1.

1 Transformational Leadership

Growth and change are inevitable in the 21 st century, but transformational leadership can
inspire workers to embrace change by fostering a company culture of accountability,
ownership and workplace autonomy.

Transformational leadership is a leadership style in which leaders encourage, inspire and

motivate employees to innovate and create change that will help grow and shape the future
success of the company. This is accomplished by setting an example at the executive level
through a strong sense of corporate culture, employee ownership and independence in the
workplace.

Transformational leaders inspire and motivate their workforce without micromanaging —

they trust trained employees to take authority over decisions in their assigned jobs. It’s a
management style that’s designed to give employees more room to be creative, look to the
future and find new solutions to old problems. They inspire positive changes in those who
follow. Transformational leaders are generally energetic, enthusiastic, and passionate. Not
only are these leaders concerned and involved in the process; they are also focused on
helping every member of the group succeed as well. So, Employees on the leadership track
will also be prepared to become transformational leaders themselves through mentorship
and training.

This concept was initially introduced by leadership expert and presidential biographer James
MacGregor Burns. According to Burns, transformational leadership can be seen when
"leaders and followers make each other to advance to a higher level of moral and
motivation."

Later, researcher Bernard M. Bass expanded upon Burns's original ideas to develop what is
today referred to as Bass’s Transformational Leadership Theory. According to Bass,
transformational leadership can be defined based on the impact that it has on followers.
Transformational leaders, Bass suggested, garner trust, respect, and admiration from their
followers.

Transformational leadership is a popular leadership style, particularly in organisations where

culture is considered key to employee satisfaction, productivity and success.

Transformational leadership, focuses on the needs of others, rather than the needs of the
leader. Similar to servant leadership, but differs because in each style the leader has a
different focus.

The transformational leader’s focus is “directed towards the organisation, and his or her
behaviour builds follower commitment toward organisational objectives. On the other hand,
 servant leader’s focus is on the followers, and the achievement of organisational objectives
is a subordinate outcome.”

Transformational leadership also differs from one of its predecessors, transactional

leadership, because it focuses on culture. Transactional leaders do not try and change the
culture – they work within the existing status quo. On the contrary, transformational leaders
strive for culture change to drive improvement and performance.

Broadly speaking, it has its roots in the idea of charisma. Charisma is, of course, an old
concept. However, there has been renewed interest in charisma in the past 40 years.
Underpinned by the idea that employees have been “overmanaged but underled.”

This makes sense: transactional leadership emphasises management techniques. Mainly

around compliance, structure, hierarchy, job tasks, reward and punishment. In contrast to
more modern leadership techniques like empowerment and inspiration.

Transformational leadership has a much greater focus on leading, rather than managing.

Transformational leadership may be found at all levels of the organization: teams,

departments, divisions, and organization as a whole. Such leaders are visionary, inspiring,
daring, risk-takers, and thoughtful thinkers. They have a charismatic appeal. But charisma
alone is insufficient for changing the way an organization operates. For bringing major
changes, transformational leaders must exhibit the following four factors.

1.2 Components of Transformational Leadership

So, Bass suggested that there were four different components of transformational
leadership.

First, Intellectual Stimulation: Transformational leaders not only challenge the status quo;
they also encourage creativity among followers. The leader encourages followers to explore
new ways of doing things and new opportunities to learn.

Second, Individualized Consideration: Transformational leadership also involves offering

support and encouragement to individual followers. In order to foster supportive
relationships, transformational leaders keep lines of communication open so that followers
feel free to share ideas and so that leaders can offer direct recognition of the unique
contributions of each follower.

Third, Inspirational Motivation: Transformational leaders have a clear vision that they are
able to articulate to followers. These leaders are also able to help followers experience the
same passion and motivation to fulfill these goals.
 Fourth, Idealized Influence: The transformational leader serve as a role model for followers.
Because followers trust and respect the leader, they emulate this individual and internalize
his or her ideals.

So what are some typical signs of a transformational leader? Groups led by this type of
leader tend to be both successful and loyal. They give a lot to the team and care deeply
about the group's ability to accomplish its goals. Turnover tends to be quite low as
transformational leaders are able to inspire a great deal of commitment in their followers.

1.3 Examples of Transformational Leaders

Transformational leaders excel in a variety of sectors. Here are notable business leaders
who used the transformational style.

William Edwards Deming

William Edwards Deming is known as the father of statistical quality control. After earning a
doctorate in mathematics and physics at Yale in 1928, he spent most of his career working
or consulting for the U.S. government. During World War II, Deming taught statistical
process control techniques to military production workers.

After the war ended, the U.S. Department of the Army sent Deming to Japan to study
agricultural production and related problems. He convinced Japanese officials of the
potential for industrial uses of statistical methods. Deming's goal was to have Japan become
a world industrial power in five years. Japan did it in four. Deming was asked to do the same
thing for U.S. manufacturing firms, but his methods did not take root until the 1980s.

Peter Drucker
Peter Drucker was a professor and management consultant among other things. He
predicted some of the 20th-century's biggest changes, such as the Japanese rise to a world
economic power, the age where people would need to learn in order to keep their jobs or
get ahead, and the importance of marketing and innovation. He coined the term
"knowledge worker."

Drucker continually called for balanced management, which called for a balance between
short-term needs and long-term plans, as well as profitability and other elements of
business. He was very interested in how to mesh innovation and entrepreneurship.

He felt that entrepreneurship was a vehicle of innovation. Entrepreneurship was not just
high technology, but high tech was a vehicle for change, in attitude, values, and behavior.
The entrepreneur systematically looked for change, responded to them and took advantage
of opportunities as they present themselves.
Ross Perot
H. Ross Perot started his career as a salesman for IBM. In the 1960s he started his own
company, Electric Data Systems (EDS), one of the first businesses that built and serviced
computer systems for other companies. In contrast to IBM, Perot trained his workers to do
whatever needed to be done for a customer without waiting for approval. There was a
strong bias toward action.In the beginning, Perot shunned strategic planning. Over the next
few years, however, he hired military officers who could take orders and give orders. Perot's
slogan was "Go, do."

If an employee took credit for someone else's work, they were out the door. The motto of
Perot's company at one point was "We bring order to chaos."

John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller was the founder of Standard Oil. It started as a single oil refinery and
grew to a huge company. Much of the company's growth came through acquisitions. But,
Rockefeller also spent a considerable amount of time streamlining the organization as it
grew.

Rockefeller built his company's early reputation by guaranteeing the quality of Standard's
kerosene. He was known for his organizational tactics and for using disciplined strategies.
One of the reasons for Rockefeller's success was he could align his company with one simple
vision, then he held everyone accountable for their part in making that vision happen.

In business, transformational leadership is often the most effective leadership style.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon: Harvard Business Review attribute’s Bezos’ “insider, outsider” status as
part of what makes him a great transformational leader. As someone who jumped from the
finance world, he brought a fresh perspective to e-commerce through years of experience in
a different industry.

Reed Hastings, Netflix: Hastings tied for first alongside Bezos, and for similar reasons. Hailing
from the software industry, he wasn’t rooted in pre-established process and procedure in
the television industry.
Jeff Boyd and Glenn Fogel, Priceline: Boyd and Fogel reinvented travel reservations by
charging lower commission fees on reservations, but focused on smaller niche markets
(inns, B&Bs and apartments), eventually spawning Booking.com.

Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Apple: HBR points to Apple as an example of “dual
transformation”: Jobs innovated on original Microsoft products while also building a
software ecosystem. Cook has extended on Jobs’ vision, maintaining a focus on innovation,
software and brand loyalty.
 Mark Bertolini, Aetna: Bertolini is known for his realistic management approach in the
healthcare industry. He says his goal is to build strategies around a realistic vision of the
future.

Kent Thiry, DaVita: Thiry managed to take a bankrupt company and turn it into a thriving
business through firm core values that included “service excellence, teamwork,
accountability and fun,” according to Harvard Business Review.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft: Nadella started at Microsoft in 1992 and worked his way up the
corporate ladder, eventually running the business’ cloud computing efforts, which landed
him the executive position.

Emmanuel Faber, Danone: Faber started out as an architect for Danone and earned the CEO
job after he helped develop the company’s vision to turn the company into a sustainable
health and nutrition company.

Heinrich Hiesinger, ThyssenKrupp: Hiesinger become CEO of ThyssenKrupp in 2011 and

helped alleviate pressure from Asian competitors in the steel market by embracing newer
forms of manufacturing, including 3D printing – “new growth areas” that now make up 47
percent of the business’ sales.

Martin Luther King, Jr. exemplifies a transformational leader because he built follower
confidence, challenged taken-for-granted assumptions, developed follower needs and
upheld high moral values.

Oprah Winfrey is also classified as a transformational leader by the authors due to her vision
and ability to transform any venture she embarks upon.

Transformational leadership may sound admirable, but it has some disadvantages. It can be
ineffectual at some stages of business growth and may not take root in a bureaucratic
environment. If there is no management structure already in place, transformational
leadership is not equipped to create one.

1.4 Characteristics of Transformational Leadership

Now, let us look at some of the characteristics of transformational leaders:

So, they are Very well-organized and expect their followers to be creative
They are Team-oriented and expect that followers will work together to create the best
possible results
They are respected, and in turn respects followers
 They act as coach of the team. He or she provides training and motivation to reach the
desired goals
They Responsible for their team, but also instills responsibility into team members
They command respect through rapport and a personal influence

So there are Five major personality traits have been identified as factors contributing to the
likelihood of an individual displaying the characteristics of a transformational leader.
They are Extraversion, Neuroticism, Openness to experience, Agreeableness and
Conscientiousness. Let us understand these in detail.

So the first one, like I said is Extraversion.

Extraversion
The two main characteristics of extraverts are affiliation and agency, which relate to the
social and leadership aspects of their personality, respectively. Extraversion is generally seen
as an inspirational trait usually exhibited in transformational leadership.

Neuroticism
Neuroticism generally gives an individual an anxiety related to productivity which, in a group
setting can be debilitating to a degree where they are unlikely to position themselves in a
role of transformational leadership due to lower self-esteem and a tendency to shirk from
leadership responsibilities.

Openness to experience
Creative expression and emotional responsiveness have been linked to a general tendency
of openness to experience. This trait is also seen as a component of transformational
leadership as it relates to the ability to give big-picture visionary leadership for an
organization.

Agreeableness
Although not a trait which specifically points to transformational leadership, leaders in
general possess an agreeable nature stemming from a natural concern for others and high
levels of individual consideration.] Productivity and idealized influence is a classic ability of
individuals who possess agreeability.

Conscientiousness
Strong sense of direction and the ability to put large amounts of productive work into tasks
is the by-product of conscientious leaders. This trait is more linked to a transactional form of
leadership given the management-based abilities of such individuals and the detail oriented
nature of their personality. Results suggest that transformational leaders might give greater
importance to values pertaining to others than to values concerning only themselves.

1.5 Traits
So by now You might think you know what a "transformational leader" is. But it's entirely
possible you've never even met one. Let us look at the essential qualities of this type of
leader, to help you determine how to apply the concept to your own life and leadership
experience.

So first, they have An Understanding of What Needs to Change

A transformational leader is somebody who can take an audience, often irrespective of that
audience's background, and bring about a significant change in their opinions of a particular
topic. This gift is rare, but you can teach yourself how if you enter into each exchange with
clearly defined goals in mind. Whom are you speaking to? What's the goal, conflict or
impasse, and what's your "thesis" on addressing it? Whose minds need changing here —
and could it be yours?

Second, they have The Ability to Stimulate the Intellect

Have you ever walked out of a meeting or public address feeling like you've retained nothing
from the speaker's presentation? In a world where every leader endeavored to be more
transformational, this wouldn't happen as much. A struggle to remember information more
than likely indicates a lack of intellectual stimulation.

Among other talents, the world's best leaders — in any context — excel in challenging
people's preconceived notions. They don't need the world's most robust vocabulary, but
they do need the oratory skills to help people ask old questions in new ways, or ask entirely
new kinds of questions about the work they do and the world in which they do it.

Third, They have A Knack for Encouraging Participation

We've all attended classes or lectures where the audience enthusiasm is so low, we can
almost hear the crickets. To be sure, presenting materials of any kind and sparking
meaningful conversation along the way is a challenge sometimes — in the workplace as
much as anyplace else.

An excellent piece of advice from the academic community is to solicit ideas from your team
beforehand. You can name the theme or general objective of the next meeting or get-
together, and encourage team members to draw up some thoughts on the subject. They
could even submit anonymously using an online form. Then, come meeting time, you won't
be broaching a brand-new topic, and your colleagues will already have spent some time
ruminating on it. The conversation — and the valuable ideas — should come much more
easily.

Fourth, they have A Talent for Genuine Communication

When people communicate clearly, honestly and compassionately with one another, they
can accomplish almost anything. Transformational leaders know absorbing ideas from
everywhere, with neither judgment nor knee-jerk reaction, is the key to building anything
lasting. Moreover, they've achieved mindfulness about whether, and how often, they make
their colleagues feel genuinely listened to.

Fifth, they value Loyalty and are loyal — Within Reason

If you want to inspire the people beneath you to stand with you and the organization you
represent, you need to exude loyalty and a commitment to the long-term vision you're
working toward. More than anything, you're cultivating buy-in. But buy-in doesn't happen if
you don't seem genuinely committed to or enthusiastic about what you're doing. The
organization's mission must match yours, and you must be able to sell it, convincingly, to the
people you rely on. This concept is not the same as blind loyalty — loyalty to an organization
also means a willingness to call out its flaws honestly.

Sixth, They have A Sense of the Bigger Picture

Loyalty to a company's vision is step one. Commitment to an overriding ethos is step two.
Then, you need to figure out how to talk about that ethos in a way that inspires others to
change their thinking and behavior to generate better results. But who benefits from these
results? Where's the bigger picture and what's the worldview you serve?

Leadership at Apple inspires its followers not just by introducing new products, but also by
touting the opportunities technology unlocks in the creative, educational and medical
communities. The public sector, too, needs leaders who can generate real enthusiasm: not
more reactionary politicking, but instead a cohesive vision for a more inclusive social fabric.
Leaders need to tell "big stories" — no matter who they are.

Seventh, they have Personal Integrity

It's not necessarily true that all people in the world operate under the same definition of
personal integrity. But the last few hundred years of human development have gotten many
of us pointed, at least, in a roughly similar direction.

Even if not everybody pictures a "great leader" precisely the same way everybody else does,
we all have a similar idea of what integrity looks like. If transformational leaders are in the
business of changing minds, there's a slim chance they're going to succeed if they don't
represent somebody worth emulating.

Last, They are Inspiring Bearing

There's a difference between having an inspiring, confident presence and having an
overbearing one. There are two ways to go about changing somebody's mind: You can
become so threatening in manner or appearance that people trip over themselves agreeing
with you, or you can project an air of collected and calm reasonableness. You won't be
surprised by which one works better.
 What does a transformational leader look like? They effortlessly have good posture. They
speak in a measured way, yet know when and how to project their voice. People in the back
don't have to ask them to "please speak up." When their body language calls attention to
itself, it's merely because it tells the listener to be at ease, that it's OK to ask questions and
that they will answer mutual respect in kind.

In word, deed and appearance, transformational leaders must exude confidence, kindness,
openness and rationality in equal measure.

1.6 Advantages of Transformational Leadership

There are some Advantages and disadvantages of transformational leadership
Transformational leadership works well in organizations where change is needed.
Transformational leadership is not the right fit for new organizations where no structure
exists.

So these are the pros of Transformational leadership:

They are excellent at communicating new ideas
They are good at balancing short-term vision and long-term goals
They experience building strong coalitions and establishing mutual trust
They have integrity and high emotional intelligence (empathy with others)

Let us understand the advantages in detail:

So, first Transformational leadership lowers turnover costs.

Transformational leaders tend to retain employees more often than other forms of
leadership. They are able to retain more customers as well. That is because of the charisma
that a transformational leader possess. These leaders satisfy the needs of the organization
as they work to satisfy their personal needs simultaneously. That means everyone on the
team is more likely to feel like they have a specific role within the organization, which keeps
them engaged.

Next, It is a leadership style which engages the full person.

Transformational leaders are able to achieve higher levels of productivity from their
followers because they seek to meet the demands of personal motives. This leadership style
excels at recognizing existing needs or demands, especially in their followers. Through their
decisive ways or heroic ways, they ensure that the followers become fully motivated to
work toward what they feel is a righteous cause.

Next, Transformational leaders create and manage change.

For organizations and brands to evolve, they must be willing to change, improve, and
expand over time. When new initiatives are in place, transformational leadership is the best
style available to bring others on-board to the vision being introduced. They are able to sell
the changes, improvements, or expansion required because they already believe in the
process. They make the changes themselves, which encourages others to make the changes
as well. When implemented correctly, this process allows the leader, the followers, and the
organization to eventually reach their full potential.

Next, New corporate visions can be quickly formulated.

Transformational leaders do an excellent job of incorporating a new vision into their current
situation. They are also good at recognizing gaps or problems in the process of a vision,
which allows them to make adjustments or recommendations to correct the situation
immediately. Then, because their charisma helps to sell the morality of the vision to their
followers, the new vision gets adopted very quickly down the hierarchy of the organization
and everyone gets onto the same page very fast.

Next, Transformational leaders create enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm is contagious. When you see someone having a good time, then you want to
share in that experience. If followers see their leader being successful in their pursuit of a
new vision or goal, then they want to experience that success as well. Transformational
leaders are able to create enthusiasm within their ranks of followers because of their own
enthusiasm. That leads to higher levels of productivity, higher levels of team morale, and
lower levels of follower turnover.

Next, It encourages ongoing learning and development.

Transformational leaders do more than work toward a final goal or vision. They also work
toward achieving higher levels of efficiency for themselves and for their followers. This
leadership style is one of the best at having people engage with the learning process for this
position. These leaders work to stimulate the intellect of their employees, build a positive
culture, and provide individualized learning supports. In return, they typically receive a
higher level of engagement and performance from their team.

Next, Transformational leaders are excellent communicators.

One of the biggest issues corporations face with general productivity is a lack of team
communication. When team members are not properly informed of job duties,
expectations, or project stipulations, then they cannot be fully productive. Transformational
leaders are forced into a position where they must be an excellent communicator. They
must provide consistent feedback to their followers to keep them pointed toward the vision
or goal being worked toward. Without this communication, it is almost impossible for this
leadership style to succeed.

Next, Transformational Leadership can quickly change low-morale situations.

When a company is struggling for a long time period, they typically use transformational
leaders to boost morale and change the environment. The passion, enthusiasm, and high
energy levels encourage and inspire others to find success. Whenever there is a state of
indifference present in the workplace, the transformational leader is the most capable of
breaking the team out of that routine.

Next, Transformational leaders understand relationships.

The transformational leader wants to build a strong community within their base of
followers at all times. That is because they understand that the core of all business
transactions is a strong and healthy relationship. Not only does this approach remove
fragmented relationships that happen between employees, teams, or divisions, it also
encourages more customers to stick with an organization for repetitive purchases. When
present over a long-term time period, the transformational leader can eliminate any
unhealthiness which may exist within their sphere of influence.

Next, It is a leadership style which focuses heavily on ethics.

They are ethically-driven, keeping a tight focus on values, and it comes from an authentic
perspective. It is almost impossible to “fake it to make it” as a transformational leader.

Next, Transformational leaders ask the important questions.

The most common question you’ll hear from a transformational leader is this: “Why?” The
second-most common question you’ll hear is this: “Why not?” This leadership style is more
than creative. It is also strategic. They don’t do things because that’s always the way they’ve
been done. They want to look for the most efficient path toward success, then bring as
many followers as they can along for the ride. Transformational leaders are always looking
to find a new way to accomplish things.

Next, This leadership style takes pride in the outcomes achieved.

Transformational leaders are unique in that they are able to transcend their own interests
for the betterment and growth of their organization. They are motivated to continue
pushing on because they take ownership of the process which achieves outcomes. Through
this process, they can do more than stimulate others toward success through their role-
modeling. Transformational leaders can actually alter the strengths of their followers
through their emphasis on communication and motivation.

Next, Transformational leaders seek to avoid coercion.

The transformational leader does not want to use their position to control others. They do
not use fear or influence to coerce compliance. This leadership style prefers to use
inspiration as the motivator for change instead. These leaders use humanistic concerns to
change internal cultures because they bring the concept of hope back into the big picture.
That is why the followers of a transformational leader are often loyal to a fault with their
devotion. They adopt the morality and ethics of the transformational leader in their own
lives.

Lastly, People are treated as individuals.

 Transformational leaders believe in the power of perspective. They treat each follower as an
individual, with their own unique needs and capabilities. That approach keeps the team
environment informal and friendly because it treats followers as an equal. Instead of issuing
orders, they direct by offering through support, advice, and encouragement, along with
role-modeling. Transformational leaders will even assign specific tasks based on their
knowledge of each person’s unique motivations, abilities, and strengths.

1.7 Disadvantages

And the cons of Transformational leadership are that:

They are ineffective in initial stage or ad-hoc situations
They require an existing structure to fix
They are a bad fit in bureaucratic structures

Some more disadvantages are that

First, Transformational leaders can develop negative outcomes.
Transformational leadership does provide many positive outcome opportunities. Each
positive opportunity offers a negative outcome potential as well. As they like to say in the
Star Wars universe, there is a “dark side” which must be avoided by transformational
leaders.

Adolf Hitler may be the most extreme example of a negative transformational leader. He
offered a vision, appealed to the values of his people, and was quite charismatic. The
outcome he eventually achieved, however, led his people away from moral betterment.

Next, There must be continual communication available.

Transformational leaders can only be successful if they maintain open lines of
communication with their team. It is through this communication that the vision and
“rightness” of a task are transferred from the leader to the followers. Close, frequent
communication must occur for this to happen. If the team perceives that this
communication isn’t happening, then they will lose interest in the tasks being asked of
them.

Next, It requires constant and consistent feedback.

Transformational leaders are also required to maintain the enthusiasm of their team to
achieve a specific vision or goal. To keep enthusiasm levels high, leaders must provide a
constant stream of feedback to their followers about the progress being made. This
feedback must occur frequently for it to be successful. Transformational leaders who are
perceived to lack this skill or to provide this to their followers are likely to fail.

Next, Transformational leaders need their followers to agree with them.

A transformational leader will not pursue a task if they do not believe in the moral rightness
of completing it. That is because the leader must continuously sell the vision they have to
encourage their team to work toward it. If any of the followers disagree with the leader’s
assessment that the work being done, or the outcome achieved by the vision is immoral,
then they will not participate. In some situations, followers may even rebel against the
leader if they feel that they are being led in an immoral direction.

Next, Risks taken through transformational leadership can be disruptive.

Transformational leaders use their charismatic approach to serve as a role model for their
followers and their organization. They use this energy to show people how to achieve goals
or accomplish tasks. There are certain risks that are generally accepted by those using this
leadership style to find innovation or create change. If the leader accepts risks that are, or
perceived to be, excessive or unnecessary, then the actions of the leader become
detrimental to the team and their organization.

Next, It can lead to employee burnout.

Transformational leaders can inspire their teams to achieve high levels of success. They do
an excellent job of encouraging their followers to work together to achieve strategic goals.
Optimism from a transformational leader creates optimism within the team. If high levels of
sustained productivity are required to achieve the vision in question, however, or there are
unreasonable deadlines in place, then it can lead to burnout occurring within the followers.

Next, Transformational leaders often focus on individual needs.

The transformational leader seeks diversity because more opinions and experiences lead to
more innovation. To encourage diversity, transformational leaders encourage followers to
pursue vocational enhancement opportunities. This may include seminars, workshops, focus
groups, or even formal classes. The needs of individuals are often the focus of the leader
instead of the needs of the team, which means one team member tends to receive more
attention than others in this area. That leads to a lack of trust from affected team members,
which ultimately affects the levels of productivity that are achievable.

Next, It is a leadership style that can focus on deception.

Transformational leaders excel at recognizing the existing needs or demands of their
potential followers. Because these leaders are naturally equipped with this skill, some seek
to reinforce their leadership position by exploiting their followers to stay productive. This
occurs when the transformation seeks to satisfy their higher needs without the same
consideration being made for their followers. If this is discovered, it creates a disruptive
event for the team and organization which reduce productivity levels.

Next, Transformational leaders are not always detail-oriented.

Transformational leaders tend to look toward the big picture at all times. They come up with
fantastic ideas to achieve outlandish dreams. That process can cause some leaders to
 become fixated on the end prize instead of looking at the details required to achieve that
goal. One of the biggest weaknesses that many transformational leaders must overcome is
their lack of a transactional focus.

Next, It is a leadership style which may ignore certain protocols.

Transformational leaders gain energy from their ability to implement new ideas and inspire
others. They feel an energy drain when they are forced into a position where they must
make difficult decisions. Transformational leaders don’t usually like to get bogged down
with administrative work either, even if completing it would help them to achieve their
vision. That causes the leaders to ignore certain protocols, like saving receipts from
purchases to turn them into their accounting department.

The top advantages and disadvantages of transformational leadership show us that leaders
using this method can take teams to new heights or bigger lows. There must be a certain
morality in place to pursue a shared vision for everyone if this leadership style is to succeed.
If that vision is not shared, or if followers lose their faith in the leader, then there cannot be
success.

1.8 Ways Transformational Leaders motivate employees

Now that we have understood everything about a Transformational Leader, Let us

understand the Ways transformational leaders motivate employees

First, by Speaking the future

Words are an incredibly powerful motivator. They can be used to change people’s mindset,
allowing leaders and managers to connect deeply with their staff. When leaders speak with
confidence, sincerity, and transparency, employees become more confident about the
future. They allow themselves to discard a fear-based mindset and accept the changes.

By boldly speaking shared purpose and goals, leaders are committing to do things differently
and prioritising organisational growth and functional capability. They are poised to sustain
excellent performance to ensure that their companies survive and thrive and adapt to the
changes in the market and business trends.

Second, by Creating a positive and learning work culture

Workers become more motivated and productive in the working environment that
promotes positivity and transparency. Transformational leaders believe in welcoming new
ideas. They let employees share their opinions and suggestions. Making workers feel that
they are part of the team, and respecting their voices helps establish a strong foundation. It
generates trust, improves performance, sparks innovation, and helps in attaining collective
outputs.
 Providing skills training or enhancing the basic knowledge of workers as the company adapts
to the new normal of digital transformation and work-from-home set-up is necessary.
Constant communication is another key factor in creating a healthy work culture. Allowing
humor and laughter to pervade the environment also helps a lot, making the tasks seem
lighter.

Third, by Building a value-creating team

Transformational leadership during this pandemic matters more than ever. It is the pivotal
force that pushes the organisation to adapt well in the increasingly competitive and fast-
changing world. Leaders in this new normal are expected to overcome obstacles and lead
with clarity and empathy. The uncertainty of the future requires a value-creating team that
will work together to achieve the purpose and goals that may or may not change due to the
circumstances of the new normal.

While the context of leadership and management changes, the organizational objectives
and missions do not change. They serve as the foundation of high-performance companies.
Utilizing the appropriate approach to keep the team engaged, motivated, and productive is
the only way to fuel deep commitment. Skills training and continuous learning are necessary
to ensure valuable outputs.

Fourth, by Leading by example- they respond, they recover and they thrive

To become influential leaders of tomorrow, it is essential to understand that any crisis has
three characteristics- it demands a response. It brings unprecedented impact, and it tends
to unfold in a surprising, unordered fashion.

Transformational leaders display the skills to address the situations and sustain continuity.
They learn the trades and review all the circumstances, using previous learnings and
benefits of leadership training as they navigate through this VUCA world. They quickly
recover from the surprising events of the new normal and emerge stronger. Lastly, they are
more prepared to thrive and shape the “new normal” work culture.

By responding to the uncertainties with a positive mindset, transformational leaders inspire

their employees, stakeholders, and clients to embrace the changes. As they reinvent
themselves by setting new benchmarks and raising expectations on the innovations that
define the ‘new normal’, these leaders become market shapers in the industry.

1.9 Conclusion

So, we can see that one of the best uses of this leadership style is in an organization that is
outdated and requires serious retooling. It is also a perfect match for a small company that
has big dreams and wants to change and adapt to get there. In both of these examples, the
board of directors can bring in a transformational leader who will change the structure of
the organization and also motivate the current workers to buy into the new direction.