The current environment, which is marked by uncertainty, global turbulence, and organisational insecurity, necessitates transformational leadership at all levels of the organisation. Such leaders’ followers exhibit high levels of job satisfaction and organisational commitment, as well as engaging in organisational citizenship behaviours. With such a dedicated workforce, it will undoubtedly be beneficial to consider developing methods of transforming organisations through leaders.

Developing a high-performance workforce is becoming increasingly important, and in order to do so, business leaders must be able to inspire organisational members to go above and beyond their job responsibilities. As a result, new leadership concepts have emerged, including transformational leadership.

Transformational leadership can be found at all organisational levels, including teams, departments, divisions, and the organisation as a whole. Such leaders are visionaries, motivators, risk-takers, and deep thinkers. They have a magnetic personality. However, charisma alone will not change the way an organisation operates. Transformational leaders must demonstrate the following four characteristics in order to effect significant change:

Vision with values:

They believe that a leader can only influence his followers if he practises what he preaches. Leaders serve as role models for their followers to follow. Such leaders consistently earn the trust and respect of their followers through their actions. The use of power by such leaders is intended to persuade them to work toward the organization’s common goals.

Professing intellectual thoughts:

Leaders who are innovative and creative encourage and inspire their followers. They encourage their followers to come up with new ideas and never publicly criticise them when they make mistakes. Leaders focus on the “what” of problems as opposed to the “blaming” aspect of them. They have no qualms about abandoning a long-established practise if it is found to be ineffective.

Constant Motivation:

The foundation of transformational leadership is the promotion of a consistent vision, mission, and set of values to members. They know exactly what they want from each interaction because their vision is so compelling. Transformational leaders inspire their followers by providing meaning and a challenge. They work tirelessly and cheerfully to foster team spirit.

Avoiding Crowd practice:

Leaders act as mentors to their followers, rewarding them for their creativeness and ingenuity. Depending on their abilities and knowledge, the followers are treated differently. They are given the authority to make decisions and are always supported in carrying them out.

Mahatma Gandhi and Barack Obama are two well-known examples of transformational leaders. It is sufficient to comprehend how leaders can transform society through their leadership. The importance of leaders and their skill sets determines how a liberal society can be designed to allow organisations to grow to their full potential.

Written by Faber Aleena & Compiled by Faber Mayuri