Transformational Leaders – the time is NOW.
Organisations and teams are grappling with ever increasing complexity, rates and scales of change, ongoing ambiguity and economic uncertainty. Teams are overloaded, managers are frazzled, people are fearful and organisations are battening down the hatches and reducing spending and overheads. It’s a difficult climate right now and people and their organisations are struggling to adapt. Transformational Leadership is not new, but it’s needed now more than ever. If you are a transformational leader, your time is NOW. 
I recently ran a leadership forum with mid to senior level Public Sector managers on leading change in their organisation. It was a great insight into the challenges they face and the mood of the organisation. One of the models I shared was Transformational Leadership. The concept has been around for sometime but it’s time is now. In an environment of rapid and large scale change, locally and internationally, it’s the transformational leader who’s required. A Transformational Leader is one whom seeks to change the status quo, they are proactive, they take calculated risks and most importantly, they bring their people with them. Another model of leadership is Transactional Leadership. This style also has a place but it’s my opinion that it’s outdated for the creative nature of work that’s required today (adaptive, creative solutions to problems, innovative, developmental) it is also too often adopted as the appropriate model and we’re all suffering as a result. The table below highlights the differences between the two models.
Research published in the Harvard Business Review has shown that groups lead by Transformational Leaders have higher levels of performance and satisfaction than those led by other types of leader. Why is this?
- They hold positive expectations for followers and believe they can do their best.
- They inspire, empower and stimulate followers to exceed normal levels of performance.
- They focus on and care about followers and their personal needs and development.
What type of leader are you? What type of leader does your organisation need? What type of leader does your team need?
Personally, I think agile and adaptive leadership is what’s really required. You need to be able to shift, seamlessly, between one style and the next in order to get the most out of the people you lead and work with and to meet the challenges you and your organisation are facing. I’m currently putting together a report on Transformational Leadership which outlines what it is, why it’s useful, characteristics of transformational leaders and a reading list of references. If you’d like to register your interest for a copy when I’ve finished, just let me know by return email and I’ll make sure you get a copy.
