Theory and Practice of Transactional-Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders motivate by utilizing values, care, and inspiration (Marquis & Huston, 2015). These leaders are developing their employees to strive for growth. Transformational leadership enables companies to look towards the

There are many models of leadership that exist across a range of fields (e.g. social work, education, psychology, business, etc.). The ability to transform an organization successfully requires a different set of attitudes and skills. Transformational leadership is an approach where a leader utilizes inspiration, charisma, individualized attention, and intellectual stimulation with their employees (Iachini, Cross, & Freedman, 2015, p. 651). Transformational leadership helps to clarify organizational vision, inspires employees to attain objectives, empowers employees, encourages employees to take risks, and advocates the seeking of alternative solutions to challenges in the workplace (Transformational Leadership, 2015). It allows the leader to engage and motivate each follower identify with the organization’s values and goals.

Transformational leadership is described as a person who has the ability to make followers into leaders and promote change (Roussel & Swansburg, 2009). Transformational leadership encourages staff empowerment (Roussel & Swansburg, 2009). It is thought that if staff feels empowered then they will work harder by collaborating with each other instead

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

Transformational leadership will now be explained and a comparison between Transactional leadership will be made.

The change-oriented leadership literature distinguishes transformational and transactional leadership styles. Transactional leaders influence followers by controlling their behaviors, rewarding agreed-upon

According to Avolio, Bass, and Jung, (1999) transactional leaders motivate to perform by using positive or negative feedback. Employees work is determined by the reward or punishment that the leader prescribes to achieve mission accomplishment. The leader’s effectiveness is determined by task completion. Breevaart, Bakker, Hetland, Demerouti, Olsen, and Espevik, (2014) suggest that the transactional leader is involved in sustaining operational flow. Zhu, Sosik, Riggio, and Yang, (2012) argue that the transactional leader uses the exchange of rewards to increase performance and is not concerned with strategic planning, as much as daily operations.

The leader demonstrates to the followers loyalty, trust, respect and admiration, with these the qualities of the transformational leader, they tend to work harder than originally expected that tends to have a link between effort and reward. These outcomes occur because the transformational leader offers followers something more than just working for self-gain; they provide followers with an inspiring mission and vision and gives them an identity. They believe in the organizational culture they find and specific methods of performing tasks. Transactional leaders are effective in getting specific tasks completed by managing each portion individually. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, transactional leaders focus on the lower levels of the hierarchy that is the very basic levels of need satisfaction. One way that transactional leadership focuses on lower level needs is by stressing specific task performance (Hargis et al, 2001). They are more concerned with processes rather than revolutionary ideas hence under their leadership change is least expected. Unlike them, transformational leaders end up changing existing organizational cultures by implementing new ideas.

The transactional leadership style - the leader focuses on exchanges of benefits or transactions with subordinates. A transactional leader believes that rewards motivate employees to reach their maximum potential.

In the article, Curtis and O’Connell discuss the difference between transactional and transformational leadership. Transactional leadership is based on

According to Pamela Spahr from St. Thomas University Transformational Leaders “possess a single-minded need to streamline or change things that no longer work. The transformational leader motivates workers and understands how to form them into integral units that work well with others.” (Spahr, 2015)

Additionally, transformational leadership theory looks at leadership differently. It sees a true leader as one who can distil the values, hopes, and needs of followers into a vision, and then encourage and empower followers to pursue that vision. A transactional leader thinks of improvement or development as doing the same thing better: an organization that reaches more people, a company that makes more money. A transformational leader thinks about changing the world, even if only on a small scale (Community Tool box, 2016).

Over the past twenty years, an abundant body of researches have been done to review transformational leadership and transactional leadership. Burn (1978) was the first person to introduce and conceptualize the concept of transformational leadership and transactional leadership. Bass (1985) based on Burn’s concept and deepened his notion with modifications, which stated that one of the best frameworks of leadership is transformational or transactional. Following Bass and Avolio (1994, p. 4) provided the idea of these two leaderships and generalized them into the development of global economic world. Bass and Avolio (1997) also suggested that there was no need to view transformational and transactional leadership as

Over the past twenty years, an abundant body of researches have been done to review transformational leadership and transactional leadership. Burn (1978) was the first person to introduce and conceptualize the concept of transformational leadership and transactional leadership. Bass (1985) based on Burn’s concept and deepen his notion with modifications, which stated that one of the best frameworks of leadership is transformational or transactional, but not opposing to each other. Followed by Bass and Avolio (1994), they provide the idea of these two leaderships and generalize them into the development of global economic world. Bass and Avolio (1997) also suggested that there was no need to view transformational and

The primary focus of my research will deal with both transactional and authentic leadership and how they are viewed in the workplace. Transactional leadership is most often compared to transformational leadership. Transactional leadership depends on self-motivated people who work well in a structured, directed environment. By contrast, transformational leadership is used to motivate and inspire workers by influence rather than direct the individual. Authentic leadership is an approach to leadership that emphasizes building the leader's legitimacy through honest relationships with followers whose input are valued and are built linked to an ethical foundation. Authentic leaders are usually positive people with truthful