When it comes to effective corporate leadership in the twenty-first century, there is no single term that describes them better than “Transformational leadership.” 

Transformational leadership often lives up to its moniker. It encourages, oozes, and embodies the employees with new-found confidence to innovate and make the required decisions.

This type of leadership is not about delegating work but encourages and motivates while inspiring others to do better. They often help to transform the whole company with their brand of transformational leadership. 

These types of leaders often inspire and motivate their workforce without micromanaging them. And that’s why transformational leaders often achieve better results than others.

What is transformational leadership:

Several companies have often vied with each other in the marketplace due to being overly competitive with a limited success rate. But the business world underwent an upheaval ever since the concept of transformational leadership was first introduced.

Since then, several companies have co-opted the theory and successfully implemented it. These companies are game changers today, even helping propel a nation’s economy to greater heights. 

With all its varied definitions and nuances, transformational leadership is about inspiring and motivating other employees to be more creative and resolve issues independently. Sounds easy, right? No, it isn’t, so read on to learn “why.”

Transformational leadership model:

It may come as a surprise to you to learn that some of the top companies in the world have tasted success due to this form of leadership. This type of leadership typically falls under four categories.

Idealized influence: 

If you want to influence your other employees by providing them with a form of transformational leadership, then you can lead by example. This is what idealized influence is all about – where you lead by example. 

At the least, others around you will be impressed by how “authentic” you are and that you tend to live by your words. It is bound to impress your employees and all the more reason why you may want to opt for idealized influence since it’s the quickest way you can connect with your workforce.

Intellectual stimulation: 

If you hope to be a transformational leader to your employees, start by providing them with intellectual stimulation. While at the outset, transformational leadership is all about motivating your employees, it is also about enabling them to be more creative and upcoming research trends and styles well in advance. 

It is about overcoming old stereotypes and thinking “out of the box” so that a creative solution can make the company reach its target well ahead of schedule.

Inspirational motivation: 

Being able to transform a chaotic workforce is no easy task. Now, imagine having to do the same on a national level. Well, that’s what Mahatma Gandhi did by inspiring countless others to follow him and participate in the freedom movement. 

The result is that India got to celebrate its 75th independence day recently. That only shows you how important it is to motivate your employees, especially if you hope to transform their lives. Your employees must be motivated to go after your corporate goals. That’s what Inspirational motivation is all about.

Individual consideration: 

When it comes to being a transformational leader, you must realize that each of your employees has their own set of circumstances, feelings, emotions, pressure points, etc. You must understand that each employee is unique and must be treated with respect and individual concern. 

Rather than opt for a “one size fits all” leadership style, you may opt for a one-on-one style to communicate essential points of your business strategy with your team. You’ll find it more rewarding and one that will endear you further to your employees.

Transformational leadership characteristics:

When it comes to being a transformational leader within your organization, you need to realize that it comes with specific characteristics. Once your employees display the same, then and only then can you consider your leadership to be truly transformational. For example, your leadership must result in the following:

•  Encouraging and motivating the workforce to overcome all hurdles.
•  Emphasizing moral standards and implementing the same at the office.
•  Initiate an ethical work environment. Use it to connect with your workforce and impart daily values.
•  Transform the company culture into one of “common good” rather than a self-centred perspective. Make sure your workforce understands the nuances of the difference between the two.
•  Make sure you underscore the value of authenticity, cooperation and quick communication.
•  Provide your employees with coaching and mentoring classes but enable them to make critical decisions independently. This will cultivate their self-confidence and enable them to handle pivotal decisions independently.

This is what transformational leadership is all about. And as you can see, it is crucial to how your company operates and why it needs to succeed!