Applying transformational leadership
As transformational leadership covers a wide range of aspects within leadership, there are no specific steps for a manager to follow. Becoming an effective transformational leader is a process. This means that conscious effort must be made to adopt a transformational style. Understanding the basics of transformational leadership and the four I's can help a manager apply this approach. According to Northouse (2001), have the following qualities:
Acts
Acts as a change agent within the organisation by setting an example of how to initiate and implement change.
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A crucial element in terms of becoming a transformational leader, is the ability to have and utilise emotional intelligence.
Suggested answer
empowers followers to do what is best for the organisation - let people make their own decisions - give them more responsibility but ensure that they know what is expected of them and they see it as a positive thing and not just that you are dumping more work on them.
is a strong role model with high values - practice what you preach - and don't ask someone to do something you would not do yourself.
listens to all viewpoints to develop a spirit of cooperation - make sure you not only listen to what people are saying, but ask them for their opinions and then act upon them or explain properly why they cannot be acted upon.
creates a vision, using people in the organisation - work together to create a vision for where you see the company going. Make sure your employees are involved in this as then they will have ownership of it and will feel more connected in trying to achieve this.
acts as a change agent within the organisation by setting an example of how to initiate and implement change - be the person that is seen to make changes to your own working environment - and not just to other people's lives. The CEO and Finance Director of British Airways took pay freezes and no pay in July 2009 in an effort to drive down costs and also set an example:BA CEO pay rises, cost-cutting talks continue
helps the organisation by helping others contribute to the organisation - motivate your staff to contribute to the company - boost their confidence and make them feel important. This will mean they will make better decisions which will help you and the business.
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Project
Contact
This resource was developed as part of an Erasmus+ project, funded with support from the European Commission under grant agreement 2016-1-SE01-KA203-22064.
The project was a collaboration between:
- The University of Borås, Sweden
- The University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland
- The University of Alcalá, Spain
- Digital Connections, Scotland
This resource has been released under Creative Commons license CC-BY-SA 4.0.
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- Academic content – The University of the Highlands and Islands (www.uhi.ac.uk)
- Technical resource development – The University of the Highlands and Islands Educational Development Unit - EDU (edu@uhi.ac.uk)
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