In today’s competitive environment, leaders of organisations are not interested in investing money in transforming company culture unless they are able to see results in terms of tangible business value. Transformational leaders are purported to inspire followers to contribute beyond expectation. These leaders provide followers with a focus and commensurate levels of support, involvement, and appreciation designed to encourage the follower to adopt the leader’s vision as their own and be committed to making it a reality.
Transformational leadership is instrumental for any significant or lasting change to take place in an organisation. Abazeed asserts that it is transformational leadership that helps to raise the level of achievement and self-development of employees within an organisation while at the same time promoting the growth of the organisation’s bottom-line. In facilitating a cultural shift, he advocates for organsation learning when implementing changes in an organisation. Organisational learning, as a culture of transformational leadership, creates a fertile environment that enables new ideas to emerge and spread while also increasing the volume of knowledge that allows change to happen. This understanding falls in agreement with Gilaninia, Rankouh and Gildeh who view organisational learning as essential for an organisation or a company to not only survive but thrive in today’s fast-paced environment.
In a rapidly changing world, organisational learning helps keep organisations abreast and competitive. Organisational learning is highly needed in an extremely competitive environment, where organisations are regularly jousting to stay relevant. Simply put, organisational learning powered by transformational leadership is one method leaders can use to prepare their organisations for future change. Li, et. al. found out in their study that transformational leadership plays a significant role in building employees’ trust in their leaders. Their findings suggest that employees get more inspired by the transformational leaders’ actions and attitude when implementing and reflecting the vision of the organisation. With inspiration and trust, there is guaranteed to be a safe space for innovation to take place.
There are essentially four levels to transformational leadership:
Individualised consideration
Individualised consideration is the extent to which leaders of an organisation pay attention to the needs and concerns of the employees while at the same time acting as mentors and coaches. Ogola, Sikaleih and Linge study supports the idea that when leadership provides mentorship and coaching to their employees, they [the employees] perform their duties and tasks more effectively. Their research also shows that employee performance is better accomplished when employees receive recognition and are rewarded for their efforts and performance by the leadership of the organisation.
Intellectual stimulation
Intellectual stimulation is the extent to which leaders challenge the assumptions and thinking that employees have as they go about their work. When it comes to transformational leadership, it requires that a leader be willing to take risks while being open to eliciting and embracing ideas from employees. The goal of this leadership philosophy is not only to stimulate and spur the creativity of employees but to also nurture and develop their ability to think and function independently.
With this attribute, learning becomes a much cherished and sought-after value, fostering an environment for thinking outside the box at every turn. Ogola, Sikaleih and Linge found that better performance is achieved when employees’ intellectual input is encouraged, rewarded, and recognised by leadership. Humans are naturally created to solve problems. Therefore, leading people requires you to empower them to tap into their mental power to proffer solutions to challenges. So, it is not enough to tell or show your people what to do; sometimes, your team wants you to allow them to figure things out themselves. When their minds are being fully engaged in the workplace, it creates room for more contribution from them.
Inspirational motivation
Inspirational motivation is the extent to which the leaders of an organisation clearly express and define the vision of the organisation to the employees’ in a way that is engaging, inspiring, and compelling. Transformational leadership is about setting and communicating high standards that push the vision forward while also being optimistic about the future. Transformational leadership translates tasks, breaking them down into meaningful actions that are relevant to the everyday running of the organisation.
It is the transformational leader’s job to create a strong sense of shared purpose within an organisation. This shared purpose is what helps to bring the overall vision of the organisation to life. “Why are we doing this?” is one of the critical questions employees’ ask, which leaders must always provide answers to. Transformational leaders are the “why” people. They bring a sense of purpose that they articulate and extend to those they lead. When purpose and meaning are fully explained to employees, and they buy into them, they tend to feel more inspired to contribute to the overall success of the organisation. Bhatti and Haider found that inspiration and empowerment play a vital role in improving employees’ motivation. When leaders create a supportive culture, one that inspires change, employees are more likely to go above and beyond to get their tasks done. They will be willing to work longer hours, initiate new ideas, and get more done in less time.
Therefore, if transformational leaders want to boost the performance of their subordinates at the workplace or in the organisation, Cavazotte, et. al. recommend that they establish initiatives that empower their workforce using one of their core strengths. This core strength is the ability to increase the confidence of their followers in their ability to get the job done.
Idealised influence
Idealised influence is the leaders’ ability to be an accurate representation of the vision or values that they espouse. Transformational leaders not only share the vision with their employees, but they also model it. When a transformational leader models the values, culture, and vision, he or she not only inspires confidence but also trust on those that he or she leads. Ultimately, employees take after their leaders; most times, they exhibit the same characteristics as that of their leader in practice within (and sometimes outside) the organisation. According to Steinmann, et. al. “transformational leaders articulate an ideological vision and lay emphasis on the meaning of tasks, but also grants followers responsibility and support.” The result of responsibility and support acting together is higher levels of identification and commitment by followers to the organisation and the vision of the organisation as exemplified by leadership.
When the leadership of an organisation influences their employees’ through their behaviour, employees tend to imbibe and practice the same. They set the stage and create a healthy space where trust blossoms. Transformational leadership is not just about achieving the goals of the organisation but also transforming the lives of people and culture they operate by. As a transformational leader, it is your job to ensure that your people feel, see, and believe that their efforts are translating to improvements and better performance because they align with what the leader is also doing. Do look out for a continuation of this article next week.
Toye Sobande
Sobande is a Lawyer and Leadership Consultant. He is a Doctoral Candidate at Regent University, Virginia Beach, USA, for a Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership. He can be reached through Email: [email protected]
