Hi there,

The four factors of transformational leadership are Idealized influence, inspirational motivation, Intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. Idealized influence is when a leader exhibits role model behaviors and is admired, and well respected by their team. This comes alive when a leader has strong conviction and rally’s their team. Inspirational motivation is when a leader is more of a pic picture thinker and can communicate to their team the larger strategy. This often builds excitement into the team. Intellectual stimulation is when a leader gets their team involved in the problem solving process and lets them make decisions. This makes the team feel more committed and involved in the process. Individual consideration is when a leader can focus specifically on what each member of their teams wants and plays to that want. This gives individualized satisfaction to all team members.

I do think transformational leadership is wanted in all organizations, but often organizations lack leaders with these skills sets. Organizations that operate in a more traditional setting with limited innovation capability might not be great candidates for transformative leaders.

Transformational leaderships are charismatic, strive for societal change, and are controversial. Transformational leaders bring about change in a company, and are needed indefinitely. All companies could use a tranformational leader because it helps the company grow and shift with the ever changing world. A good example of a transformational leader is the COO of my company. He was hired to shake things up. He watches the business and incites change in all areas, allowing employees to weigh in on the changes, and brings us into a different state of mind. He is on year three with our business and already you can see the revenue producing changes. Not only that, he also challenges the normal “idea” of a corporate environment, bringing on a newer idea of simplicity. I used to go through 12 steps to process invoices for my department. I am a project manager, so I order the material, I should process the invoices. He pulled the invoice processing off of my plate, and simplified the process. Something that used to take me roughly four hours a week, is now running a lot smoother, and because he simplified the process will be saving us money. It is scary to go along with the changes he keeps making, however I have learned to trust his instincts, as his vision is always a better situation for the company. I would also like to add, he is open to discussion on his vision, and relays that it is his idea of a better solution, however if it doesn’t work, he is open to hearing that because ultimately, we are the ones that have to deal with the change.