Transformational Leadership Debate [WLOs: 1, 2] [CLOs: 3, 4]
Guided Response: Respond to at least two other peers’ posts regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. Remember to include active scholarship in these two replies to substantiate your points and to properly cite your sources. Please refer to APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) by the Writing Center for information on citing sources. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon in your classroom for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
KELLIE’S POST:
According to Bass, transformational leadership implies that the leaders use words and behaviors to make employees understand the importance and benefit of their work. Transformational leaders foster a working environment of trust and collaboration to inspire employee excitement for success and motivation (Zhao et al., 2021). In this approach, leaders are not micro-managers. They promote employee innovation and creativity, along with the autonomy to make decisions. This lets employees change the culture and the company into an innovative place where ideas are valued. Transformational leaders should showcase their own creativity, acting as role models for subordinates to inspire and motivate them.
Bass’s four factors associated with transformational leadership are idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Idealized influence illustrates leaders who are role models to their followers and have high moral standards. Inspirational motivation is a method where leaders motivate employees through encouragement to gain commitment around the organizational vision. Intellectual stimulation encourages creativity and innovation and looks to employees to challenge both their own and organizational beliefs. Individual consideration is when leaders listen and support the needs of their followers (Northouse, 2022). Two factors I have observed in my career are inspirational motivation and individual consideration. One of the senior leaders I work under employs a high level of inspirational motivation by recognizing wins, providing positive affirmations to the team during stressful times, and reinforcing the importance of the work her team does and how it supports the organizational objectives. I act with a strong level of individual consideration. I constantly tell my team that people are number one and without them, I would not be here. One thing I do weekly is check in on all 12 of my employees. Whether I swing by an employee’s desk, give them a quick call, or message them on Slack, I always like to check in on a personal level to see if there is anything they need or any support I can lend. We often get so caught up in the day-to-day grind, I believe it is important to understand how people are feeling.
Transactional leaders set goals, the team accomplishes them, and workers are rewarded for their completion of work. It is a basic approach that can inspire certain people; however, it does not allow for innovation. This approach keeps employees working but does not do much to empower employees to become leaders. Transformational leaders work to motivate their team by engaging in the critical thinking skills of their team and looking to satisfy the needs of their employees (Dennison, 2021). This approach allows for creativity and innovation and is not rigid like the transactional approach. In the first example, I provided where the senior leader acts with a high level of motivation the leader acts transformational. If she were to lead from a transactional perspective, the leader may not be as supportive or encouraging. She may have simply provided instructions and checked for completion when the deadline came. If I were to lead with a transactional versus transformational approach in the example where I consistently check in on my team, then I would not check in as often, and monitor whether the team’s work is completed successfully or not. I would not be as proactive from a motivation and support perspective.
References
Dennison, K. (2021, May 27). Why traditional leadership styles may become irrelevant with the rise of the coaching leadership style. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/karadennison/2021/05/27/why-traditional-leadership-styles-may-become-irrelevant-with-the-rise-of-the-coaching-leadership-style/?sh=102e6ecd7e9e
Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE.
Zhao, N., Fan, D., & Chen, Y. (2021). Understanding the impact of transformational leadership on project success: A meta-analysis perspective. Computational Intelligence & Neuroscience, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/7517791
BRUCE’S POST:
Identify and explain four of Bass’s factors associated with transformational leadership.
Followers and leaders are linked together. A “leaders as people who tap the motives of followers in order to better reach the goals of leaders and followers ” ( Northouse, 2022 ). Transactional leadership is more of leaders and followers having a transaction between the two. Transformational is more of a leader and follower linked to transform each other and inspire, motivate, and morale values to improve both the leader and the follower. Bass model explains the four factors that is connected to transformational leader. Those factors are idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Idealized influence is where followers are supportive and prideful of their leader. Idealized influence is also known as charisma. This leader is respected and followers place this leader on a higher standard. Inspirational motivation is where leaders motivate followers and place high expectation of the followers to be dedicated and committed to the organization or leaders vision. Intellectual Stimulation is where leaders bring out the best in followers by challenging them to be innovated, creative and think outside the box. Individualized consideration is where the leader communication skills and listening skills hears what the followers are communicating. A culture or work environment that the leader supports the followers and provides coaching, guidance, mentoring to the followers. All these factors are part of and essential to transformational leadership. ” Transformational leadership results in performance that goes well beyond what is expected ” ( Northouse, 2022 ).
Give examples from your own experiences or observations that illustrate the use of two of these factors.
I have worked with a team that has had idealized consideration. We had a united support effort form executive leadership and was given much guidance, training, education by executive team to support our vision and goals. The executive team made sure we had what we needed, supported our projects and ensure we were successful. Another example would be inspirational motivation from my direct report and CEO. He had high expectations given to me yet supported my actions needed to meet those high expectations. The return was myself being highly motivated and driven to meet and go beyond the expectations set by my CEO. I was driven from the confidence he had in me.
Debate the expectations of transactional and transformational leaders.
There are many leaders and many styles of which leaders can lead. Transactional leadership brings order, discipline and a strict way of doing things. A leadership structure that is authoritarian management. Transformational brings inspirational and motivation style of leadership to the followers. One is more style of getting things done. While transformational is more how am I going to motivate the followers to get the job done and meet the same goal of transactional leadership, it keeps followers inspired and motivated.
Take a transactional or transformational leader’s stance and how they would address a given situation differently using your examples.
Transformation leader stance on my motivational leader would continue to motivate myself and followers. The CEO may also blend in more transformational factors like intellectual stimulation. CEO also would bring out the best of myself and other followers while keeping us highly engaged and motivated.
References :
Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE.
Team Leadership Scenario [WLO: 3] [CLOs: 2, 3]
Guided Response: Respond to at least two other peers’ posts regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. Remember to include active scholarship in these two replies to substantiate your points and to properly cite your sources. Please refer to APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) by the Writing Center for information on citing sources. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon in your classroom for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
ANSAR’S POST:
Leadership within teams plays a vital role in the success of an organization; however, the ideas of team leadership are quite different from leadership within the organizational vertical structure. The Hill Model for Team Leadership is based on the functional leadership claim that the leader’s job is to monitor the team and then take whatever action is necessary to ensure team effectiveness (Northouse, 2022).
Effective team leadership facilitates team success and helps teams avoid failure (Salas, et. al, 2007). So, it can then be assumed that ineffective team leadership is the very thing that leads teams to fail. Teams need to focus on task to be either less competitive or fail. The most typical examples I have seen are with cars and mobile phones. Each year you see new model of cars or phones. This is because leaders foresee the future and plan accordingly. So, if you a leader and your peers are releasing new products each year and you are stack with one or same product that came out about a decade ago, what do you think will happen to your company.
I was once a part of a team project where the manager was very reliable, honest, respectful and valued. I have to conclude that because of these reasons, we had been successful. Everyone, including myself, came the realization that we had to put in our best for the team to succeeded. I heard of situations where followers felt that when a group achieved its targets it was the leader who took the credit in the view of the administrative board.
I presume that irrespective of the leadership style one chooses for their team, task or objective achievement should be the prime objective. Efficient organizations are not ones with the greatest resource or massive capital, but those with strong leadership frameworks. You could have all the capital, the best business plans and all the tools you need, but if you don’t have the right leadership to carry out your plans, you can’t achieve your goals. That is why leadership positions are so essential.
Reference:
Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE.
Salas, E., Stagl, K. C., Burke, C. S., & Goodwin, G. F. (2007). Fostering team effectiveness in organizations: Toward an integrative theoretical framework.
CANDACE’S POST:
Hi Class,
Describe the role of leadership within teams.
Team leadership is different from leadership within the organizational. Team leadership is process oriented (Northouse, 2022).
What is the primary reason why teams fail?
Effective leadership places focus on processes are the most critical factor in team success. Leaders can reduce the effectiveness of their team by being unwilling to address poor performance. Also, leaders with too many priorities and overestimate the positive aspects of team performance leads to failure (Northouse, 2022). Absents of organizational support leads to team failure.
What can be done to ensure team success?
Clear norms of conduct, team accountability, allow feedback within teams, resources available to teams, organizational support, mentorship from leaders, leadership consistency, commitment to goals. A leader that provides a vision and helps keep the team focused on short-term and long-term goals are some additional reasons team succeed. All of these are items that ensure team success.
Give a personal scenario from your own experience for team success.
We have a team leader that holds all of us accountable for our actions. He creates reports that track our daily process and links those small wins to the big picture wins that get our department over the finish line on time. He has helped motivate us to get tough dealerships complete our performance surveys that has a positive reflection on our team!
Candace
Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2022). Leadership theory and practice (9th ed.). SAGE.
