Transactional Leadership Theory: Application and Analysis

This discussion post explores the theory of transactional leadership, originally proposed by Max Weber and later expanded upon by Bernard Bass, focusing on the use of rewards and punishments to motivate employees, specifically in a nursing context. The author, an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN), discusses how they would apply this leadership style in their role, including using rewards to improve performance and discipline to correct errors. The post references personal experiences, highlighting the use of annual awards ceremonies to motivate nurses. The author also emphasizes the importance of this leadership style in enhancing overall performance and creating a competitive yet supportive work environment. The post concludes by providing a list of relevant references to support the discussion.

Discussion post
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Definition of the theory
Transactional leadership was initially proposed by Max Weber in the 1947. It was later
on described further by Bernard Bass in 1981. Transactional leadership is a theory that focus on
motivating employees or nurses (Boamah, Spence Laschinger, Wong, & Clarke, 2018).
Motivation involves rewards and punishment. If an employee does something good, the leader or
manager ought to reward him/her so that they emulate the same. If on the other hand the
employee does something wrong, the leader should punish them so that they refrain from the
same.
How I will use the leadership theory in future
There are different roles of an APN. The roles include but not limited to clinician,
educator, administrator, entrepreneur and a leader (Echevarria, Patterson, & Krouse, 2016). As
an APN leader, I will utilize the transactional or transformational leadership in different ways.
First of all, I will use this leadership to improve the overall performance of the nurses
through motivation. I will be providing rewards to nurses who perform exemplary well in
different roles. This will motivate and create healthy competitions among the nurses and this will
not only improve their competency but the overall performance of the hospitals (Fischer, 2016). I
will also use this type of leadership to instill discipline among the nurses. If for example a nurse
makes an error or reports late for work, I will penalize him/her and this will act as an example to
the rest.
Personal experience
From my experience as a professional nurse, I have the transactional leadership theory at
work on several occasions. At my place of work, I have seen nurse managers or leaders come up

with rewards to motivate their staff. The organization always organize an annual ceremony
where nurses are rewarded in different categories. The categories include nurse of the year and
most improved nurse. Transactional leadership has generally improved performance of the
nurses where I work and I would encourage other nurse leaders to emulate the same.

References
Boamah, S. A., Spence Laschinger, H. K., Wong, C., & Clarke, S. (2018). Effect of
transformational leadership on job satisfaction and patient safety outcomes. Nursing
Outlook, 66(2), 180-189. doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2017.10.004
Echevarria, I. M., Patterson, B. J., & Krouse, A. (2016). Predictors of transformational
leadership of nurse managers. Journal of Nursing Management, 25(3), 167-175.
doi:10.1111/jonm.12452
Fischer, S. A. (2016). Transformational leadership in nursing: a concept analysis. Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 72(11), 2644-2653. doi:10.1111/jan.13049