Transformational leadership, Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Transformational leadership, - Essay Example Organisations operate in a dynamic environment and they ought to keep pace with the changes that may take place hence this style can improve the organisation’s fortunes. The most important traits of transformational leaders is that they are value driven and they belief in people which helps them to share the same vision for the organisation. Introduction Organisations are operating in environments that are characterised by radical change, immense volatility and international dynamics during the contemporary period (Schultz, 2005). Therefore, organisations have to cope with increasing competition and the changing demands of the customers and it can be noted that leadership is the key factor in determining whether the organisations are better positioned to capitalise on the opportunities that evolve from these changes in the environment. Thus, the way in which the organisations respond to new challenges is strongly tied to the values, attitudes, styles and responses of their lea ders hence it is imperative that the leaders should adopt leadership practices that are compatible with the situation obtaining on the ground during the current period. Also of concern is the fact that leadership is not only limited to chief executive officers since anyone can be in a position to lead in one way or the other. As such, this paper seeks to focus on what leadership is, discuss various contemporary leadership perspectives and theories. Special attention will be paid to transformational leadership through a review of literature that explores what various academic authors suggest are the key traits that make such a leader. Examples will be used as to why this is an important leadership style and how it can change the organisation’s fortune. What is leadership? According to Schultz (2005, p. 186), â€Å"leadership is generally defined as the social process of influencing people to work voluntarily, enthusiastically and persistently towards a purposeful group or org anisational goal.† From this definition, it can be noted that leadership is not restricted to a formal position given that anyone can be in a position to exert influence on the other people within the organisation. Robbins (2003) concurs with this suggestion when he said that leadership is the ability to influence a group of people towards the achievement of organisational goals. In order for the organisations to be effective, there is need for the leaders to take a leading role in influencing the members to put optimum performance in their operations for the betterment of the organisation as a whole. The behaviour of the employees has to be channelled and directed towards the achievement of the organisation’s objectives and this calls for leadership. Various perspectives have been developed over the years and a number of theories have developed within these perspectives. Only the most popular and recent theories will be discussed in the following section and these incl ude the following: trait theories, behavioural theories as well as contingency/situational theories of leadership. Focus of the discussion will then switch to transformational leadership which represents a new paradigm in leadership. The trait theories This approach to leadership is the foundation of leadership theory and thinking. The trait approach to leadership focuses on specific individual attributes of leaders such as physical