Having helmed countless leadership development courses over my career, it is my view that the best leaders not only take control of a situation, but they display a passion and enthusiasm for the work that inspires others in a group to follow them. That inspiration drives engagement and energises people to achieve peak performance. This style of leadership is transformational leadership.
Transformational Leadership: A Brief History
The concept of transformational leadership was born from James MacGregor Burns, a leadership expert and presidential biographer. He argued that transformational leadership can be seen when both leaders and followers engage one another in a way that advances both to higher levels of motivation. This theory was later expanded upon by researcher Bernard M. Bass to develop the Transformational Leadership Theory.
Bass suggested that there were four primary components of transformational leadership.
Intellectual Stimulation
Transformational leaders are those that stimulate creativity among followers. They encourage those working with them to explore new opportunities to learn and consider new ways of doing things. If you cast your mind back to your days at school and/or college, you might be able to identify the teachers and lecturers who seemed to better engage with students. Those who encouraged considered debate around a subject, and harnessed innate creativity, may well have been employing a form of transformational leadership. It’s also quite likely that regardless of your feelings or fondness of a subject, a class that was taught on such an open platform was one that you looked forward to and enjoyed, more so than a class that was taught within much stricter, less-engaging confines.
The transformational leader will foster and encourage an environment that does not simply seek to emulate the status quo but to challenge it. They encourage reasoned, critical discourse on preconceived notions that will help illuminate new pathways to innovation and success. By encouraging such a climate, their followers grow more confident, feeling they can speak up and present radical new ideas without fearing dismissal or ridicule.
Individualised Consideration
Transformational leaders also offer support and encouragement on an individual basis, as opposed to only considering the requirements of the group. This allows for an individual member of the group to speak freely, communicating their personal ideas on a particular subject or project. By encouraging individual input, you make your people feel more valued because they’re not just another voice lost in the crowd – they have a voice that is being heard. This can be extremely beneficial to a business. In the short-term, you’re able to provide your people with individual recognition for their efforts which fosters greater motivation because being recognised is rewarding. In the long-term, you may well be able to identify the people who possess the abilities of leadership themselves.
Transformational leaders may look for opportunities for their followers, such as training courses that could enhance an individual’s own abilities. They will also refrain from too much bulk communication, favouring personalised notes and using personalised language to make their people feel more valued which boosts self-confidence. Most of all they will listen to a follower’s needs and concerns and will distribute the workload fairly.
Inspirational Motivation
This is where a transformational leader is able to communicate a clear vision to their followers, while also driving passion and enthusiasm for the work. It ties in quite nicely with the above. If you’re passionate and excited about the work your business is doing, and you’re engaging your followers in such a way that they feel valued and energised then you will also pass on those feelings of motivation. You will inspire them in such a way that they feel part of your business, and they share in your business’s success.
By using language designed to appeal to people’s desire for self-improvement, a transformational leader can inspire people to attain goals within a business and even in their personal lives. This leads to greater fulfilment which informs greater personal investment in the performance of the business.
Idealised Influence
A transformational leader engenders trust, loyalty and respect among followers. They lead by example by placing themselves within the group and not simply barking orders from afar. The transformational leader should seek to become a figure of admiration within the business by emphasising values and ensuring that their actions symbolically reinforce those values. They should also display a high level of ethical and moral conduct, both professionally and in how they interact with their followers.
This takes a great degree of self-confidence on the part of the transformational leader but such confidence breeds further confidence in others, which drives forward a business on all levels.
Some Simple Steps
For those looking to become a transformational leader, there are some very simple things that can be done straight away. For example, consider how you communicate with your people. When you send an email to an employee regarding something you wish to see done, do you tell them to do it, or do you ask them? It’s the simplest of things but language such as “I was wondering if…?” engenders a much more positive reaction than “I want you to…”.
Similarly, ensure that your people are recognised for their efforts. Even praise for something small can make a person feel inspired, valued and motivated. Obviously, you wouldn’t want to lose the power of a congratulatory message by sending them out all the time, but if a person, say, dealt with a matter much more quickly than you expected then a little bit of praise for it would likely be very much appreciated.
Most simply of all, communicate to your people that you’re always happy to listen to their input. It may well be that someone has a new idea that they feel would be beneficial but lack the confidence to bring it to you. Let them know that they can! And even if you feel that their idea doesn’t work at this time, thank them for it and encourage them to continue to be forthcoming with ideas that they feel strongly about.
Want to Know More?
If you feel that you, your business and/or your people could benefit from transformational leadership training then please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or get in touch via the contact form on this site.
