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Transformational Leadership : Listening And The Emerging Potential

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Transformational Leadership: Listening to the Emerging Potential
Introduction
For youth, walking down the halls of a high school can be a terrifying experience. Living in an environment that fails to provide a sense of belonging, allow for individual growth, and cultivate a sense of purpose has become toxic to growth as well as productivity (Brendtro, Du Toit, 2005). In businesses, school, and our cultural construct we see a transactional approach based in coercion. Punishing those who fall out of line, and rewarding those who perform exactly how the leader wants them to (Wren, 1995). Researchers agree that the best way to cultivate a strong follower-ship is through the human approach adopted by transformational leaders (Nahavandi, 2015). …show more content…

Transformational leaders use three factors, charisma and inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration, to achieve goals and enact change. (Nahavandi, 2015). By analyzing leaders abilities to restore respect, find meaningful engagement, and discover the power of presence we will uncover the trends in transformational leadership that are allowing for large-scale change and cultural shifts.
Individual Consideration: Restoring the Bonds of Respect
Personal relationships are the foundation to a transformational leaders success. To punish is to cause pain (Brendtro, Du Toit, 2005); reward and punishment systems are causing pain to followers. Transformation leaders believe that in order to build meaningful relationships they must consider the individual, hearing the one of a kind story in each followers life (Dunkl, Jimenez, Zizek, Milfelner, Kallus, 2015). Many work environments are not conducive to this style of leadership; achievement and outcomes are valued above emotional stability. However, a psychologically healthy organization, where the leader takes a holistic approach to relationships, shows a significant decrease in stress and an increase in confidence (Dunkl, Jimenez, Zizek, Milfelner, Kallus, 2015). When leaders care about every aspect of their followers life, the follower shows gratitude by: showing up to work confidently, being motivated to exceed

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