Transformational leaders use their charismatic approach to serve as a role model for their followers and their organization. In some situations, followers may even rebel against the leader if they feel that they are being led in an immoral direction. Transformational leadership does provide many positive outcome opportunities. That is because they understand that the core of all business transactions is a strong and healthy relationship. When you see someone having a good time, then you want to share in that experience. Since team dynamics can differ dramatically from one company to the next, one approach does not work for all businesses. Then, because their charisma helps to sell the morality of the vision to their followers, the adoption of the new vision filters quickly down the hierarchy of the organization to get everyone onto the same page. Communicate inspiring visions, this approach stands out from other forms of leadership in its ability to quickly evaluate the current situation of an organization and to articulate a vision for its development and growth. Simplicity is a critical advantage of transactional leadership over other … Those using transformational leadership seek to satisfy the needs of the organization as they work to satisfy their personal needs simultaneously. 2.3.2 Disadvantages of Transformational Leadership Although transformational leadership styles have consistently shown advantages not only in shaping followers and achieving the organisations end goals and/or outcomes, there are also certain limitations of transformational leadership. It can face serious detail challenges, While transformational leaders are known for their inspirations and big picture visions, they would struggle with detail orientation at times. Motivating your team, The vision of transformational leadership aligns with being able to inspire and motivate. If that vision is not shared, or if followers lose their faith in the leader, then there cannot be success. Transformational leadership is one of those theories, and is considered to be a more humane theory compared to other types like a militaristic transactional leadership style. Because you are trying to obtain a visionary goal, something transformative and different, you won’t have a paved out road ahead of you. Close, frequent communication must occur for this to happen. Transformational leaders gain energy from their ability to implement new ideas and inspire others. Transformational leadership, like all leadership styles, has a set of advantages and disadvantages. They are motivated to continue pushing on because they take ownership of the process which achieves outcomes. “The principles are embodied in the natural way of thought and the common language spoken on a day-to-day basis by Amazonians regardless of function, domain, role, level, business model or target market.” – Arun Prasath, Principal Engineer at Amazon. Advantages of Transactional Leadership. (2020, Aug 05). That leads to higher levels of productivity, higher levels of team morale, and lower levels of follower turnover. Through passion and influence the transformational leaders properly communicate their visions to other leaders within the organization and to all of the employees. Transformational leaders solicit their followers’ ideas an… It is through this communication that the vision and “rightness” of a task are transferred from the leader to the followers. When a leader makes a commitment, its workers have every right to expect follow-through Worse, inadequate transactional motivators (rewards and punishments) may be in place to promote some kind of response, and that imbalance is the reason why change efforts will fail. Transformational leaders are often given management positions in companies experiencing significant transition or needing a spark. That leads to a lack of trust from affected team members, which ultimately affects the levels of productivity that are achievable. advantages and barriers to transformational leadership. Advantages: 1. It is a type of leadership where leaders and followers work with one another to achieve higher levels of motivation and team morale. This leadership style excels at recognizing existing needs or demands, especially in their followers. Clarity and efficiency are two obvious potential advantages with transactional leadership. The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Transformational Leadership 1156 Words | 5 Pages. They are able to sell the changes, improvements, or expansion required because they already believe in the process. Improves Job Satisfaction. The transformational leaders inspire people instead of dictating changes in their team, to shift their staff’s attitudes, aspirations or motives for working towards a shared goal. If a transformational leader loses faith, so does the rest of their team. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. Some of the Advantages of leadership are : 1. They continuously challenge assumptions to find new solutions to old problems. In this section, we’ll examine the benefits of the leadership in detail. Advantages and Disadvantages of Transformational Leadership. One of its drawbacks is its inapplicability in certain situations. In order to understand more about this term, one should look at the advantages and disadvantages of leadership – Advantages of Leadership It shows Path to People. Transformational leaders tend to retain employees more often than other forms of leadership. It sends the message that much more is required than simply turning up, doing a great job, and then going home. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of transformational leadership. Honesty and integrity are core values for transformational leaders; they are ethically-driven with a tight focus on values, authenticity and transparency. Each positive opportunity offers a negative outcome potential as well. Transformational leaders who are perceived to lack this skill or to provide this to their followers are likely to fail. In order to accomplish great things, it requires you to put yourself on the line to take risks and face challenge. One of the biggest issues corporations face with general productivity is a lack of team communication. This may include seminars, workshops, focus groups, or even formal classes. As all leadership styles, there are advantages and disadvantages associated with transactional leadership as well. The most common question you’ll hear from a transformational leader is this: “Why?” The second-most common question you’ll hear is this: “Why not?” This leadership style is more than creative. #5: Creates Passion. They do an excellent job of encouraging their followers to work together to achieve strategic goals. When implemented correctly, this process allows the leader, the followers, and the organization to eventually reach their full potential. Goals of transformational leaders may be far-fetched, Transformation leaders are people who rely on passion, excitement and determination to accomplish something. Often, a transformational leader is brought into break employees out of a funk or a state of indifference. 2. Eg, Borders was an international book and music retailer, founded by two entrepreneurial brothers while at university. Transformational leadership is a leadership approach in which the leader is tasked with the responsibility of identifying the needed change, and creating an appropriate vision to direct the change through inspiring the team to execute the change (Fairholm & Fairholm, 2009). Transformation leaders are ordinary people who turn up every day to try and do their best in the world in every way. They are also good at identifying gaps or problems in a vision process which helps them to make changes or recommendations for immediate correction of the situation. Experts claim that more comprehensive and coordinated people would need support from these types of leaders, which means that certain managers, assistants or other team members will be required to help sustain a transactional emphasis that can keep these leaders’ vision going in the right direction. This leadership style is one of the best at having people engage with the learning process for this position. For many leaders, transformational leadership is a great way to increase the potential for a company and solve problems. Through this process, they can do more than stimulate others toward success through their role-modeling. Unlike transformational leadership, which focuses on creating a vision and spearheading change, this approach involves maintaining the status quo and providing rewards in exchange for task performance. Advantages and disadvantages of tran ", 35 E&P Industry Statistics, Trends & Analysis, Spotify SWOT Analysis for 2021: 26 Strengths and Weaknesses, Uber SWOT Analysis for 2021: 23 Major Strengths and Weaknesses, Netflix SWOT Analysis (2021): 23 Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses, Tesla SWOT Analysis (2021): 33 Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses, 14 Core Values of Amazon: Its Mission and Vision Statement, Is AliExpress Legit and Safe: 15 Tips for Buyers, How Does Zoom Make Money: Business Model Explained, A Look at Southwest Airlines Mission Statement: 10 Key Takeaways, Apple’s Mission Statement and Vision Statement Explained, How Does WhatsApp Make Money: Business Model & Revenue Explained. Therefore Transformational leaders tend to be creative, To be more creative, you need a good dose of imagination and creativity. Transformational leadership style doesn’t stop with inspiring words, it is developed in Amazon’ leadership principles. Leaders in scientific laboratories who apply these findings and implement more effective leadership may impact social change through increased subordinate job satisfaction and performance, thereby enhancing organizational survivability and improving the status quo. Get Your Custom Essay on, Transformational Leadership Advantages and Disadvantages, By clicking “Write my paper”, you agree to our, Advantages of the Transformational Leadership, Disadvantages of the Transformational Leadership, By clicking Send Me The Sample you agree on the, Transformational Leadership: Being an Example, Assessment of a Study of Transformational Leadership, https://graduateway.com/transformational-leadership-advantages-and-disadvantages/, Get your custom Note that transactional leadership is more applicable in these cir… Instead of dictating changes to their team, transformational leaders inspire people to change their perceptions, expectations, or motivations to work toward a common mission or goal. Therefore, we will also outline the downside to transformational leadership. Directions are followed through support, advice, and encouragement, along with role-modeling, instead of issuing orders. Through passion and influence, the leader communicates her vision to employees to get everyone on board. The organization itself has only one flow of control – from the leader to the workers, and only one aspect that profits from the process. If followers see their leader being successful in their pursuit of a new vision or gal, then they want to experience that success as well. Instead of logic and reasoning this dependence on feelings may be extremely detrimental to the whole team. Leadership is very much important for motivating employees and it increases their satisfaction level. This leadership style is one of the best at having people engage with the learning process for this position. Failing to deliver on a promise — no matter how large or small — will violate the trust of employees. Similarly, the transformational leadership theory assumes one leader, which ignores the fact that many organisations and campaigns employ a framework of leaders to motivate a group to reach a goal. That is why morale and morality must be points of emphasis when bringing in people who specialize in this leadership style. If that vision is not shared, or if followers lose their faith in the leader, then there cannot be success. That is because the leader must continuously sell the vision they have to encourage their team to work toward it. That is because of the charisma this leadership style requires. Fosters Creativity and Innovation: Transformational leadership has the advantage of producing more creative ideas and innovative solutions through collaboration. This feedback must occur frequently for it to be successful. Therefore, in this essay I am going to define and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of situational, transformational and transactional leadership theories and models; also discuss how it fits with my personal style. They may not be willing to accept the reality they face, especially if it is a ‘not so attractive’ reality. Risk Taking, Transformational leaders look at a pattern, challenge the pattern, and study new patterns to find new possibilities. There must be a certain morality in place to pursue a shared vision for everyone if this leadership style is to succeed. There must be a certain morality in place to pursue a shared vision for everyone if this leadership style is to succeed. The transformational leader seeks diversity because more opinions and experiences lead to more innovation. They constantly working on achieving greater productivity standards and efficiency for themselves and their followers. They treat each follower as an individual, with their own unique needs and capabilities. These leaders use humanistic concerns to change internal cultures because they bring the concept of hope back into the big picture. Shared vision. If you need this or any other sample, we can send it to you via email. Transformational Leadership Advantages and Disadvantages. That causes the leaders to ignore certain protocols, like saving receipts from purchases to turn them into their accounting department. Not a good fit for employees who need guidance and supervision. Transformational leaders can only be successful if they maintain open lines of communication with their team. Such leaders encourage their followers to be innovative and creative. Everyone in the organization believes and supports the leader’s … As with any form of leadership, there are advantages and disadvantages of transformational leadership which must be examined. As you can see, Experts often cite Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden as examples of transformational leaders, so there can be a dark side to this style of leadership. One of the biggest weaknesses that many transformational leaders must overcome is their lack of a transactional focus. Transformational leaders are excellent communicators, Lack of team communication is one of the biggest issues corporations faces. 7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Servant Leadership. When team members are not properly informed of job duties, expectations, or project stipulations, then they cannot be fully productive. Transformational leadership might be out of reach for those who lack inspirational communication skills and charisma even if they possess the skills and experience necessary to be in charge. They also work toward achieving higher levels of efficiency for themselves and for their followers. However, in this paper we give priority to transformational leadership taking into consideration the claim that transformational leadership style … When these leaders lose faith in themselves, their teams will lose faith in their company, their leadership, and sometimes even in themselves. That means everyone on the team is more likely to feel like they have a specific role within the organization, which keeps them engaged. Optimism from a transformational leader creates optimism within the team. The workers and even the leader themselves will exploit the lack of structure, undermining the morale and productivity of the entire team. Transformational Leadership where leaders are able to initiate substantial innovation and change, Smit et al (2011:323). You can get your custom paper from It’s about a dream, enthusiasm , passion and vision, and Jeff Bezos founder of e-commerce colossus Amazon in 1994 out of his garage in Seattle, complies with these guidelines. INTRODUCTION Organizations today face a myriad of pressures in the face of global competition. Disadvantages: It is inflexible due to structured pattern. 1. In reality not all those that are sometimes associated … While there are a lot of good in transformational leadership, there are also some drawbacks in it. They don’t do things because that’s always the way they’ve been done. "You must agree to out terms of services and privacy policy", Don't use plagiarized sources. Whenever there is a state of indifference present in the workplace, the transformational leader is the most capable of breaking the team out of that routine. Let’s explore those and additional advantages to a bit … Because these leaders are naturally equipped with this skill, some seek to reinforce their leadership position by exploiting their followers to stay productive. It is almost impossible to “fake it to make it” as a transformational leader. In reality not all those that are sometimes associated with this method match the definition. Advantages of Transformational Leadership . Transformational leadership is a system of supervision that was first introduced by James MacGregor Burns. There is an infographic summary at the end of this chapter for reference. As transformational leadership is about inspiring subordinates to follow the vision of the leader, the framework can be highly fruitful. They are also good at recognizing gaps or problems in the process of a vision, which allows them to make adjustments or recommendations to correct the situation immediately. An example is Eastman Kodak, for nearly a century, no company commercialized the camera as successfully as Kodak, whose breakthroughs included the Brownie camera in 1900, Kodachrome colour film, the handheld movie camera, and the easy-load Instamatic camera. The outcome he eventually achieved, however, led his people away from moral betterment. They are ethically-driven, keeping a tight focus on values, and it comes from an authentic perspective. Transformational leaders put a lot of emphasis on authenticity – living and breathing the company culture and values, this relentless push to fulfil the grand vision and constantly take pride in the company’s accomplishments can lead to some workers becoming demotivated and burnout. He offered a vision, appealed to the values of his people, and was quite charismatic. In this leader gives reward to the employee for good job. If any of the followers disagree with the leader’s assessment that the work being done, or the outcome achieved by the vision is immoral, then they will not participate. Although transformational leaders do inspire higher levels of trust and respect, there must also be an absolute believe in the “rightness” of the vision being pursued. When a company is struggling for a long time period, they typically use transformational leaders to boost morale and change the environment. Advantages and Barriers to Transformational Leadership Implementation in … As they like to say in the Star Wars universe, there is a “dark side” which must be avoided by transformational leaders. The transformational leader does not want to use their position to control others. Loss of focus on immediate needs. If high levels of sustained productivity are required to achieve the vision in question, however, or there are unreasonable deadlines in place, then it can lead to burnout occurring within the followers. Transformational leaders tend to look toward the big picture at all times. This approach stands out from other leadership styles in its ability to quickly assess an organization's current situation and formulate a vision for its improvement and growth. Transformational leaders stimulate their followers’ efforts “to be innovative and creative by questioning assumptions, reframing problems, and approaching old situations in new ways”. Organisations following this type of leadership barely adopt any changes. Transformational leadership. To keep enthusiasm levels high, leaders must provide a constant stream of feedback to their followers about the progress being made. They do not use fear or influence to coerce compliance. Transformational leaders are excellent communicators, they provide consistent feedback to their followers to keep them pointed toward the vision or goal being worked toward. Leaders Lose Power If People Disagree With Them, Transformational leadership depends on internally motivated workers to work hard, so if those workers are not listening, thinking, and engaging with the goal, there would be a lack of intrinsic motivation. When used in decisive or heroic ways, followers become fully motivated to work toward what they feel is a righteous cause. Transformational leadership, perceived organizational support, organizational loyalty, dedication to organization, and trust in supervisor. Transformational leaders are able to create enthusiasm within their ranks of followers because of their own enthusiasm. This over-reliance restricted their willingness to delve into research and logical reasoning to face harsh truths about the situation of their companies. This process, according to Bernard Bass, who expanded upon this theory, garners higher levels of respect, trust, and admiration. Transformational leadership is not a one-size-fits-all leadership style. This leadership style prefers to use inspiration as the motivator for change instead. However, at times, this often optimistic outlook can be a justification for them to turn a blind eye to real issues they may encounter. 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