Transformational Leadership: Inspiring Change and Creating a Vision for Success

This article discusses transformational leadership and how it can inspire change and create a vision for success. It includes personal experiences and strategies for success.

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

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Identify where you have witnessed leadership that inspires with a win-win vision, initiates a
process that brings out the best in the people involved (including yourself), and produces
results that are genuinely transformational in impact.
Leadership is one of the key aspects for success as it brings out the potential of another
person. This creates a vision for the followers or the organization for which the leader works for
he develops strategies that undertake initiatives that would benefit the organization overall. A
leader plays an incentive part in motivating with economic and non-economic based rewards that
would influence the people to work and therefore increase the workflow effectively and
efficiently.
Describe where, in any part of your life, you have been involved in such a successful
transformation effort. What did you take away from that experience?
From my personal experience, I used to work at a customer service based company where
the employees were given a target of achieving clearing customer complaints by the end of the
month. Few months before there was a financial breakdown and they customer who were
associated with the company were unhappy. The complaints department did not have any idea
how they would tackle the problem. However it was out team leader who sat with us and
explained how to handle an agitated customer and tell that person exactly what is needed to to
told to address his issues. We followed out team leader according to his instructions and at the
end of the month, not only all the complaints were cleared, but also the company was able to
gain new customers on top the existing ones. If I were to take something from that experience it
would definitely be the financial breakdown because despite the fact we got to learn a lot of
things from our leader but no customer should have to go through such inconvenience.

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Imagine what a transformational process might look like in situations you face, working on
this until you have some sense of confidence that it just might succeed.
Transformational leadership is when the leader works with the team to understand what
needs to be changed to create a vision that would create inspiration and execute changes in
tandem that is in between the members of a group. This type of leadership enhances the morale
and motivation of the workers. In a situation where I did not know what to do, the leader helped
me to gain a sense of confidence so that I was able to counter my issues.
Now flesh out your vision of a win-win, positive outcome to this situation, one that can be
shared with others. Work on describing this vision in a compelling way as a big dream that
can release energy for change.
The most efficient part of transformational leadership is that it can be it can be flexible in
any way. When there is a problem, if one looks at it closely then the person will definitely find a
solution to it. When a person can understand the others issue, first of all to find a solution the one
must put himself or herself in that person’s place and think what they would have done. It is only
when the leader looks at the issues to be addressed from the others perspective, that would be the
best solution to a problem.
Determine who needs to be involved with you in creating a transformational outcome.
Consider how you might inspire enthusiasm in a transformational team or network, enlist
outside supporters, defuse resistance, and use transactional means to buy off adversaries if
you cannot engage their cooperation in a transformational way.

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To create the best transformational outcome, it should be understood that the leader and
the team members should all equally contribute to create the best possible outcome for the
business. To create enthusiasm within the team members it is essential to know what actually
intrigues them to work. To some it can be the paycheck and to some it can be the profession. The
leader should know what the employee wants so that he can use that method to inspire him.
Clarify how the process of working together will elevate you and all those involved by
connecting your efforts with shared values and dreams.
When a team full of employees are working together, it is only natural that they would
develop an understanding with one another with time. Workers can learn a lot from one another
when there are two or more people from different culture or religion or background and talk
about themselves. Not only they can discuss about their work, but also their goals in life which
would inspire them to achieve more.
Moving away from hierarchical networks, analyze the social networks within your group
and/or organization. Explore how these social networks interconnect with people in other
groups, organizations, communities of practice, movements, and so on.
Social network within the organization is important in a long term. Whenever an
employee is having issues within the organization then at that point in time the person wants
someone to share his or her thoughts to. Some of them have issues approaching the leader or the
management at first so they look for someone they can trust. Once they find their companions,
they are usually the first one they approach. This creates a bond within the team and reduces the
chance of employee dissatisfaction.

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Identify individuals within these networks who are in a position to influence others. This
can, of course, include people with positional power, but also those with great popularity,
prestige, or facilitation or brokerage capabilities.
The human resource manager plays an important role when it comes to influencing the
employees to work. Not only they posses positional power but also they are the ones to approach
during any problems. They are the ones who hire the people to work and does a timely based
survey on how the employees are feeling at their job designation, whether they are having any
difficulties to adjust or if anything in particular in bothering them.
Identify what kind of power you have to influence the larger networks (positional power,
popularity, prestige, facilitation or brokerage skills, etc.) and determine how you can use
this power for transformational effect.
Many leaders use the technique of influence a larger network through the means of
transformational methods. When there is a control over the chain of command, then it is actually
simple to convey a message. As the leader, it is my job to understand what would be the best
strategy for the organization for an effective and smart way of success and spread that method
throughout the organization. Once the strategy is known, it would be conveyed through he means
of mail so that everybody follows it
Using an appreciative approach, identify the positive strengths, qualities, and values you
possess that can help you be a transforming leader.

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The leader must possess some positive traits in order to influence others. He or she
should be honest and intrigue and should always have the mentality to inspire other people. A
good communication skill is also mandatory to address the team and should also be creative and
innovative. When the leader is dedicative and passionate towards the work he does, then it is
normal that the team would draw inspiration from that person. Also making the correct decision
at the right time is also important for the leader as there might arise situation where the team
would seek help from the leader.
Identify the positive strengths, qualities, and values you see in other individuals who can
assist in your efforts. Help them recognize what is positive and strong in them and how
those qualities can aid you in addressing your situation. Use this knowledge of distributed
talents to build strong teams and networked approaches to utilizing the combined capacity
of multiple strengths.
A positive attitude is an essential trait that is required from all the individuals of the
organization. When the employees have a positive mindset towards others then there is less
chance of conflict. By helping each other, whenever necessary the team actually gets stronger
and effective. It is the role of the team leader to use the knowledge of distributed talents to
understand exactly which role an employee is suited best and therefore put them accordingly.
Explore what is positive, past and present, in the group or groups (or the entire
organization) involved and how these qualities can contribute to the realization of a
consensual positive future vision.

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To create a vision for the future, first of all the leader should predict what can happen
based on the present circumstances. There are possibility that what has been planned might not
work out accordingly but by asserting the actions of an employee or a situation, the leader can
understand the future result from consensual perspective.
Build on your analysis of how to influence individuals and release their energy by exploring
how you can free up energy in the systems involved by fostering relationships between key
individuals or groups.
One of the best methods to create a positive and fostering relationship between the
individuals is by having proper interactions with them. From my analysis, the team leader with
who I used to work with had interactive sessions where we used to talk about topics other than
work. That actually helped me to release energy and being less stressful all the time whenever
we worked in the organization.
Listen closely to what appears to be resistance from others to gain important information
about issues that need to be addressed (such as human fears, possible unanticipated side
effects of the change effort, ways these efforts may be disempowering for some involved,
serious values conflicts that need to be resolved, etc.). Explore how to refine your strategy
as necessary to integrate solutions to such legitimate concerns respectfully.
There are issues like human fear and anticipation what effects an employee when he or
she works. As it is the duty of the leader to know the people who are under him then it is
important to possess all the necessary information related to the employees. It is also important

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to develop the correct strategy for the team members or the employees as the concern of one
person should not be the same to the concern of the other.
Build a plan for influencing the larger field (considering fields as complex, dynamic, and
constantly shaped by self-organizing activities). In doing so, begin by observing what
problems may be in the process of being solved, and visions realized, in what is already
happening. Then determine where you need to assist or redirect energies and where you
can help most by getting out of the way.
As a leader, it is essential to influence others. However, when observing an issue it is
essential to understand all the factors related to it. When one spends time with a particular
situation then with time the person gets an idea on how to tackle it correctly. It is also possible
that the person would come up with new methods to tackle the entire scenario. By being the
leader of the team, it is important to know these methods so that the leader can predict what is
going to happen before it actually happens.
Instead of viewing conflict or change as problems, cultivate an attitude that recognizes
turbulence as normal (like weather) and how it destabilizes and promotes self-organization
in human systems. See yourself as a fractal, an attractor that influences what happens by
what you embody, say, and do. Consider how this mode of thinking might affect your
attitude toward the situation you described.
One of the major problems other than conflict or change is the issues related to the
employee’s dissatisfaction. It can be internal like issues with paycheck or even the job role. At
these kind of situations it is the role of the leader to switch from autocratic to democratic to solve

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the issues of the employee. Sometimes it is very important to understand the issues of the
employees from their perspective. Not only that is effective but also it gives the employee a
sense of understanding that somebody actually cares for his or her problems.
Brainstorm ways to bring out the genius in others and in systems. (As a metaphor for this,
imagine a butterfly when you see a cocoon.) To further transitions already in process,
provide as much transparency as possible; share information so that everyone knows what
they need to know to see the big picture; and be sure that people have the resources they
need to do their part to achieve a collective vision.
An employee when he or she joins the organization can be compared to a cocoon, as with
time as that person learns about the job role and gains experience; it can be compared to
metamorphosis of a butterfly. Now it is the job of the team leader to nurture that cocoon so that
the process is successful. The employee does not undergoes though the change momentarily,
through years of experience and guidance of the leader, the employee actually understand the job
so that he or she can be an example to the others.
Make time to read literature and to view movies, plays, and good television dramas to
develop your capacity for vicariously experiencing the realities of people who seem
different from you. Doing so develops your capacity for empathy.
By spending time reading or watching movies, it does provide a great deal of information
about how to properly act as a leader. Many literary works influence people on thinking what
would be new initiative to tackle a problem. As through the means of literature, a person can
understand with more depth and knowledge about a topic. However when the related to

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leadership is explained with interesting presentation, then anybody would be keen to know more
and grow with that knowledge.

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REFERENCES
Breevaart, Kimberley, et al. "Daily transactional and transformational leadership and daily
employee engagement." Journal of occupational and organizational psychology 87.1 (2014):
138-157.
McCleskey, Jim Allen. "Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and
leadership development." Journal of Business Studies Quarterly 5.4 (2014): 117.
Pearson, Carol S. The transforming leader: New approaches to leadership for the twenty-first
century. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2012.
Wang, Chung-Jen, Huei-Ting Tsai, and Ming-Tien Tsai. "Linking transformational leadership
and employee creativity in the hospitality industry: The influences of creative role identity,
creative self-efficacy, and job complexity." Tourism Management 40 (2014): 79-89.