Types of Leaders
Completion requirements
When we look at leaders' types (or styles), we can consider transactional versus transformational leaders or even a blended approach to leadership. We may fall into the trap of our thinking about leadership and think one way of leading is right for all situations. Instead, This text should help you understand that different situations may require us to exhibit different leadership skills. Consider a manager at a fast-food restaurant that mostly hires teenagers to work versus a senior manager with well-experienced professionals on their team. This section compares transactional and transformational leadership. Be attentive to the key differences between them. The section on transactional leaders explores how transactional leaders operate within the organization. This type of leader uses extrinsic motivational tools. The key behaviors of transformational leaders are more focused on how they interact with and inspire their followers. This leader fosters teamwork and has a broad, inclusive vision. Finally, the text explores the blended approach of transactional and transformational leadership.
Transactional Versus Transformational Leaders
Transactional leaders are concerned about the status quo, while transformational leaders are more change-oriented.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
-
Differentiate between transactional leaders and transformational leaders in a full-range approach, particularly from a behavioral perspective
KEY POINTS
- Transactional leadership works within set established goals and organizational boundaries, while a transformational approach challenges the status quo and is more future-oriented.
- Transactional leadership emphasizes organization, performance evaluation and rewards, and is task- and outcome-oriented.
- Transformational leadership focuses on motivating and engaging followers with a vision of the future.
TERM
- Buy-in
In management and decision making, the commitment of interested or affected parties (often called stakeholders) to agree to support a decision, often by having been involved in its formulation.
Transactional Leadership
Transactional
leadership promotes compliance with existing organizational goals and
performance expectations through supervision and the use of rewards
and punishments. Transactional leaders are task- and outcome-oriented.
Especially effective under strict time and resource constraints and in
highly-specified projects, this approach adheres to the status quo and
employs a form of management that pays close attention to how employees
perform their tasks.
Transformational Leadership
Transformational
leadership focuses on increasing employee motivation and engagement and
attempts to link employees' sense of self with organizational values.
This leadership style emphasizes leading by example, so followers can
identify with the leader's vision and values. A transformational
approach focuses on individual strengths and weaknesses of employees and
on enhancing their capabilities and their commitment to organizational
goals, often by seeking their buy-in for decisions.
Comparing Leadership Types
Transactional and transformational leadership exhibit five key differences:
- Transactional leadership reacts to problems as they arise, whereas transformational leadership is more likely to address issues before they become problematic.
- Transactional leaders work within an existing an organizational culture, while transformational leaders emphasize new ideas and thereby "transform" organizational culture.
- Transactional leaders reward and punish in traditional ways according to organizational standards; transformational leaders attempt to achieve positive results from employees by keeping them invested in projects, leading to an internal, high-order reward system.
- Transactional leaders appeal to the self-interest of employees who seek out rewards for themselves, in contrast to transformational leaders, who appeal to group interests and notions of organizational success.
- Transactional leadership is more akin to the common notions of management, whereas transformational leadership adheres more closely to what is colloquially referred to as leadership.
Source: Boundless
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