Transformational Leadership
Introduction
Transformational leadership and related theories are in the focus of the current review. Developed by theorists in the 1980-s, the main assumption of transformational leadership is that leaders ' behavior have an impact on the organization 's performance. The author of the current essay would like to review how the theory developed, and how it can be used to improve the performance of health care organizations.
Theoretical Review Before analyzing the theory of transformational leadership, it is important to clarify the definition of leadership itself. Chemers (1997) defines leadership as “a process of social influence by which an individual enlists the aid and support of others in the accomplishment …show more content…
21) highlights one important benefit of transformational leadership over transactional leadership: “managers who behave like transformational leaders are more likely to be seen by their colleagues and employees as satisfjdng and effective leaders than are those who behave like transactional leaders”. Transformational leaders have a charisma, which provides a vision for the organization and followers, so they can relate to it. Therefore, as Bass (1991) puts it, transformational leaders can create success by motivating and engaging followers. At the same time there are different aspects of transformational leadership that positively impact the organization, discussed by Bass (1991). Corporate image improves, due to the entire organization being committed to a higher level mission and working towards it together. There are also positive implications of transformational leadership to recruiting, selection, and promotion. Organizational learning and knowledge development through effective training is another important benefit of applying transformational …show more content…
Indeed, there is a need for dealing with organizational, regulatory, demographic, and practice changes every day. As Govier (2009, p. 20) states: “When we follow our internal compass as nurses, clinical leadership will be authentic and transformational”. Therefore, transformational leadership is not only beneficial in health care organizations to deal with performance issues and making the entire unit more effective, but can also help health care managers deal with change, and moving towards new goals and priorities. It can help improve the health care performance indicators: patient satisfaction, absenteeism rates, number of complaints, drug errors, and staff turnover. Through influencing and inspiring other people, nursing and health care managers can increase commitment, reduce turnover, and improve the overall performance of the organization, by applying transformational approaches to leadership. As the author (Govier, 2009, p. 22) confirms, the ability of transformational leaders has a positive impact on staffing, as well: “people who embrace the principles of such leadership have staff with higher levels of satisfaction, motivation and performance, as well as lower levels of stress and burnout”. Further, transformational leadership can help organizations respond and adapt to changes within and outside of the unit, and adjust policies in a way that it is relevant to followers’ needs
Introduction
Transformational leadership and related theories are in the focus of the current review. Developed by theorists in the 1980-s, the main assumption of transformational leadership is that leaders ' behavior have an impact on the organization 's performance. The author of the current essay would like to review how the theory developed, and how it can be used to improve the performance of health care organizations.
Theoretical Review Before analyzing the theory of transformational leadership, it is important to clarify the definition of leadership itself. Chemers (1997) defines leadership as “a process of social influence by which an individual enlists the aid and support of others in the accomplishment …show more content…
21) highlights one important benefit of transformational leadership over transactional leadership: “managers who behave like transformational leaders are more likely to be seen by their colleagues and employees as satisfjdng and effective leaders than are those who behave like transactional leaders”. Transformational leaders have a charisma, which provides a vision for the organization and followers, so they can relate to it. Therefore, as Bass (1991) puts it, transformational leaders can create success by motivating and engaging followers. At the same time there are different aspects of transformational leadership that positively impact the organization, discussed by Bass (1991). Corporate image improves, due to the entire organization being committed to a higher level mission and working towards it together. There are also positive implications of transformational leadership to recruiting, selection, and promotion. Organizational learning and knowledge development through effective training is another important benefit of applying transformational …show more content…
Indeed, there is a need for dealing with organizational, regulatory, demographic, and practice changes every day. As Govier (2009, p. 20) states: “When we follow our internal compass as nurses, clinical leadership will be authentic and transformational”. Therefore, transformational leadership is not only beneficial in health care organizations to deal with performance issues and making the entire unit more effective, but can also help health care managers deal with change, and moving towards new goals and priorities. It can help improve the health care performance indicators: patient satisfaction, absenteeism rates, number of complaints, drug errors, and staff turnover. Through influencing and inspiring other people, nursing and health care managers can increase commitment, reduce turnover, and improve the overall performance of the organization, by applying transformational approaches to leadership. As the author (Govier, 2009, p. 22) confirms, the ability of transformational leaders has a positive impact on staffing, as well: “people who embrace the principles of such leadership have staff with higher levels of satisfaction, motivation and performance, as well as lower levels of stress and burnout”. Further, transformational leadership can help organizations respond and adapt to changes within and outside of the unit, and adjust policies in a way that it is relevant to followers’ needs