Research shows how to strategically apply transformational leadership at work
In our rapidly changing world, transformational leadership plays a critical role in getting teams aligned and staying on target. Leaders must choose how and when to be a transformational leader.
A 2018 research article shows that transformational leadership can be tricky to do well. Leaders must consider the situation and the team, before deciding to deploy a transformational leadership style.
In this article, we’ll review the research and explore 3 tips for knowing when to deploy transformational leadership.
What is Transformational Leadership?
Transformational leadership is a style that incorporates traits like charisma to influence and motivate a team to push through challenges and give more effort.
Transformational leadership focuses on identifying a needed change, creating a vision of the desired state and inspiring the team to achieve the goal. The key to transformational leadership is the connection between the leader and the followers that inspires everyone to positive growth and change.
Transformational leadership sounds great – and it is – in the right context. But similar to the findings for charisma, more is not always better
Research on transformational leadership
In their 2018 article in the Academy of Management Journal, Examining Follower Responses to Transformational Leadership From a Dynamic, Person-Environment Fit Perspective, Tepper, Dimotakis, Lambert, Koopman, Matta, Park and Goo examined the connection between a leader’s transformational leadership style and the impact on the followers.
They examined how well the leader’s chosen style (in this case, their use of transformational leadership behaviors) matched the needs of the employees.
When the leader’s style does not supply enough of what the employees need, a ‘deficiency’ occurs. An ‘excess’ occurs when the leader provides too much. ‘Fit’ is the perfect match between the leader’s style and the followers’ needs.
Research Findings
The research showed:
- Finding 1: Individual employees prefer for the level of transformational leadership to meets – or fit – their needs at the time. Employees struggle with both too much (excess) or too little (deficiency) transformational leadership for the situation.
- Finding 2: When the level needed and provided match, followers feel better. This positive feeling leads to higher job satisfaction and higher satisfaction with the supervisor.
- Finding 3: Matching can lead to positive behaviors that benefit the organization and other individuals. When the leader matches the employees’ needs for transformational leadership, the employees feel more positive and then engage in more helping behaviors.
These findings show that transformational leadership can lead to higher job satisfaction, higher satisfaction with the leader and more helping behaviors. However, the leader must be thoughtful about when to deploy it.
Leaders should deploy transformational leadership when the situation and employees call for it. At the right time, it benefits the team, company and employees. Used at the wrong time, it can make things worse.
3 tips for deploying transformational leadership
This research shows that matching the level of transformational leadership to the situation and the employees can increase satisfaction and lead to positive behaviors. These are great outcomes accomplished by adjusting one’s leadership style to the team!
When considering transformational leadership, consider these three tips.
Tip 1: Scan the situation
As the research indicates, sometimes transformational leadership is the right approach and sometimes it is not. Your actions need to match the needs of the team. As a leader, you need to know when the situation would improve through use of transformational leadership.
Scanning the situation involves stopping to evaluate what is happening with your team – specifically looking for stress points.
Is your team dealing with a surprise? Are there big system-wide changes happening? Has the team composition or structure changed? Are there tight deadlines coming up? Are they working with a challenging client?
If work is calm and the team is productive and engaged, a transformational leadership approach would be overkill. Instead, you can focus on daily coaching and keeping things on track.
If you answered any of the questions above with a ‘yes’, you should dig deeper to see if your team needs transformational leadership. In times of crisis, change and pressure, followers often need guidance and inspiration. Leveraging transformational leadership you can establish clarity and keep the team motivated through turmoil.
Tip 2: Evaluate employees
In Tip 1, you evaluated the situation. Employees comprise the other part of the puzzle. As a leader, you need to monitor the employees and see if they are struggling.
The stressful situations noted above cause concern with employees. They might be upset, worried, irritable or withdrawn.
Sometimes situations that seem minor to you might be a big deal for them. For example, changing seating charts can be a lightening rod. In several organizations I’ve witnessed people get really upset about moving to a new desk. Even if you don’t see the situation as a crisis, you should monitor intense employee reactions. Put on your transformational leader hat and help them cope with the change.
This research demonstrates the importance of followers. As a leader, you should remember that the relationship is not about you. It is about the followers and the team. You create an environment that allows all employees to contribute and bring their best selves to work.
Tip 3: Monitor progress over time
As a leader, you should always be scanning and monitoring. This applies to paying attention to your team, tracking work and watching external events. Situations change fast and you need to be ready.
When you are in an intense situation, monitor how your use of transformational leadership is received. Are you helping the situation? Are your team members reacting well to your style? If not, you might need to pump up the volume or tone it down.
Be responsive and flexible. Turn transformational leadership on and off as needed.
Transformational leadership is a critical approach for any leader, but it needs to be applied at the right time and in the right situation. Assess each situation and apply transformational leadership appropriately to inspire your team to new heights. Scan, lead and transform!
Related Information
An earlier Science of Working article “The Goldilocks Theory of Transformational Leadership” covered this research study in more depth.
B.J. Tepper, N. Dimotakis, L.S. Lambert, J. Koopman, F.K. Matta, H.M. Park, W. Goo (2018) “Examining Follower Responses to Transformational Leadership From a Dynamic, Person-Environment Fit Perspective”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol 61, 4, 1343-1368.
Researchers:
- Bennett J. Tepper, The Ohio State University
- Nikolaos Dimotakis, University of Nebraska
- Lisa Schurer Lambert, Oklahoma State University
- Joel Koopman, Texas A&M University
- Fadel K. Matta, University of Georgia
- Hee Man Park, Pennsylvania State University
- Wongun Goo, Indiana University East
