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Transformational Leadership Versus Authentic Leadership

Drew Sledge

Arizona State University

OGL 300: Theory and Practice of Leadership

Professor L. Terken Gupur

June 15, 2020

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Transformational Leadership Versus Authentic Leadership

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership can be described as a leader who “engages with others and

creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the

follower” (Northouse, 2018, p. 165). Transformational leaders can be characterized by their

intrinsic motivation, values, ethics, and long-term goals. Additionally, transformational leaders

focus on assessing their followers’ motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them with the

utmost respect (Northouse, 2018). Bass’ model of transformational leadership places the

approach on a continuum with transactional leadership, which focuses on the exchanges that take

place between the leader and follower. The difference between the two is that transactional

leadership will result in expected outcomes, whereas transformational leadership will provide the

leader with performance that goes above and beyond expectations (Northouse, 2018). There are

four main factors that are involved in transformational leadership: idealized influence,

inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Northouse,

2018). Idealized influence means that the leader is a strong role model, and followers look up to

them, wanting to imitate them. Inspirational motivation means the leader inspires their followers

through motivation, and the leader has high expectations for their followers. Intellectual

stimulation means followers are encouraged to be creative and come up with their own ideas.

Lastly, individualized consideration means that followers are listened to as individuals by their

leader (Northouse, 2018).

Bennis and Nanus’ approach to transformational leadership identifies four strategies used

by transforming leaders. These strategies include: having a clear vision for the future state of the
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business, being “social architects,” creating trust, and using “creative deployment of self”

(Northouse, 2018, p. 176).

Kouzes and Posner identified five practices that will help leaders accomplish their goals.

These practices include: modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process,

enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart (Northouse, 2018).

The transformational leadership approach helps us understand leadership by placing an

emphasis on the importance of people and values. Transformational leadership shows us, as

leaders, that if we care enough for our followers to want to personally help them succeed, they

will work even harder than they are expected to.

Authentic Leadership

The practical approach to authentic leadership, as described by Bill George, involves a

leader with a genuine desire to serve others, a knowledge of oneself, and the ability to lead based

on one’s core values (Northouse, 2018). The five basic characteristics of authentic leadership

include a strong sense of purpose, strong values, establishing trusting relationships, showing self-

discipline, and being sensitive and empathetic towards others (Northouse, 2018).

The theoretical approach to authentic leadership is similar to George’s approach, except it

is more focused on the actions taken by leaders to show their authenticity, rather than the

qualities that make them authentic. Northouse’s chosen description for the theoretical approach

of authentic leadership is “a pattern of leader behavior” that exhibits and draws upon positive

ethics and psychological capacities to “foster greater self-awareness, an internalized moral

perspective, balanced processing of information, and relational transparency” (Northouse, 2018,

p. 202).
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Authentic leadership helps us understand leadership by showing us how to gain self-

awareness through strong moral values and positive ethics. Authentic leadership also shows us

that taking time to hone in on our leadership skills is okay, as this approach is not a fixed trait,

but one that develops in leaders through time.

Compare and Contrast

One of the similarities between transformational and authentic leadership is that they both

aim to increase follower development. The difference is in the way that each theory goes about

doing this. A transformational leader would work closely with their followers, building trust and

close connections, in order to assess what motivates them. The leader can then use their

follower’s motives as a way to help them meet their fullest potential, while still encouraging

innovation and providing support. An authentic leader, on the other hand, promotes follower

development by staying true to their values. Followers in this situation develop by being self-

aware, considering different perspectives, and being true to themselves (Northouse, 2018).

The biggest difference between the two theories is the driving force behind the style of

leadership. In transformational leadership, there is a main focus on working closely with

followers, and there are lots factors to be communicated to the followers in order to achieve

success. In authentic leadership, the main focus is the leader’s core values, and how they act

according to those values.

Example of Transformational Leadership

A great example of someone who used transformational leadership to become an

exceptional leader is Victor Rosario. He is the owner and creator of Top Gun All-Stars, the

cheerleading facility that I currently cheer at. There are thousands of cheerleading gyms across

the country, but Top Gun has quickly, and easily, become one of the most renowned gyms in the
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industry. What puts Top Gun above the rest is Victor’s passion for, not only the sport of

cheerleading, but more importantly, his love for his athletes. Using transformational leadership,

Victor has led a large number of Top Gun teams to become world champions. It is clear that

Victor possesses the characteristics of a transformational leader, such as being intrinsically

motivated, and he uses them to succeed. I could easily describe how Victor puts each factor of

transformational leadership to use, but for the sake of this essay, I will provide two examples.

First, he uses inspirational motivation by setting high expectations for his teams, and he will

accept no less than each athlete’s best effort. Second, Victor uses intellectual stimulation by

encouraging his athletes to be innovative in their routines. This is a large part of Top Gun’s

success, as their routines often include elements that are completely original and highly creative.

Example of Authentic Leadership

Martin Luther King Jr. is the first person that comes to my mind when I picture authentic

leadership. King had a purpose which he strongly believed in, and he lead others with a strong,

yet peaceful passion. One of the ways that King exhibited authentic leadership was by standing

his ground and being unwavering in his opinions. By doing this, King displayed an internalized

moral perspective, which is one of the four components of authentic leadership (Northouse,

2018). Additionally, King used his authentic leadership skills to become an exceptional leader by

demonstrating self-discipline and a passion for his beliefs. Even through major setbacks, such as

being arrested and imprisoned multiple times, King stayed true to his purpose, and was an

exemplary authentic leader.

My Experiences with Transformational and Authentic Leadership

I experienced being led by a transformational leader when I worked as a cheer coach in

my home state. My leader’s name was Brittany, and she did a great job in leading me, as it was
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my first time coaching any team. I believe that our chemistry in the work environment was

incredibly positive, due to the fact that our developmental levels were about the same. I was

knowledgeable in areas that Brittany was not, but Brittany was knowledgeable in the areas that I

lacked experience. Two factors that Brittany used, as a transformational leader, were

individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation. I was encouraged to be creative when

choreographing the routines and making the music to go along with them. I was also always

listened to when I had an idea or a concern about practices or the routines in general.

Furthermore, the best thing that Brittany did for me, as a transformational leader, was encourage

me to follow my dream of cheering at Top Gun, even if it meant losing one of her head coaches.

I view this as Brittany’s way of leading me to full-actualization, which is one of the actions

Northouse states should take place in transformational leadership (2018).

I have experienced authentic leadership with Jesse, one of my past shift supervisors at my

current job. I would argue that Jesse’s developmental level was higher than mine, but he didn’t

allow the mismatch of our developmental levels to affect how he led. He was an authentic leader

in the way that he cared for the organization he worked for, which can be identified as a strong

sense of purpose. Additionally, he led me by building a trusting relationship, and his sense of

compassion and strength encouraged me to stick true to my values as well.

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References

Northouse, P. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage Publications, Inc.