What people get wrong about Transformational Leadership

Transformational is becoming one of those words that has become diluted, overused in leadership and strategy circles.  With so many definitions and hacks on those definitions, it has lost its true meaning that actually started appearing in academia in the late 70’s, early 80’s.  

The word “transformation” indeed has some caché and appeal in that it promises a change - a better way at the end of the tunnel.  However, we may forget just how much of a change it entails.  We’re not talking about changing the way we market our offerings here, or how we are going to improve with a new piece of software. True transformation includes dramatic shifts,  metamorphoses, or total conversions.     

“True transformation includes dramatic shifts,  metamorphoses, or total conversions”

When you’re thinking about the leader you strive to be, don’t just throw the word transformational in there without consideration.  The world needs MANY kinds of leadership, transformational only being one of them.  There is a huge need for non-transformational leaders: leaders that want to get things done, who can deliver results, who can teach, who give their own time to help the community.  

Here are 3 things people often get wrong about transformational leadership:

1. It’s not about business results.  It’s about values, ethics, and morality. 

Mohandas Gandhi, Florence Nightingale, Elon Musk, Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., Malala Yousafzai.  These leaders have transformed a group of followers, and sometimes even multiple generations of followers, in their belief systems and values.  These leaders are examples who have led with emotions, values, ethics, dignity, and long-term visionary goals.  (Northouse, 2017, p. 160)  The focus is leading toward a greater good, an optimistic future.  Transformational leaders encourage independent thought and moral reflection - not incremental improvements to organization’s quarterly results.  

2. It’s not a position of authority.  

Transformational leaders typically don’t have positions of authority.  They may be a top leader of an organization (Elon Musk, Martin Luther King Jr) but they don’t seek traditional or transactional authority like a line manager or a director does.  Transactional leaders tend to be task oriented, with an operational focus.  Transactional leaders assess progress, negotiate with their team members tasks and expected outcomes, and have the power (read: authority) to take action if a rule is  violated.  These are the large bulk of the leaders we know, and we absolutely need transactional leaders in our organizations.   While transformational leaders drive with “idealized influence”, transactional leaders keep our feet firmly on the ground, managing expected outcomes and course-correcting on the daily.  

3. It’s an all-in approach. 

A transformational leadership approach is not something you can easily pivot in and out of.  It’s an all-encompassing approach in which you spend significant time developing, inspiring, and articulating an influential vision for the future.  It involves striving for meaningful individualized performance which adds up to a greater good.  Think about leaders that are weight-loss or fitness champions - they live their future vision every single day and inspire individuals along the way.  Their followers usually want to emulate them and perform beyond expectations with the transformation in mind.  While leaders and managers can certainly have transformational nudges or bright spots in their approach, remember that true transformational leadership is simply a different kind of leadership that requires an all-in devotion. 

// Sources

Northouse, P. G. (2017). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Washington, DC: Sage Publications.

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