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Transformational Leadership

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What is transformational leadership?
It has been argued by Bass and Avolio (1994) that transformational lead-ership is the new leadership that must accompany good management. Incontrast to transactional models, transformational leadership goes beyond the exchange process. It not only aligns and elevates the needs and values of followers, but also provides intellectual stimulation and increased follower confidence. Bass and Avolio (1994) identified four ‘I’s’ that transformational leaders employ in order to achieve superior results. These are:• IdealizedInfluence: Transformational leaders behavein ways that result inthembeingadmired,respected and trusted, and ultimately becoming a role model. The transformational leader demonstrates high standards of ethical and moral conduct.• Inspirational Motivation: By demonstrating enthusiasm and optimism, the transformational leader actively arouses team spirit and motivates and inspires followers to share in and work towards a common goal.• Intellectual Stimulation: By being innovative, creative, supportive, refram-ingproblemsandquestioningoldassumptionsthetransformationalleadercreates an intellectually stimulating and encouraging environment.• Individualized Consideration: Transformational leaders pay special atten-tion to each individual’s needs for achievement and growth by acting as acoach or mentor.Looking closer at the four ‘I’s’ it can be argued that charisma (the abilityto inspire enthusiasm, interest, or affection in others by means of personalcharm or influence) is an important component of transformational leader-ship. Purely charismatic leaders may be limited in their ability to achievesuccessful outcomes, due to their need to instill their beliefs in others whichmay inhibit the individual growth of followers. However, transformationalleaders are more than charismatic in that they generate awareness of the mis-sion or vision of the team and the organization, and then motivate colleaguesand followers towards outcomes that benefit the team rather than merelyserving the individual interest.

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