riggio, 2014). The transformational leader causes changes in both the system and the individual. Creating positive and valuable changes in the followers with the result creating followers who will

Becoming a transformational leader can occur either because the leader has a model or mentor that is a transformational leader, because he/she is a born transformational leader, or through reflection. Senge (1990) wrote that “Learning through reflection is about finding the creative tension...between an understanding of current reality and a vision of desirable practice” (as cited in Johns, 2004, p. 24). In addition, Schuster (1994) noted that one who desires to become a transformational leader can cultivate certain qualities that are characteristic of such a leader: a stimulating vision for the organization, honesty, empathy, authenticity, the ability to defer self-interest to ensure that others are recognized, a holistic concern for the organization, the ability to share power with others, and the ability to develop others (as cited in Johns, 2004, p. 25). The transformational leader is also an effective communicator who persists during hard times and still has the courage to continue to move ahead even when fatigued and encountering difficulties (Schuster, 1994, as cited in Johns, 2004, p. 25).

Transformational Leadership empowers or enables its followers. The leader engages with the follower in a way that both the leader and follower transcend to a higher level of motivation and morality (Nicholls, 1994).

In addition, Burns et al., (as cited by Lavoie-Tremblay, et al., 2015) defined a transformational leader as “a leader who can extend and elevate the interests of staff, who can facilitate the commitment of staff to the mission and values of the organization, and who can lead staff to rise above their personal interests” (p. 582). Further, Broome (2013) identified transformational leaders as “proactive and hold core beliefs about the potential for development of both individuals they work with and their organization” (p. 327). Samad et al.(2015), connecting transformational leadership to servant leadership and authentic leadership reported, “transformational leadership is also congruent with regards to fostering higher levels of motivation among the followers’ and leaders’ ability to visualize the unforeseen” (pp.

Have you ever sat down planning to watch one TV show or play one round of video games or quickly check your Snapchat, only to find yourself doing the same activity hours later? I can extremely relate to this. I may be watching one episode of netflix than i find myself on to the fifth episode when i do not even realize the time. People do this because watching television, playing video games, using your phone or doing many other non active activities are all “cognitively stimulating”. Angus Chen explains how television is cognitively stimulating, in his article “Too Much TV And Chill Could Reduce Brain Power Over Time”. A cognitive stimulation is an activity that is enjoyable that you use thinking, concentration and memory while doing. Furthermore,

The transformational leader needs to direct people towards where they want to go and where they need to be in order to achieve the vision (Luzinski, 2011, p. 501). According to Luzinski (2011), success occurs when followers and leaders learn from each other, coming to a common understanding and establishing shared values, not because followers dutifully agree to listen (p. 502). Successful transformational leadership has four components: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration.

A Transformational Leader is a person who assesses a country, or organization/company, and recognizes the need for a change in the entity and is able to envision what this change should be. The transformational leader not only envisions the necessary change but has the required personality and strength of character that will enable them to influence others to buy into their vision and make it their own, and hence be willing to follow the leader in the quest to bring about the vision.

Transformational leadership describes a leader moving followers beyond immediate self-interests through idealized influence (charisma), inspiration motivation, intellectual stimulation, or individualized consideration. Transformational leaders are change agents. They influence the mission and objectives to make way for a brighter future for the organization. Followers are motivated to do more than is originally expected because of their feelings of trust and respect for the leader.

A sentiment common to almost any organization is that the one fact that remains constant is change. As society changes, and human understanding grows, any organization that maintains a static posture, assures its demise. Churches and Christian organizations are no exception. The gospel may remain the same, but the method for communicating it must speak to the audience to assure understanding. The Christian leader must be prepared to meet this challenge by incorporating an effective model for change into his theology of leadership in order to keep the ministry relevant and effective. Searching for such a change agent can prove to be challenging as well. To aid in this search, four

Transformational leadership. Burns (1978) is recognized as one of the earliest theorist on transformational leadership, who introduced transformational leadership over 30 years ago. Transformational leaders are perceived as leaders who uplift their employee morale, subsequently uplifting the entire organizational. Transformational leaders are known by their capacity to inspire followers to forgo self-interests in achieving superior results for the organization (Clawson, 2006). Avolio and Yammarino (2002) shared Bass’s explanation of transformational leadership as leaders who act as agents of change that stimulate, and transform followers’ attitudes, beliefs, and motivate from lower to higher level of arousal.

An author that is consistently referred to by Yukl, 2013 is James M. Burns, 1978 on transformational leadership. According to Burns, transforming leadership is a process in which "leaders & followers help each other to advance to a higher level of morale and motivation" (Burns, 1978). Burns (1978) informs the readers that the purported difference between leadership and management is in the character and behavior. Burns’s (1978) perspective on leadership has been used by others to develop leadership theories and influence on followers for positive performance (Yukl, 2013). Burns (1978) is said to have developed the idea that transformational leaders change the behavior and motivations of followers. In other words, influence on followers can be determined by the leadership method, behavior, and style. Transformational leaders strive to motivate and change followers’ mentality to redirect energy into action to complete the goals and mission of the organization (Burns, 1978). The argument is that the character and traits of the leader transforms and motivates subordinates to perform better and better (Yukl, 2013).

Leadership is a construct used to define the relationship between leaders and followers including the skills and behaviors that make an effective leader. Transformational leadership is an approach to leadership that focuses on the emotional and social interaction with followers; it is categorized as being influential, inspirational, and intellectually stimulating. (PSU, L1, P5.). Transformational leadership is the desired approach to being an effective leader. Like any skill, the way to obtain and improve them is through a development process. Leadership development requires an understanding of human nature, including personalities, ethics, and motivations. At its core, leadership is about human interaction between leaders and

A TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER is a person who stimulates and inspires followers to achieve extraordinary outcomes (Robbins, 2007)It has been shown to influence organisational members by transforming their values and priorities while motivating them to perform beyond their expectations (Rowold, 2007)Increased levels of job satisfaction & reduced turnover intentions are consequences of transformational leadership. It is all about leadership that creates positive change in the followers whereby they take care of each other’s interests and act in the interestsof the groupas a whole (Warrilow, 2012)

Leadership can be defined as the action of influencing and guiding individuals and organizations. Good leadership can be accomplished through a variety of techniques and styles. Transformational leadership seeks to change and engage followers and the organization by creating a compelling vision, strategy, and culture. Ultimately a “transformational leader motivates followers to achieve their potential and the organization’s potential” (Weiss, 2015).