Transformational Leadership, Article Review Example

Transformational leaders have the ability to understand their followers’ motivations and desires, develop mutually-respectful relationship with them, motivate them to rise beyond their formal responsibilities and do the best they are capable of, and win their admiration by giving them respect and importance as human beings. But as far as Harold is concerned, he didn’t understand his followers’ needs which explains why he often gave his subordinates responsibilities when they needed guidance and directed them when it would have been better to grant them autonomy. His subordinates also believed that Harold didn’t understand their concerns and didn’t give them importance or seek their opinions. There was a huge lack of trust and communication between Harold and most of the employees which means Harold was not a transformational leader but instead ruled with autocratic leadership style.

Even though Harold created a vision statement and displayed it throughout the organization, the employees had no idea what strategic direction the company was taking. In addition, employees saw contradiction between the vision statement and the actual conduct of the leadership. Harold’s own conduct sent contradictory messages as if he didn’t himself understand what he desired. He wanted HTE to be an organization where everyone feels empowered yet he rarely listened to anyone. Thus, Harold had no clear vision and it’s no surprise he failed in the end.

Harold failed as a change agent and social architect for HTE because he didn’t involve employees in decisions involving change which reduced their commitment. In addition, Harold’s own conduct contradicted his messages which rendered his vision useless. Harold also didn’t provide clear strategy and as a result, everyone was confused regarding the future direction of the company.

If Harold is able to return as president of HTE, I would advise him to involve employees in all strategic decisions and encourage employees to directly communicate with him if they have any concerns or ideas. This will allow Harold to understand the strengths and weakness of his subordinates as well as their professional needs and levels of motivation. In addition, I would also persuade Harold to constantly keep the employees updated of any decisions made by the management. In addition, Harold should also communicate the purpose behind the decisions as well as the benefits of those decisions to the employees. When employees will know the benefits for them and understand the reasons behind the decisions, they will be more likely to support them.