Transformational Leadership and Related Theories, Essay Example

Introduction

Transformational leadership and related theories are in the focus of the current review. Developed by theorists in the 1980-s, the main assumption of transformational leadership is that leaders’ behavior have an impact on the organization’s performance. The author of the current essay would like to review how the theory developed, and how it can be used to improve the performance of health care organizations.

Theoretical Review

Before analyzing the theory of transformational leadership, it is important to clarify the definition of leadership itself. Chemers (1997) defines leadership as “a process of social influence by which an individual enlists the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a task or mission”.

The distinction between transactional and transformational leadership was developed by Bass (1991). According to the author, the main difference is that transactional leaders follow existing rules and norms to respond to emerging problems, while transformational leaders change the organization’s culture and refocus the vision, mission, while creating shared norms that increase follower engagement. Therefore, transformational leadership is an approach that initiates and facilitates change within the organization. Leaders who engage in transformational leadership are the facilitators of change.

The theory developed even further in 2008, when the elements of transformational leadership were defined (Bass & Bass, 2008). The four elements of this leadership approach are individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence (4I-s). Based on the list, the main focus of transformational leadership has shifted towards the interaction between the leader and the rest of the organization. All the above elements are able to facilitate change in various ways. Individual consideration, for example, is based on the leader considering followers’ needs and aligning the organization’s mission and vision with them. Intellectual stimulation is a way of challenging assumptions, and accommodating followers’ ideas. This approach respects diversity, while involving all members of the organization in developing strategies, missions, and visions. Inspirational motivation is based on clearly articulating the vision and creating a connection between organizational goals and desired outcomes. By giving tasks a meaning and purpose, the leader can increase follower commitment. Likewise, idealized influence is based on communicating high ethical behavior patterns, such as trust and respect. By showing an example of expected behavior, the leader can positively influence the organization’s culture.

Yukl (1999) focused on the individual behavior patterns of transformational leadership, and created a research to identify the most prevalent factor loadings. Based on the research, transformational leaders treat all members of the organization as an individual, emphasize mutual trust, has a high level of commitment to ethical principles, engages in guidance and coaching of members, encourages collaboration to gain insight to problems from various perspectives, and questions the traditional assumptions.

Application

Hall et al. (2012) states that the four I-s of transformational leadership result in performance beyond expectations. Therefore, improving an organization’s transformational leadership factors would result in organizational culture change that would have  a positive impact on the entire firm. The process of transformation is something that is currently researched by authors in order to determine a framework to apply transformational leaderships to initiate change. According to Hall et al. (2012, p. 2), for leaders, making the most out of the four Is will “help “transform” their associates into better, more productive and successful individuals. The main ideas represented by transformational leadership are based on changing the organization to gain more commitment to achieve goals, improve the organization’s culture, and align it with individual values and principles.

Bass (1991, p. 21) highlights one important benefit of transformational leadership over transactional leadership: “managers who behave like transformational leaders are more likely to be seen by their colleagues and employees as satisfying and effective leaders than are those who behave like transactional leaders”. Transformational leaders have a charisma, which provides a vision for the organization and followers, so they can relate to it. Therefore, as Bass (1991) puts it, transformational leaders can create success by motivating and engaging followers. At the same time there are different aspects of transformational leadership that positively impact the organization, discussed by Bass (1991). Corporate image improves, due to the entire organization being committed to a higher level mission and working towards it together. There are also positive implications of transformational leadership to recruiting, selection, and promotion. Organizational learning and knowledge development through effective training is another important benefit of applying transformational leadership.

Health Care and Transformational Leadership

Govier (2009) states that change is one of the constants of health care management. Indeed, there is a need for dealing with organizational, regulatory, demographic, and practice changes every day. As Govier (2009, p. 20) states: “When we follow our internal compass as nurses, clinical leadership will be authentic and transformational”. Therefore, transformational leadership is not only beneficial in health care organizations to deal with performance issues and making the entire unit more effective, but can also help health care managers deal with change, and moving towards new goals and priorities. It can help improve the health care performance indicators: patient satisfaction, absenteeism rates, number of complaints, drug errors, and staff turnover. Through influencing and inspiring other people, nursing and health care managers can increase commitment, reduce turnover, and improve the overall performance of the organization, by applying transformational approaches to leadership. As the author (Govier, 2009, p. 22) confirms, the ability of transformational leaders has a positive impact on staffing, as well: “people who embrace the principles of such leadership have staff with higher levels of satisfaction, motivation and performance, as well as lower levels of stress and burnout”. Further, transformational leadership can help organizations respond  and adapt to changes within and outside of the unit, and adjust policies in a way that it is relevant to followers’  needs (individual consideration).

Conclusion

The above review of transformational leadership and related theories has provided an insight into improving organizational effectiveness, increasing employee commitment, and responding to change. As transformational leadership is not based on one’s personality traits, it can be learned. The four I-s of transformational leadership can help nursing leaders engage better with all stakeholders, develop missions and visions that followers can relate to, adjust processes to improve organizational performance, and effectively deal with challenges originating from change within the operating environment, society, or regulatory bodies. By being able to proactively deal with organizational challenges, leaders can become more effective, and create a higher level of collaboration with followers. Therefore, transformational leadership is highly relevant to health care management. Applying the principles of this leadership approach to training, collaboration, coaching, performance review, employee empowerment, and vision development would certainly benefit not only the health care unit, but the entire organization, as well.

References

Bass, B. M. (1991). From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational dynamics, 18(3), 19-31.

Bass, B. M., & Bass, R. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications. Simon and Schuster.

Chemers, M. M. (1997) An integrative theory of leadership. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. London

Govier, I., Nash, S. (2009) Examining transformational approaches to effective leadership in healthcare settings. Nursing Times; 105: 18

Hall, J., Johnson, S., Wysocki, A., & Kepner, K. (2008). Transformational leadership: The transformation of managers and associates.

Yukl, G. (1999). An evaluative essay on current conceptions of effective leadership. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 8(1), 33-48.