TRANSACTIONAL & TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLES

Transactional & Transformational Leadership Styles

Transactional & Transformational Leadership Styles

This paper presents answers to two questions regarding the effectiveness of two leadership styles - namely the transactional and transformational leadership style.

When you think of leadership, the ideas of power, authority, and influence may come to mind. You may think of the actions of effective leaders in accomplishing important goals. You may think of actual people who have been recognized for their leadership capabilities (Andrews, Grogan, 2001).

Leadership can be defined as the ability of an individual to influence the thoughts, attitudes, and behavior of others. It is the process by which others are motivated to contribute to the success of the groups of which they are members (Antonakis, House, 2002). Leaders set a direction for their followers and help them to focus their energies on achieving their goals (Antonakis, Avolio, Sivasubramaniam, 2003).

Theorists have developed many different theories about leadership, and although none of the theories completely explains everything about leadership, each has received some scientific support. Some of the theories are based on the idea that there are “born leaders” with particular traits that contribute to their ability to lead. Other theories suggest that leadership consists of specific skills and behaviors. Some theories take a contingency approach that suggests that a leader's effectiveness depends on the situation requiring leadership (Avolio, 1999). Still other theories examine the relationship between the leader and his or her followers as the key to understanding leadership.

Question A

Charan, Drotter, and Noel (2001) posit "there is a particular gestalt to leadership." Leadership style is an element of this gestalt. Transformational and transactional leadership styles have been portrayed in the literature as both oppositional and complimentary leadership styles (Bass, 1985). Identify the distinctions between transformational and transactional leadership styles. Analyze the management literature and cite examples illustrating the influence of these leadership styles.

Transactional Leadership

In transactional leadership, leaders influence the behavior of their followers through a process of exchange, as noted by (Avolio, Bass, 1995). Transactional leaders engage their followers in a relationship of mutual dependence, in which the contributions of both are acknowledged and rewarded. Stated more simply, transactional leaders give followers something they want in exchange for their compliance (Avolio, Bass, 1987).

While the roots of transaction leadership theory can be traced back to earlier motivational exchange theories, (Avolio, Gibbons, 1988) work on political leadership is recognized as a seminal piece in regard to the theory's development. (Blase, 1993) illustrated that the process of leadership was political in nature and that leaders achieved compliance from followers not only through emotional or charismatic forms of influence but also through transactional exchanges between themselves and their followers. These exchanges involve leaders offering tangible rewards to their followers in return for the achievement of performance criteria. In short, (Blasé, 1993) argued that leaders could shape the behavior of their followers by appealing to the self-interests and expectations of these followers.

(Bass, 1985) applied (Callahan, 1962) ideas to management contexts and explained that the study of leadership as an exchange ...