Leadership, Transformational

Conceptual Overview

While the term transformational leadership was originally coined by James Downton in a 1983 paper on rebel leadership, it was James MacGregor Burns who brought the term to wider parlance in his 1978 classic study of political leadership in the book simply entitled Leadership. Burns made an important distinction between transactional leadership, which he suggested was the way that most politicians led their followers on the basis of reciprocal exchange leading to the satisfaction of both the leader's and the follower's selfinterests, and transformational leadership, which was practiced by those political leaders who were able to engage their followers not only to achieve something of significance but also to morally uplift them.

Seven years later, industrial psychologist Bernard Bass expanded on this important distinction and brought it to the top of the agenda for both leadership researchers and practitioners alike. While commencing with four factors, the Full Range Leadership (FRL) model that Bass and various others have elaborated currently contains nine factors. Within this model, the transformational leadership factors include idealized influence (both attributed and behaviors), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. The second set of factors, transactional factors, include contingent reward and management-by-exception (both active and passive). Finally, the laissez-faire leadership factor indicates an absence of leadership (i.e., a nontransaction).

Focusing on the transformational leader factors, leaders with idealized influence become role models that followers want to identify with and emulate. These leaders are admired, respected, and trusted and are perceived to have extraordinary capabilities, persistence, and determination. Leaders who possess these qualities are frequently described as having charisma. Leaders who create inspirational motivation paint a clear vision for their followers' future state as well as provide the momentum to reach that vision through the arousal of team spirit. These leaders also provide meaning, challenge, clearly communicated expectations, and a commitment to set goals. Leaders who exhibit intellectual stimulation encourage followers to be innovative and creative in redressing old problems in new ways and regularly examining old assumptions to see if they are still viable. Finally, leaders showing individual consideration treat all followers as individuals and consider their individual needs, abilities, and aspirations. These leaders help individuals to develop their strengths and spend time coaching and guiding people.

For Bass, the ideal approach for leaders to take exhibits both transformational and transactional forms of leadership. Transactional leadership involves an exchange wherein the leader offers rewards in return for compliance and performance by his or her followers. The transaction usually takes the form of contracts, employment agreements, performance management systems, and service-led agreements. Attention is often drawn to the importance of the augmentation effect that transformational leadership has over and above the effect made by transactional leadership. Indeed the distinction that is drawn between transactional leadership and transformational leadership as well as the crucial role that transformational leadership plays in generating optimal performance [Page 793]parallels the widely discussed distinction that has been drawn between management and leadership.

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