Assignment 4 - Leadership and Theories and Areas of Application
Leadership Theories: According to Janda (1960), leadership is a term defined as a scientific discipline of power relationships where group members believe that other members of their group has the right to prescribe a particular behavior to others (Janda, 1960, p. 345-346). However, leadership is the consequence of the interaction of interpersonal relationships between members of a group that obey willingly and not forced to do so under pressure (Ivanova, Zivkovic, & Ivanov, 2011, p. 12756). Despite the contrary, most definitions of leadership differ in many respects; most reflect the assumption of a process that intentionally influences the guidance, facilitation and structured relationships of people in groups or organizations. Leadership theories uncover and identify key characteristics of leadership that exhibit a framework of charismatic traits and qualities that articulate a vision (Judge, Woolf, Hurst, & Livingston, 2006, p. 204).
Transformational Leadership: Transformational leadership is a style of leadership that influences positive changes in individuals and social systems. It is a leadership that creates optimism and valuable change within its followers and the subsequent development of followers into future leaders. The Transformational leadership’s primary goal is a process where leaders and followers encourage each other to higher standards of ethical integrity and collective motivation
Transformational leadership accomplishes many of the same results among followers or subordinates. This style of leadership was first introduced in 1978 by James McGregor Burns. Transformational leadership is about inspiring others to go above and beyond expectations. There are four components of transformational leadership. Idealized influence refers to leaders as role models for followers displaying positive behaviors, including setting ethical standards and considering the
Transformational leadership describes a leader moving followers beyond immediate self-interests through idealized influence (charisma), inspiration motivation, intellectual stimulation, or individualized consideration. Transformational leaders are change agents. They influence the mission and objectives to make way for a brighter future for the organization. Followers are motivated to do more than is originally expected because of their feelings of trust and respect for the leader.
Additionally, " Transformational Leadership inspires wholeness of being, so your thoughts, feelings and actions are consistent. It is about leading with an integrity and authenticity that resonates with others, and inspires them to follow. Not only does it inspire others to follow, but to become leaders themselves" (Cox, 2007, p. 10).
Transformational Leadership empowers or enables its followers. The leader engages with the follower in a way that both the leader and follower transcend to a higher level of motivation and morality (Nicholls, 1994).
They constantly practice integrity and commitment. Transformational leaders seek to engage and re-engage their followers with a high level of commitment to the vision. While transformational leaders seek to transform organizations, they simultaneously seek to transform the followers.
There are many models of leadership that exist across a range of fields (e.g. social work, education, psychology, business, etc.). The ability to transform an organization successfully requires a different set of attitudes and skills. Transformational leadership is an approach where a leader utilizes inspiration, charisma, individualized attention, and intellectual stimulation with their employees (Iachini, Cross, & Freedman, 2015, p. 651). Transformational leadership helps to clarify organizational vision, inspires employees to attain objectives, empowers employees, encourages employees to take risks, and advocates the seeking of alternative solutions to challenges in the workplace (Transformational Leadership, 2015). It allows the leader to engage and motivate each follower identify with the organization’s values and goals.
Transformational Leadership can play a role in creating a successful team. It can also be the process that changes and transforms people dealing with emotions, values, ethics, and standards. Transformational Leadership is the process whereby a person engages others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower (Northhouse , 186). This applies to a team because you always have to be able to connect and motivate others
Johnson and Dipboye (2008) proclaimed, “Transformational leadership style mainly focuses on transformation of values and beliefs of followers by inspiring them” (As cite by Zareen, Razzaq, & Mujtaba, 2015). Connectedness, mutual respect, and collaboration on goals and responsibilities are what I see as the hallmarks that transformational leadership affords
The multicultural concept and path goal approach are two leadership approaches that are vital for the field of social work. In America, the country is made up of different races and ethnicities and is viewed as the most diverse country in the world. If social workers in this country used an ethnocentrism approach, then we would be a country divided instead of united, and only assist individuals who provide the opportunity for personal gain (Potocky, M. 1997). For example, if I only choose to assist African American women, then my goal to help them has more to do with their similarities to me, instead of being focused on the client, holistically. In Social work, no one gets
Leadership is a process of influencing activities of a particular group of people with the aim of attaining certain stipulated goals. In defining leadership there is need to consider a particular group, the common goals and the duties that are allocated to specific members of the group depending on their abilities (Fiedler 1976). Leadership therefore cannot successfully occur unless members of the group are given different considerations in terms of personality, traits and responsibilities. In considering leadership, it is important to look at the leader, the group or organization they are leading, the members as individuals and the situation; these are
Transformational leadership is a leadership style that promotes change as well as improves performance in the organization as a whole as well as on the individual employee level (Phaneuf, Boudrias, Rousseau, & Brunelle, 2016). James MacGregor Burns first introduced transformational leadership in his book titled Leadership that he authored in 1978. Burns defined transformational leadership as leadership that stems from one’s core unchanging values and beliefs. Burns believed that transformational leaders not only bring together their followers, but also positively influence their follower’s values and beliefs in a way that brings about positive change (Humphreys & Einstein, 2003).
Transformational Leadership can be defined as a style of leadership in which the leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through influence and inspiration, and
Leadership has been studied extensively and many varying definitions exist. Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy (2015, p.4) review many of these definitions and consequently describe leadership as ‘the process of influencing an organised group towards its goals’. Leadership involves the interplay of a range of different factors, not least the leader themselves, the followers and the situation. For
A TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER is a person who stimulates and inspires followers to achieve extraordinary outcomes (Robbins, 2007)It has been shown to influence organisational members by transforming their values and priorities while motivating them to perform beyond their expectations (Rowold, 2007)Increased levels of job satisfaction & reduced turnover intentions are consequences of transformational leadership. It is all about leadership that creates positive change in the followers whereby they take care of each other’s interests and act in the interestsof the groupas a whole (Warrilow, 2012)
Transformational leadership is an effective leadership style for producing positive changes and strengthening organizations. These leaders are passionate, energetic, and focused on helping every member of the group succeed. The four dimensions of transformational leadership garner trust, respect, and admiration from followers in the organization. Organizational commitment results from employees being satisfied and devoted to the vision of the company. Another important trait of a transformational leader is emotional intelligence. It is necessary in relationship building and managing emotions in situations. Recognizing the limitations of transformational leadership and understanding the assets of various leadership styles will help a leader determine which style is most suitable for the occasion.