Transformation Leadership Style - Research Paper Example

 Transformational Leadership Introduction Leadership is a phenomenon that has been in existence across the world since time immemorial, its aim being to influence others so as to attain the set goals. Leadership style defines the behavioral pattern of an individual seeking to influence others (Northouse, 2012). This encompasses both relationship behaviors which help followers feel comfortable with themselves, their colleagues and the situation and task behaviors which help followers attain their goals by being given directions, set timelines, shown how to achieve goals, define roles and set evaluation goals and methods. Leaders combine both of these aspects in varied proportions, thus bringing out varied styles of leadership. Moreover, a leader could exhibit different styles in different contexts so as to attain the intended objective. This paper evaluates transformational leadership style, outlining the tools that leaders exhibiting this style have in their possession. The paper further gives situations where transformational leadership could be effectively applied, using the late Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., as an illustration of a transformational leader. Transformational leadership is a relatively recent addition to the theory of leadership. As defined by Northouse (2012), transformational leadership is a process of engaging with others and creating a connection that arouses morality and motivation in the leader and followers. Unlike transactional leadership where focus is on exchanges between leaders and followers, transformational leadership seeks to align the goals of the followers to that of the leaders. As a result, such followers would focus on the wellbeing of the organization rather than their individual gains. In fact, Kassin, Fein and Markus (2014) argue it out well noting that such leaders motivate their followers to transcend their individual needs for a common cause. It is a form of leadership that involves raw emotional inspiration and consciousness raising, articulating a clear vision and mobilizing others to join in the vision. To effectively deliver this style of leadership, influencing followers and creating commitment to organizational goals, there are critical tools required. The first tool is charisma, this referring to behaviors demonstrated by leaders so as to instill confidence in, admiration for and commitment to the leader. As noted by Kassin et al., charismatic persons have a “magnetic” individuality that makes them appealing to followers (2014, 553). The second tool, inspirational motivation, calls for such leaders to develop a vision that would inspire others. Intellectual stimulation would cause those practicing this form of leadership to challenge the status quo and norms in an organization, encouraging followers to work harder and think creatively. Finally, individualized consideration makes transformational leadership show concern and personal care for the wellbeing of the followers. Unlike pseudotransformational leadership, which Northouse (2012) argues is about personalized leadership focusing on personal interests of a leader as opposed to those of others, authentic transformational leadership refers to a socialized leadership focusing on collective good. Thus, these tools for transformational leadership could be used for personal or collective good. Whichever way used, the aim would be to influence followers towards the organizational vision. Situational Application Applied at the appropriate situation, transformational leadership could foster the attainment of the set goals. This form of leadership would particularly be appropriate in times of growth. Such are the times when a leader aspires for the followers to “believe that anything is possible” so as to transform the status quo (Kassin et al., 2014, 552). Northouse (2012) observes that transformational leadership could be used to achieve subjective or objective impact. Subjective measures emanate from transformational leadership seeking for the loyalty, commitment and satisfaction of followers to a leader, team or organization at large. On the other hand, objective measures attributed to transformational leadership results when seeking for factors such as profitability or productivity in organizations. Therefore, transformational leadership could be used in both economic and social contexts to attain the intended objectives. It could be applied in sports, the military, education, public sector, healthcare, business and religion among other contexts to achieve the intended objective. Indeed, leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Nelson Mandela have had to use transformational leadership when seeking to influence their followers to believe in the course they fought for (Kassin et al., 2014; Northouse, 2012). These leaders shared their visions and influenced their followers to believe in these visions. Thus, transformational leadership could be used in a myriad of contexts to promote the objectives of the leadership or organization among followers. Case Study of a Transformational Leader: Steve Jobs Born on February 24, 1955 in San Fransisco, Steve Jobs is the former chairman, CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc., a technological gadgets company. Jobs helped in ushering in an era of personal computers, leading to a cultural transformation in the experience of music, mobile communications and movies in the digital age. He died at the age of 56 from pancreatic cancer (Steinwart & Ziegler, 2014). Jobs presents an appropriate example of an exemplary transformational leader, his life and work supporting this argument. Jobs co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Wozniak in 1976. However, the conflict with the CEO saw Jobs resign in 1985. Nonetheless, Apple purchased NeXT, the company that Jobs started after leaving Apple Computer, thus bringing Jobs back to the helm of Apple. This was the time that the corporation experienced fiscal challenges with its market share having dropped to 3.8% in 1997 (Steinwart & Ziegler, 2014). Thus, the return of Jobs coincided with the need for the company to achieve tremendous growth. As noted by Kassin et al. (2014), such a context where growth is required is appropriate for transformational leadership. With the success of Jobs in reviving Apple in the next decade, transforming it into a market leader, he vividly brings out the traits of transformational leadership. Specifically, Jobs stands out as an authentic transformational leader. According to Northouse (2012), such a leader focuses on the interest of the followers as opposed to individual interests. Jobs sought to empower employees with resources that would promote their innovation (Steinwart & Ziegler, 2014). In as much as he sought to have the employees deliver on the set goals, he ensured that they also have the resources to achieve these goals. In return, Jobs ensured that Apple employees drew financial benefits for their role in creating great products. Employees would be rewarded with stock options and were also eligible for bonuses and profit sharing (Elliot, 2012). Thus, employees, regardless of position, became stakeholders. This proves the interest that Jobs had in his followers and not just himself. Jobs was charismatic because of his idealized influence on employees of Apple. Northouse (2012) defines charisma as a special gift that gives the capacity for extraordinary doings. A charismatic leader is dominant, self-confident and has a strong aspiration to influence others and moral values. Steinwart and Ziegler (2014) cite Bud Tribble, a software engineer at Apple who worked with Jobs, explaining the reality distortion field, RDF, which was a concept used by Jobs to influence employees to attain the set expectations, by making reality malleable. This concept made Jobs convince employees of practically anything. According to Markoff (2011), he simplified complex and highly engineered products such that every employee saw it practical and easy to deliver. As a result, the leadership of Jobs saw the revolution of not less than seven industries in Apple: animated film, telephones, music, personal computers, digital publishing, retail stores and tablet computing. Jobs was, and still is, a role model. According to Northouse (2012), charismatic leaders are role models for what they believe and value for which they aspire their followers to adopt. His believes could not be trampled upon, the reason he fell out with the Apple CEO in 1985 before his resignation. With his comeback, Jobs pushed forth his vision for Apple, seeing the creation of innovative digital devices – iPod, iPhone and iPad – which transformed not just products but entire industries such as mobile communications and music (Markoff, 2011). This earned him admiration from the technology industry which looked up to him as a solution to the complexities that surrounded the industry. Charismatic leaders would communicate high expectations to their followers. They would then exhibit confidence in the ability of their followers to attain the set expectations (Northouse, 2012). This was the leader in Jobs as he came up with a vision that inspired his employees to achieve greater goals. As noted by Elliot (2012), Jobs was able to convince even the skeptical to support the set goals no matter how unworkable they seemed. It is this inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation that makes Jobs a transformational leader. These traits exhibited by Jobs made him admirable by not only his colleagues but the world over. When news of his death broke out in October 2011, tributes flowed in from his colleagues, Apple fans, technology industry leaders and President Obama among others (Markoff, 2011). This proves that Jobs had won the admiration of people due to his leadership style at Apple. Such is the definition of a transformational leader. Conclusion Transformational leadership is a style of leadership where followers are motivated by their leaders towards a goal. It is appropriate in both economic and social contexts where growth is sought. Such is the context in which the late Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc., found himself upon his return to the company in 1996. His charismatic personality, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration while at the helm of Apple earned him admiration from across the world. He is thus an exemplary example of a transformational leader. References Elliot, J. (2012). Leading Apple with Steve Jobs: Management lessons from a controversial genius. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Kassin, S., Fein, S. & Markus, H.R. (2014). Social psychology (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadworth. Markoff, J. (2011, October 7). Steve leaves legacy of innovation and leadership. The Tech, 131(43). Retrieved 9 November 2014 from http://tech.mit.edu/ Northouse, Peter G. (2012). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). New York, NY: Sage Publications. Steinwart, M. C. & Ziegler, J. A. (2014). Remembering Apple CEO Steve Jobs as a “transformational leader”: Implications for pedagogy. Journal of Leadership Education, 13(12), 52 – 66. doi: :10.12806/V13/I2/R3 Read More