According to Sheila Bethel, sometimes, most of us have been over-managed and under-led. We learned to manage objects, processes, procedures, money and time, equipment, and machinery. But somewhere along the way, we lost the emphasis on leadership. Leadership builds and maintains great followers, great employees, great team, great organizations, and great nations. We all want to be inspired, motivated, and encouraged to do our best. We feel this way when we are being led, not just managed. That’s what leadership is: influencing others to make a difference and transform our world. We must set an example that others choose to follow. And the secret to eliciting that choice is the very essence of leadership.
Another critical aspect of leadership is to make a difference, and for that to happen we must be willing to serve others. Service has great value, and it is highly transformational. If we contribute our time, emotions, resources, energy, and effort, we can have a real impact in transforming people and problems. Service in this context has two main ingredients. The willingness and ability to serve others; and the kind and quality of service that transform lives.
In applying the above mentioned principles to organizations and businesses, research suggests that transformational leadership has often been referenced as one of the most powerful factors motivating purposeful action and employee performance. It is related to many positive outcomes within organizations and has a positive link to employee commitment. Transformational leadership engenders trust by empowering followers, thereby increasing performance, and maximizes individual employees’ capabilities by emphasizing values and morals to accomplish organizational objectives.
Howell and Avolio (1992) assert that transformational leaders serve as role models and exemplify moral discipline leading to a positive ethical impact on an organization. The most basic principle of leadership is that we lead first by example! Everything we say or do sends a message, sets a tone, or teaches people what to do or what not to do. Hence, the conventional conceptualization of transformational leadership encompasses four behavioural dimensions: intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, idealized influence, and individualized consideration (Bass 1985). Intellectual stimulation involves soliciting followers’ ideas and challenging them to question old assumptions and analyze problems from new perspectives. Inspirational motivation involves articulating a vision of the future that is appealing and inspiring to followers. Idealized influence is associated with charismatic actions and modelling behaviour that causes followers to identify with their leader. At the same time, individual consideration entails attending to each follower’s needs through mentoring, coaching, and other similar activities.
There is a direct correlation between how a leader serves his or her followers and how they serve others. If you are serving as a leader in any capacity, ask yourself two questions. First, “What would I want if I were leading me?” That brings the idea of leadership to a very personal level. And second, “Who am I serving as a leader?” If leadership serves only the leader, it will fail. Ego satisfaction, financial gain, and status can all be valuable tools for a leader, but they will eventually destroy a leader if they become their motivations.
At its core, transformational leadership involves motivating others to go beyond their immediate self-interest “for the sake of the team, the organization or the larger polity” by linking an inspiring vision to core values. Study in several disciplines has shown that doing good for others is a fundamental human value across cultures, employment sectors, and workers’ typologies. Schwartz and Bardi (2001) explain that cultural, psychological research has demonstrated that benevolence is at the top of the hierarchy of values in many cultures worldwide. Similarly, other related fields of study that have blossomed during the last 20 years all emphasize the centrality of considering others.
If orientation towards others is a relevant determinant of organizational behaviour, the perception of benefiting others plays an even more appropriate role for employees who provide public services. Consequently, public leaders who want to make their inspiring messages more concrete in their followers’ eyes, emphasizing their vision’s pro-social effects, are particularly important.
From another perspective, through experimental research, Grant and Bellé (2007: 2013) discovered that a “relational job design” showed that allowing employees to meet with the people who benefit from their work could greatly boost their motivation and performance. The experience amplifies their perception of themselves and their efforts as making a difference in other people’s lives. Grant demonstrated that allowing employees to interact with the beneficiaries of their actions and thus tangibly illustrating how the leader’s vision benefits other people strengthens transformational leadership’s performance effects.
Therefore, nurturing the perception of task significance among employees, that is, the employees’ belief that they are making a positive difference in other people’s lives, can enhance their motivation and effort. Task significance makes employees experience their jobs as more meaningful. This perceived meaningfulness can motivate team members or employees to exert more effort in being productive and achieving the organizational objectives.
