Introduction
Transformational leadership (TL) is a type of management and control that seeks to bring change to individuals, organizations, or societies. According to RodrĂguez Aboytes and Barth (2020) transformational leadership not only leads to a positive change for the organization but also seeks to leaders growing other individuals who will replace them. According to Agrawal (2020), idealism is the most criticized component of TL. Northouse (2022) and Milhem et al. (2019) agree with this by claiming that transformational leaders with high charisma may misuse power and mandates and neglect followers’ opinions which could be detrimental to organizations. This paper analyses the TL theory pointing out its strengths and weaknesses, current trends, and how it promotes inclusivity and diversity in the workplace.
Overview
Seminal Authors
A few seminal authors can be singled out in TL. James V. Downton pioneered TL in 1973 and introduced the concept (Singh, 2019). James Burns eventually added to this in 1978 by suggesting that group members could only be inspired to follow a leader if they had a strong vision and character. Bass’s approach, which traces its origins to the 1970s, resembles TL even more in the modern era (Singh, 2019). This technique’s sole constant is the setting in which TL should be used. Therefore, TL can be applied in varying industries, mostly teamwork.
Definitions/Subconstructs
Overall, in TL theory, TL is defined as a leadership type in which the leader challenges the followers to change, thus approaching their ideals and bringing positive effects to the organization (Agrawal, 2020; Raveendran, 2021; Singh, 2019). TL involves leading followers and enabling them to recognize the need for change and incorporate it into practice; it may involve a certain degree of autonomy for followers and incorporate inspiring followers by means of becoming a role model or providing them with assistance in linking their self-identifies to the organization’s collective goals (Agrawal, 2020; Raveendran, 2021; Singh, 2019). TL is, therefore, inseparable from motivating others to strive to be better.
There are five distinct subconstructs of TL that shed light on its components. To start with, two types of idealized influence (II) represent two separate subconstructs. The II-Behaviors subconstruct is defined as the leader’s ability to demonstrate charisma by means of proper actions/behaviors, whereas the II-Attributes component refers to the presence of traits to achieve this purpose (Agrawal, 2020; Raveendran, 2021). The aforementioned subconstructs are crucial to understanding TL as they permeate the development of confidence in the leader.
Individualized Consideration (IC) is the third subconstruct to be understood. IC is the ability to consider followers’ unique needs/strengths demonstrated through “encouragement, caring, coaching, and consulting” (Raveendran, 2021, p. 26). IC entails appreciating and acknowledging the individual members’ motives, desires, and requirements (Singh, 2019). When leaders understand what drives a person, they can offer specialized training opportunities. This enables team members to develop and learn in a setting where they are at ease. Having emotional intelligence is necessary for connecting with others.
Inspirational Motivation (IM), which is the fourth subconstruct, is defined as the leader’s competence in communicating the vision to followers (Agrawal, 2020; Raveendran, 2021). Motivating leaders who are prepared to devote themselves to a vision are known as inspirational motivators. By building a feeling of purpose, connection, and teamwork, they inspire team members to support this agenda. Communication must be clear to achieve the vision. This implies that they should adapt their communication approach to the team’s demands. Leaders communicate succinctly and precisely so members can understand their vision (Rodin, 2013).
Intellectual Stimulation (IS) is the fifth subconstruct; it incorporates the leader’s behaviors in challenging barriers to self-improvement, such as followers’ prior beliefs, preferred solutions, and analytical conclusions (Raveendran, 2021). Promoting critical reasoning and problem-solving abilities among members will enhance the company or group. By including each team member in the decision-making procedure, promoting innovation develops a sense of significance and a stake in achieving the organizational objectives (Rodin, 2013).
Strengths/Weaknesses
TL is one of the core theories of psychological leadership, and being over three decades old has been widely studied, and various strengths and weaknesses about it established. Studies have established that one of the major strengths of transformative leadership is that it creates an enthusiastic culture in an organization (Carleton et al., 2018). This brings positive energy to a company key to achieving its strategic objectives. Transformational leaders are also known to be filled with innovation and creativity and seek to transfer this trait to junior managers. The leadership has also been accused of bringing a lot of pressure on its followers (Carleton et al., 2018). Transformative leadership is different from servant leadership because while the former focuses on the top influence of a leader to drive change, servant leadership focuses on ethics, empathy, and collaboration between the leader and others.
Promoting Inclusivity and a Diverse Workplace
With a transformative strategy, leaders may have more success fostering diversity and changing the organizational culture. By using this leadership style, leaders hope to raise the moral fiber and expectations of themselves and those who follow them. Goals are clearly stated, and executives exhibit the principles and morals they desire to see spread across the business (Northouse, 2022). These leaders frequently possess charm, which they use to motivate their supporters to adapt to the new culture and know their feet within it. In addition to inspiring their followers, transformational leaders offer assistance and direction, which is crucial during cultural transformations.
Current Trends
Various positive trends permeate the global business community’s attitudes to TL theory. Regarding the first trend, from the perspectives of diversity and multiculturalism, investigations into TL subconstructs’ impacts on promoting organizational commitment are gaining traction in various cultural contexts, including both developed and developing markets (Raveendran, 2021). With the help of survey-based methodologies, researchers have ascertained the theory’s applicability to production businesses and public health settings in the U.S., Singapore, and Malaysia (Raveendran, 2021). TL theory is gaining popularity in India as recent findings suggest its applicability to the country’s service industry and the TL approach’s effectiveness in maximizing workforce engagement (Agrawal, 2020). Another trend is that transformational supervisors are increasingly seen as the translators of companies’ objectives and their Human Resource Management (HRM) policies (Northouse, 2022). Researchers’ findings include the need for diversity initiatives to be structured to support management (Northouse, 2022). Additionally, diversity policies are required to support TL in companies, and it will form the majority of future trends. These trends’ significance cannot be overstated as they imply TL theory’s universal nature and the ability to promote positive psychological capital in diverse cultural settings.
Recent Studies
The study by Lai et al. (2020) looked at job involvement as one potential underlying principle for how TL may affect followers’ job performance and prosocial behaviors. Members who are mentally and physically immersed in their current work are more likely to be given better performance evaluations and are more eager to assist others in achieving their objectives (Lai et al., 2020). Since they encourage team members’ work engagement and allow them to go above and beyond, transformational leaders can improve followers’ performance and helps their prosocial behavior.
Human resource researchers and professionals have focused their efforts on work engagement because it can be a significant factor in the success of an organization’s operations. According to Milhem et al. (2019), recent studies by many scholars have revealed a positive relationship between a transformative leadership style and employee engagement (Milhem et al., 2019). This research uses the leader’s emotional maturity as a mediating factor to determine the causal relationship between perceived employee engagement and TL.
Biblical Application/Scriptural Support
Although the TL theory is a modern invention, the Bible features the uses of its tenets, with Abraham’s persona being the most obvious biblical application of the theory (Darini & Karimi, 2022; Momeny & Gourgues, 2019). He developed into a fantastic transformational leader by having a clear vision, showing strength and self-assurance, being compassionate toward others, and developing a sense of righteousness. Feeling responsible for his nation, Abraham shows concern and asks God if he would “indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked,” which is demonstrative of Abraham’s individualized consideration as a transformational leader (English Standard Version Bible, 2001, Genesis 18:23). God, when appointing Abraham as the ultimate leader to spread his word, tells him that he will no longer be called Abram and has been selected to become “the father of all nations” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001, Genesis 17:5). This evidence from the Scripture implies Abraham’s ability to demonstrate charisma and elicit trust, both of which are parts of the idealized influence subconstruct in the theory of TL.
Conclusion
Organizations must tackle and encourage diversity if they want to stay relevant in this rapidly changing society, especially those the healthcare sector. TL is a leadership approach that motivates and encourages employees to perform their duties better. Employees are motivated to learn from their superiors since they might take managerial positions at some point in their careers. TL is a formidable tool to encourage and foster diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
References
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