Leadership is not simple. If it was, everyone would do it well. As research gets more sophisticated, the results are often showing the importance of adjusting one’s leadership style – such as transformational leadership – to fit the situation and the personality and preferences of the team.
Previously reviewed research supports the idea that more is not always better and matching is important.
In one study of a new leader taking over a team, the results showed that the transition would be more successful if the leader matched the proactive personality of the team. Another study showed that there is a dark side to a leader having too much charisma – the sweet spot falls more in the middle.
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 Overview
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.
This paper shared results from two studies. The first study used 65 MBA students who contributed information about their full-time jobs.
The second study involved 93 employees of a university. In both studies, the participants recorded their feelings and situations daily over several weeks.
The paper used the theoretical framework of person-environment fit (P-E Fit).
What is Person-Environment Fit?
P-E Fit is a research theory that examines how specific people with their unique traits fit into different situations. Leadership research in the P-E Fit framework considers how well the leader’s style fulfills psychological needs for the followers.
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 Goldilocks amount of the perfect match between the leader’s style and the followers’ needs.
Research Findings: P-E Fit and Transformational Leadership
This paper focused on transformational leadership and how it fits with the followers’ psychological needs.
Specifically, the research considered job satisfaction and satisfaction with supervision. In addition, the research examined positive behaviors that sprang from the positive feelings and satisfaction.
The findings showed that:
- Finding 1: Individual employees prefer it when the level of transformational leadership meets – or fits – their needs at the time. Too much (excess) or too little (deficiency) transformational leadership is not optimal.
- Finding 2: On the extremes, matching at the high end is more important than matching at the low end. When the need for transformational leadership is high and the amount received is high, this provides a strong benefit to the employee. Matching of low need to low amount provided does not have much impact.
- Finding 3: When the level needed and provided match, followers feel better. This positive feeling leads to (mediates) higher job satisfaction and higher satisfaction with the supervisor.
- Finding 4: Matching can also 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.
Applying This Research
These studies show that matching the level of transformational leadership to the situation can increase satisfaction and lead to positive behaviors. These are great outcomes accomplished by adjusting one’s leadership style to the team!
- Situational awareness: As a leader, remember that more of a good thing is not always better. Charisma and transformational leadership can be overused. Instead, always evaluate the situation and needs of the team and adjust your approach accordingly.
- Manage crisis: In times of crisis, change and pressure, followers often need guidance and inspiration. These situations are optimal for transformational leadership.
- Improved results: Leading your team effectively not only makes them feel better and improves satisfaction, but it also leads to positive behavior. Good leadership helps both employees and the company.
- Followership: These studies demonstrate 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.
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.
Assessment of Research
These studies provided an important look at transformational leadership and the impact on followers. By including two studies, the researchers replicated some of the results and added additional analysis of specific behaviors.
One downside is the relatively small number of participants – 65 in study one and 93 in study two. However, this was offset by the fact that the researchers used within-person analysis with multiple data points for each person.
The multiple data points came through use of Experience Sampling Method (ESM). Participants filled out daily online surveys over multiple weeks to share their experiences and feeling in real time. The second study actually involved three surveys a day for 15 days. This allowed for analysis of how some situations in the early part of the day affected feelings in the later part of the day.
Research Details
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.
Research factors: experience sampling method (ESM), person-environment fit (P-E Fit), affective events theory (AET), mediators, within person effects, confirmatory factor analysis, surface graphs
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
