Leadership Analysis: Transactional and Transformational Leadership

This article analyzes the two types of leadership, transactional and transformational, and provides examples of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. It also discusses an effective leader in the author's life and their leadership style.

Running head: LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS
LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS
Answer to Question 1
Leadership is able to play a major role in the ways by which different organizations
are able to operate in the industry. The types of leadership that are depicted by the leaders are
able to affect the strategies that are developed by the company. The two types of leadership
which will be considered in the analysis are transactional leadership and transformational
leadership (Antonakis & Day, 2017, pp. 23).
Transactional leadership can also be termed as managerial style of leadership. The
leaders or the executives who follow this style of leadership mainly rely on the rewards and
the punishments. The leaders are thereby able to compel the employees to achieve the job
based performance in an effective manner. This style of leadership is thereby based on the
effective transactions which can be made between the leaders and employees. The
relationship in case of transactional leaders is based on the theories that are related to the lack
of self-motivation of employees (Bolman & Deal, 2017, pp. 25).
Characteristics –
Bill Gates can be considered to be an effective example of a transactional
leader. Bill Gates can thereby be described with the help of some major
characteristics which include, computer tycoon, billionaire philanthropist,
predictor of the future technologies.
Bill Gates has proved himself to be an influential leader and the product based
strategy of the company has also been developed by him (Sosik & Jung, 2018,
pp. 30).
The dominant position of the company has been developed with the help of
the vision that was created by Bill Gates. Gates has proved to be a strict and
powerful leader to the employees in Microsoft.

2LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS
The company was thereby transformed into a stable monopoly by the strict
leadership style that was depicted by Bill Gates. The leader was heavily
focussed on the ways by which the entry of new organizations can be
restricted in the industry (Holten & Brenner, 2015, pp. 45).
Transformational leadership is based on the theory that states that leaders are able to
work in an effective manner within the teams. The identification of changes can also be made
easily by the vision which is created by the leaders. The leaders are thereby able to create the
vision so that they can guide the changes. The levels of motivation can also be increased with
the help of the leaders. The transformational leaders are thereby able to operate in an efficient
manner along with the other employees or followers (Schedlitzki & Edwards, 2017, pp. 48).
The followers mainly consider the transformational leaders to be their role models who are
able to guide them effectively.
Characteristics –
Steve Jobs can be considered to be an important example of transformational
leaders. He was considered to be an unconventional leader and has been able
to affect the operations and products of Apple.
The management based style which has been followed by Steve Jobs is
different from the others in the technology based industry. This has further led
to the growth of Apple.
The growth of the organization and Steve Jobs was based on the ways by
which he was able to develop an environment based on high levels of
excellence in the organization (Lee, 2016, pp. 25).

3LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS
The high levels of expectations which had been set by the CEO had been an
important part of the growth which has been depicted by Apple in the
technology based industry.
The innovation levels in the organization has been increased in an effective
manner with the help of the staff and effective leadership of Steve Jobs.
The transformational leadership style of Steve Jobs has been a major part of
the effective operations of the company and the ways by which it has been
able to provide services and products to consumers. Jobs had been able to
control all the aspects of the business (Roe, 2017, pp. 35).
The leader had also shared his vision with the employees in order to achieve
different objectives in an effective manner. The workplace culture of Apple
had been developed in such a manner which has been able to help the
development of the services and products of the company.
Steve Jobs cannot be considered to be a symbolic transformational leader,
however the characteristics that have been depicted by him have been able to
prove that his cooperative nature (Bowerman & Van Wart, 2014, pp. 44).
The information about transformational leadership and the about the leader Steve Jobs
was easier to find. The major reason being that the leadership based style of Steve Jobs has
been able to influence his employees and many other people as well.
Answer to Question 2
I consider my uncle to be an effective leader who has been able to improve the
operations of his company in an effective manner. The growth based process of his
organization can be considered to be an important factor which can show the effective
leadership based process of the company. His organization has been able to grow its

4LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS
operations all over the world with the help of the effective leadership based activities that
have been depicted by my uncle. The unique style of his leadership is highly inspiring in
nature. The customer centric policy which is followed by his company is able to affect the
work process of the employees (Kouzes & Posner, 2016, pp. 23).
The vision which has been seen by the leader is shared among the employees and
further the goals and objectives were achieved effectively. The employees have been under
huge amounts of pressure based on the ways by which the customers can be provided with
effective services and products. The main operations of the company have been based on the
ways by which my uncle has been able to lead them in an effective way. The ways by which
the company has been able to develop its position in the industry is based on the innovative
services which have been designed in an effective way (Bowerman & Van Wart, 2014, pp.
40).
My uncle has been able to diversify and expand the operations of his company in the
entire country which is considered to be an important factor that is able to affect the revenues
and profitability of the company. The big employee base of the company is maintained by the
management and the leader in order to develop the operations. The leadership style of my
uncle is based on different attributes of his leadership quality which include, formation of
effective teams within the organization. The leader has provided the maximum amounts of
focus on the well-being and satisfaction of the customers who have been considered to be the
most important factor (Schedlitzki & Edwards, 2017, pp. 15).
His organization has developed long term based plans in order to achieve the different
goals and objectives. Long term planning has been able to play a major role in the ways by
which the company has developed its position in the technology based industry. The levels of
resilience and perseverance of the employees have been able to play a major role in the

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proper operations of the company in the industry. The customers need to be provided huge
number of options in order to provide them with effective satisfaction in the industry. The
innovation levels of the company had been developed in an effective way in order to increase
the revenues (Holten & Brenner, 2015, pp. 28).
The passion of the employees has been able to affect the services and the products
that are provided by the company to its valuable consumers. The focus which has been placed
by the CEO on the customers has further influenced the effective work based process of the
employees. He can thereby be considered to be the man behind the success based rates of his
company in the technology based industry (Wagner, 2016, pp. 50).
The passion levels of the employees are an important part of the effective operations
which has been depicted by the company in the industry. The analysis of the leadership style
of my uncle and his work process has proved that the company has been able to develop an
effective position in the industry with the help of proper inspiration that has been provided by
the leader (Northouse, 2017, 55).

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References
Antonakis, J., & Day, D. V. (Eds.). (2017). The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and
leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Bowerman, K. D., & Van Wart, M. (2014). The Business of Leadership: An Introduction: An
Introduction. Routledge.
Gmelch, W. H., & Buller, J. L. (2015). Building academic leadership capacity: A guide to
best practices. John Wiley & Sons.
Holten, A. L., & Brenner, S. O. (2015). Leadership style and the process of organizational
change. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(1), 2-16.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2016). Learning leadership: The five fundamentals of
becoming an exemplary leader. John Wiley & Sons.
Lee, M. R. (2016). Leading virtual project teams: Adapting leadership theories and
communications techniques to 21st century organizations. Auerbach Publications.
Northouse, P. G. (2017). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice. Sage
Publications.
Roe, K. (2017). Leadership: practice and perspectives. Oxford University Press.
Schedlitzki, D., & Edwards, G. (2017). Studying leadership: Traditional and critical
approaches. Sage.
Sosik, J. J., & Jung, D. (2018). Full range leadership development: Pathways for people,
profit, and planet. Routledge.

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Wagner, W. E. (2016). Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change
model of leadership development. John Wiley & Sons.