Leaders who adopt this approach aim to uplift and motivate their followers to exceed their own expectations and achieve collective goals.
In today’s rapidly evolving world, effective leadership is crucial for organizations to thrive. Among the various leadership styles, transformational leadership has emerged as a powerful approach that inspires and motivates individuals to achieve remarkable outcomes. Rooted in charisma, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration, transformational leadership fosters a shared vision, encourages personal growth, and empowers followers.
Transformational leadership is a leadership style that focuses on inspiring and transforming individuals and organizations. Leaders who adopt this approach aim to uplift and motivate their followers to exceed their own expectations and achieve collective goals. Transformational leaders are characterized by their ability to create a compelling vision and communicate it.
The theory of leadership states that when a leader works with the team to identify needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through inspiration and executing the change in tandem with committed members of the group. There are several approaches to leadership that can be applied in nursing practice. In day-to-day activities we see leaders practicing different leadership styles according to the situation. But in the complex world of the present era, one needs to be very careful while practicing leadership style.
Many management Gurus are advocating a transformational leadership style nowadays, though it is as old as the Mahabharata time. We remember the preaching from Bhagwat Gita where Lord Krishna transforms Arjuna to fight when he was totally bewildered and did not want to fight. Lord Krishna further left it up to Arjuna to decide his own path after letting him know the pros and cons of both situations.
This is an extraordinary example of transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is an approach that focuses on the attributes and behavior of the leader, required to empower and motivate team members.
The four elements of transformational leadership are idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration.
- Idealized Influence: when the leader is positive and a role model, leads by example and is confident. A leader is energetic and engages in respectful interactions. He/she engenders respect and demonstrates personally held values. Practitioners of this style are not afraid of apology if a mistake is committed.
- Inspirational motivation: Encourage manatees to leave their comfort zones and explore new possibilities. Let them know that you believe in them and motivate them to redefine their goals and achieve them for their personal growth. A leader communicates high expectations, inspiring and energizing others to go beyond minimum standards. Instill in the manatees to be optimistic. Leader conveys. I BELIEVE IN YOU
- Intellectual stimulation: Encourage the mentees to tackle old problems in new ways. Mentees to think critically about their ways of doing things and share new ideas to help them to create new ideas to solve problems.
- Individualized considerations: Treat each individual manatee as unique, and valued, listen carefully, and give specific, personalized feedback or advice that suits the individual. The Almighty God has created everyone with different characteristics like the fingerprints of one person will not match with another, the same is true with the human mind to respond to the same situation. So, one needs to treat each individual differently as per their personality traits.
Traits of a successful transformational leader
Transformational leaders are self-aware, open mind people who accept criticism. They are proactive, adaptive, and innovative. Above all, they lead with humility.
Transformational leaders are self-aware, open mind people who accept criticism. They are proactive, adaptive, and innovative.
Benefits of Transformational Leadership
a) Enhanced Motivation: Transformational leaders create a sense of purpose and meaning, igniting intrinsic motivation within their followers. They promote a shared vision that aligns individual goals with organizational objectives, fostering a sense of ownership and commitment.
b) Increased Productivity: Through their inspirational and empowering leadership, transformational leaders cultivate a positive work environment that enhances productivity and efficiency. They encourage innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
c) Talent Development: Transformational leaders prioritize individual growth and development. They identify and nurture talent, providing opportunities for learning, skill-building, and career advancement. This leads to a highly skilled and engaged workforce.
d) Organizational Adaptability: Transformational leaders foster a culture of adaptability and change readiness. They encourage flexibility, resilience, and a proactive approach to challenges, enabling organizations to navigate uncertainty and seize opportunities.
Transformational leadership is a powerful leadership style that empowers individuals, inspires change and drives organizational success.
Impact of Transformational Leadership:
a) Employee Engagement: Transformational leadership fosters high levels of employee engagement and satisfaction. When individuals feel valued, inspired, and empowered, they become more committed and motivated, resulting in higher job satisfaction and reduced turnover.
b) Organizational Culture: Transformational leaders shape organizational culture by promoting openness, trust, and collaboration. They create an inclusive and supportive environment that values diversity of thought, leading to enhanced teamwork and cohesion.
c) Innovation and Creativity: By stimulating intellectual curiosity and encouraging innovation, transformational leaders drive creativity within the organization. They inspire individuals to think beyond boundaries, leading to breakthrough ideas and solutions.
d) Sustainable Success: Transformational leadership lays the foundation for sustainable success. By building strong relationships, fostering growth, and promoting a shared vision, leaders create a legacy that extends beyond their tenure, ensuring long-term organizational prosperity.
But what if one has set back most people attempting major behavior change suffer set back-including leaders. There can be short-term causes like interpersonal conflict, bad moods, and unpredictable events. The chronic set back like stress, fatigue, and lack of social support. The leader leads in this situation by coping positively and setting the example to bounce back with full vigour and zest to overcome the situation.
Transformational leadership is a powerful leadership style that empowers individuals, inspires change and drives organizational success. By embodying charisma, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration, transformational leaders create a positive work environment that encourages personal growth, innovation, and collaboration. The benefits of transformational leadership extend beyond individual and organizational growth, impacting employee engagement, organizational culture, and long-term success. In an ever-changing world, transformational leadership serves as a guiding light, illuminating the path toward a brighter and more prosperous future.
Learning is defined as a change in behavior. One has not learned a thing until one can take action and use it.
Leaders and Mentors change lives.
“Composed by: Prof. Urmila D Bhardwaj has a vast experience in nursing and is presently working as Principal cum Dean at Sharda University.”
