Review of Authentic and Transformational Leadership †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Review of Authentic and Transformational Leadership. Answer: Introduction: Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we dont listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we dont listen with the intent to reply. We listen for whats behind the words. The above quoted lines of Roy T. Bennett from his famous work The Light in the Heart provides a clear account of the traits which a good leader must possess. Leadership in my opinion can be defined as the ability or the quality of the individuals to motivate as well as lead others to the desired goals or the aims of a company or business organization (Schyns Schilling, 2013). Therefore, leadership forms an important aspect of the entire process of strategic management. I believe that the various companies as well as business organizations often use the help of an effective leader to bring about their overall growth as well as development (Yukl, 2013). In my course work I came across various kinds of leadership styles and the effectiveness of the chosen style depends on the company or the organization and the scenario in which that particular style is being used (Pierce Newstrom, 2002). However, in my opinion the most commonly used styles of leadership style are transformational, au tocratic, democratic, transactional, dictatorial and others (Pierce Newstrom, 2002). Transformational style of leadership is one of the most commonly used styles of leadership. Transformational style of leadership can be defined as the style of leadership in which a leader works with subordinates to identify needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executing the change in tandem with committed members of a group (Northouse, 2010). However, in the opinion of James McGregor Burns (1978), the transformational style is one where the leaders and their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation. It is to be noted that there are various attributes of a transformational leader like effective motivation, setting clear goals and objectives, enhancing the performance level of his or her followers with the help of several innovative and new mechanism and others (Beech MacIntosh, 2017). The term "Transformational leadership" was coined by James McGregor Burns however the concept was explained in the present day co ntext of business world by Bernard M. Bass (Schyns Schilling, 2013). There are several characteristics associated with the transformational style of leadership like positive development as well as the growth of the followers, emphasis on the values of extrinsic leadership, outlining topmost priorities, creation of an ethical climate, the promotion of harmony and co-operation among the followers and various others (Banks et al., 2016). In the present day business environment several of the business managers as well as CEO use the various precepts of the transformational style of leadership to cause the overall growth as well as the development of the company or the business organization in which they work (Hoch et al., 2016). A typical example of this style of leadership is the leadership style of Howard Schultz which he used for the expansion of the business of the coffee caf chain Starbucks (Odumeru Ogbonna, 2013). It is to be noted that initially the company Starbucks was a smaller one and it was the effective leadership of Schultz which transformed the small coffee caf Starbucks into one of the largest companies of the world (Odumeru Ogbonna, 2013). Another preacher of this particular style of leadership is Bill Gates. It is significant to note that Bill Gates used this particular style of leadership to motivate as well as influence his employees in the company Microsoft (Odumeru Ogbonna, 2013). Many experts consider the effective leadership of Bill Gates to be one of the major reasons for the phenomenal growth as well as development of the company Microsoft. The Transformational Leadership Theory of David Burkus provides valuable insight into the machinery of the transformational style of leadership. In his theory he outlines four essential characteristics of a transformational leaders namely, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, idealized influence and individualized consideration (Fritz et al., 2005). It is generally seen that these four components have significantly associated with positive emotions and outcomes in the workplace as well as in team projects performed online (Fritz et al., 2005). In the opinion of Burkus, these four traits are the quintessential traits or the features of a transformational leader. It is to be noted that through the aspect of inspirational motivation the transformational leaders try to motivate their various followers to perform in a much better manner and also helps them to achieve their set objectives or goals. The aspect of intellectual stimulation is used by the various transformationa l leaders for the purposes of stimulation so that they can perform in a much better manner (Fritz et al., 2005). The aspect of idealized influence is used by the various transformational leaders to influence the employees to perform better (Hoch et al., 2016). Finally the concept of individualized consideration is used by the various transformational leaders for the purpose of focusing on the skills of individuals followers so that they can perform as per their abilities as well as capabilities (Hoch et al., 2016). Therefore, many people are of the opinion that implementing transformational leadership has many positive outcomes not only in the workplace but in other situations as well (Hoch et al., 2016). It is to be noted that there are various problems as well as challenges which the present day project managers and the leaders face. Some of the common problems faced by them are team issues, project resources, authority, scope creep, budget control, virtual work and others. The various present day leaders as well as project managers have therefore developed several strategies in a bid to combat the issues faced by them. It is seen that the various present day leaders use innovative team strategies for the management of their teams in order to counteract the issues of conflict within the team. In addition to this, the various leaders also utilize the concept of effective budget control to control the level of expenses incurred by their team and also for the effective utilization of the resources of the company or the business organization concerned. In the present times it is also seen that the various leaders use innovative ways to establish their authority over the team which they are leading. It is to be noted that for the purpose of the establishment of their authority over the team which they are leading some leaders use the technique of the utilization of power whereas others use the technique of friendly behavior (Odumeru Ogbonna, 2013). In addition to these the development of effective strategies is also important for the purpose of the proper utilization of the project resources. It is to be noted that the resources available for a particular project are very limited and it is here that the personal talent as well as the talent of the leader comes into play. Furthermore, it is to be noted that the process of transformational leadership becomes especially more significant in the present day age of digitalization. In the opinion of many scholars the evolution of transformational leadership in the digital age is tied to the development of organizational leadership in an academic setting (Odumeru Ogbonna, 2013). Therefore, it would not be too far-fetched to say that it is not the number of followers which is significant in the style of transformational leadership but the kind of change which the leader or the manager is trying to bring in the company or the business organization concerned. Therefore, from the above discussion it becomes clear that leadership forms an important part of the business organization or company. It is to be noted that many companies take the help of effective as well as skilled leaders to bring about an overall growth and development of their company or business organization. There are various styles of leadership and the effectiveness of the various leadership styles depends on the context in which they are used and also in the company or the business organization in which they are used. It is to be noted that the personal character as well as the personality of the leader also matters a lot in the process of leadership. Personal Reflection All human beings have a basic desire in them to lead others and as the leader of a particular group or organization. It is to be noted that this trait becomes especially significant when the context of a company or business organization is taken into consideration. I would like to mention here a particular incident that has a particular significance to me and helped to develop my ideas as well as theories about leadership. The incident which I am talking about happened a while back when I used to do a part-time job at a warehouse. I would like to mention here that the work was a completely voluntary one for me and I used to do it only during my college breaks in a bid to earn some extra amount of pocket money. I would like to comment here that when I working at the warehouse the organization was given a big order for the painting of doors. However, at that particular period of time there was a shortage of employees at the warehouse as most of the employees were on leave at that particular point of time. It was at this particular period of time that the manager of the warehouse used his effective leadership style to motivate the employees to give their best performance in order to complete the order. The employees were very much worried as well as anxious as the order was very big and required many employees to complete the work and the shortage of the employees added further more to our trouble. The manager called us and took a team hurdle and tried to tell us about the importance of the order which just received and the benefits which would entail if the order was successfully completed by us. This particular action of the manager as well as the confidence which he showed in our abilities motivated us a lot. In addition to this, I would like to comment here that although the manager belonged to the higher ranks of the organization yet still he worked alongside us for the completion of the order. This added a lot to our morale and I would like to say that energized us a lot to give our best to work towards the completion of the order concerned. I would like to say here that the leading by example style of the manager contributed a lot towards the achievement of the desired goal and objective. I would like to say here that this particular incident has a considerable impact on me and helped me to develop my ideas about the concept of leadership. The transformational style of leadership followed by the manager of the warehouse for the completion of that particular order had a considerable impact. As a matter of fact, I was so moved by the style of leadership followed by him that afterwards I conducted a thorough research on the meaning as well as the various aspects of the transformational leadership. My subsequent studies in the relevant field helped me to understand the concept of leadership and the style of transformational leadership in a much better manner. I would like to say that I am happy that the particular incident under discussion happened in my life as that enabled me to understand the various aspects of the concept of transformational leadership. Later on I came to know that the transformational style of leadership is one of the most commonly used styles of lea dership and is widely practiced by the well renowned leaders as well as the CEOs of various companies like Howard Schulz, Bill Gates and others. I would like to narrate here a particular incident here where I was able to demonstrate my leadership traits and qualities. The incident which in I am talking about happened about 2 years ago when I was working for an advertising agency. The advertising agency was a small one and was on the verge of going bankrupt when I was hired as the supervisor of the company to improve the performance of the company. Therefore, from day one I was confronted with various issues and had to resolve them on a daily basis for the effective working of the company. In addition to that, the board of directors of the company also required me to give drastic results. I would like to comment here that in response to this I developed various strategies to bring about a drastic change in the performance level of the employees and also to improve the prospects of the company. I would like to comment here that since my childhood I was much influenced by the transformational style of leadership. I even went to the extent of conducting a detailed research about this particular style of leadership and undertook a detailed study of the transformational leaders like Howard Schultz, Bill Gates and others. In the particular case which I am narrating I began my assessing the skills as well as capabilities of the employees in a bid to understand the people with whom I was working and also to allot them tasks as per their capabilities and talents. In addition to this, I also started a regular performance assessment plan wherein I used to assess the performance of the employees. I would like to comment here that I adopted the policy of rewarding the employees who used to perform better and motivating as well as giving training to the employees who used to perform below par. I also used to conduct regular meetings with my seniors as well as board of directors in order to seek about the issues about which I was not certain. I am happy to say here that the performance of the employees improved over the course of one month. I would not say that I was able to transform the fortunes of the company drastically but I made a significant contribution towards its growth as well as development. I would like to comment here that my short duration of work at the company was very fruitful for me. I left the company after a period of around 18 months as I got a better opportunity at another business organization. However, the learning process was a great one for me and helped me a lot in the later part of my life. My short duration of work at the warehouse enabled me to apply in practical the concepts as well as the theories which I had learned in my educational life and provided me with a platform where I can use them. In addition to that, the changeling situation in which I worked at the company helped me to develop my temperament and also helped to develop effective leadership skills. The experience which I gathered at the company was very helpful to me and helped me to perform in a much better at my present job. Therefore, I would like to conclude with the words that in the present day business world the concept of leadership forms one of the most important aspects of the entire business process itself. I also believe that the presence of an effective leader is very essential for the overall growth as well as the development of the entire company and the business organization. I consider that the effectiveness of a particular leadership style depends on the context as well as the scenario in which they are used. References Banks, G. C., McCauley, K. D., Gardner, W. L., Guler, C. E. (2016). A meta-analytic review of authentic and transformational leadership: A test for redundancy. The Leadership Quarterly, 27, 634-652. Beech, N. MacIntosh, R. (2017). Managing change: Enquiry and action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Fritz, S., Brown, W., Lunde, J. P., Banset, E. A. (2005). Interpersonal skills for leadership (2nd Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Hoch, J. E., Bommer, W. H., Dulebohn, J. H., Wu, D. (2016). Do ethical, authentic, and servant leadership explain variance above and beyond transformational leadership? A meta-analysis. Journal of Management, 1-29. Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership, theory and practice (5th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Odumeru, J. A., Ogbonna, I. G. (2013). Transformational vs. transactional leadership theories: Evidence in literature.International Review of Management and Business Research,2(2), 355. Pierce, J. L. Newstrom, J. W. (2002). The managers bookshelf: A mosaic of contemporary views (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Schyns, B., Schilling, J. (2013). How bad are the effects of bad leaders? A meta-analysis of destructive leadership and its outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 24, 138-158. Yukl, G. A. (2013). Leadership in organizations (8th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.