Article Analysis: Transformational Leadership in the Modern World

This essay analyzes an article on transformational leadership, exploring its key attributes and relevance in the modern world. The paper examines the concept of transformational leadership, contrasting it with transactional leadership, and highlighting the positive attributes of leaders like Elon Musk, who emphasizes inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. The analysis further extends to the implications of transformational leadership in educational institutions, drawing parallels between teacher-student dynamics and leader-follower relationships. The essay argues that transformational leadership in classrooms can significantly impact students by inspiring them, fostering intellectual growth, and ensuring individual attention, ultimately contributing to their overall development. The paper concludes by emphasizing the broad applicability and positive impacts of transformational leadership across various contexts.

Running head: ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Article Analysis
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Table of Contents
Answer 1..........................................................................................................................................2
Answer 2..........................................................................................................................................3
Answer 3..........................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................6

2ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Answer 1
The term “leadership”, as per the concerned article, does not have one unanimous
scientific definition due to its immensely broad scope of application; hold considerable
significance in the contemporary world. This is because the presence of leaders and the way in
which they operate can have huge implications (both positive as well as negative) on the
organizations and on the people whom they are leading. Keeping this in consideration, Elon
Musk, demonstrates several positive attributes of an efficient and productive leadership,
emphasizing on transformational form of leadership over the widely existing traditional,
transactional leadership, in the concerned article, which are discussed in the following section
(García-Morales, Jiménez-Barrionuevo & Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, 2012).
One of the primary positive attributes of the leadership pattern of Elon Musk is that, he
gets involved passionately in any project he undertakes. Instead of only influencing the investors
to invest, he himself takes the risk to invest his fortune in the projects, which in turn sends an
immense positive vibe to the investors, who follow his footsteps. Another aspect of his
leadership, which makes him immensely popular among his employees is that he always keeps
on inspiring them to work hard by showing that he believes in them, even when their
productivity is not impressive. He also ensures that the employees know that he will keep on
working on and for them (Researchgate.net, 2017).
Musk also intellectually stimulated his team and encourage them to think
unconventionally, as can be seen from his approach when he estimated the cost of building the
rockets. The team members also get individual attention from him such that each of them feel
important which positively effects their productivity.

3ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Answer 2
Transformational Leadership, unlike the conventional form of transactional leadership,
where the leaders appreciate the followers by rewards in cash and kind, emphasizes on the long-
term welfare of the employees or followers. In simpler words, transformational leaders,
transcend over the temporary welfare of his or her followers and focus on building up the skill
set, ability to think, productivity and overall welfare of the followers, which in turn helps them in
the long run (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013).
There are several aspects of this type of leadership, which are discussed in the following
section:
Idealized Influence- This aspect of a transformational leader portrays him or her as an
immensely confident role model, which in turn motivates his followers to listen to what the
leader says without feeling forced.
Inspirational Motivation- This is one of the most important aspect of leadership because
inspiration from leaders and the assurance that the leader believes in his followers motivates
them even more than any kind of materialistic rewards, thereby increasing their productivity.
Intellectual Stimulation- A true leader does not only make his or her follower work for the
purpose but also induces in his followers the ability to think and create. The intellectual
stimulation of the followers in turn increases their efficiency and helps in reaching the goals
(Wright, Moynihan & Pandey, 2012).
Individual Consideration- A true leader is an unbiased one who gives equal importance to each
of his followers. Transformational leaders provide individual attention to the opinions and issues
of their followers, thereby making each of them feel important.

4ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Answer 3
The aspects of the transformational leadership, as discussed in the above, are relevant to
great extent, in every aspect in the contemporary world. This form of leadership also has
immense implications in educational institutions like schools and classrooms. This is because,
the relation between the teachers and the students in any kind of educational institutions, are
similar to the leader follower dynamics, where the teacher, acting as a leader, works in
disseminating knowledge among the students and plays the pivotal role in shaping up their life.
The students follow more than just the instructions of the teachers, as the overall behavior and
attributes of the teachers whom they see everyday leave long term impressions on their everyday
activities (Cavazotte, Moreno & Hickmann, 2012).
Transformational leadership, as can be seen in the above discussion, if taken up in
classroom environment, is expected to have considerable positive implications on the students. A
student often idealizes the teacher and therefore, if the teacher sets an example of positive
leadership, by appearing as someone confident and stable in his goals, this may act as inspiration
for the students who may try to follow his footsteps. Apart from teaching, one of the primary
responsibilities of a teacher is to inspire the students to learn and study hard, without making
them feel forced. This is especially true for weak students, who need motivation to boost their
confidence, which can be done by a transformational teacher (Rd.com, 2017).
The intellectual stimulation, which is the primary role of a teacher and which actually
helps the students to think, question and understand is also an important aspect of
transformational leadership. Individual consideration is also important in a classroom to make
the students feel that all of them are equally important in the eyes of their teacher. This is also an
important aspect of transformational leadership.

5ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Thus, it can be asserted that in the classroom environment and in the schools, there are
immense scopes of transformational leadership on part of the teachers as it holds immense
positive implications on the overall development of the students.

6ARTICLE ANALYSIS
References
Avolio, B. J., & Yammarino, F. J. (Eds.). (2013). Introduction to, and overview of,
transformational and charismatic leadership. In Transformational and Charismatic
Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group
Publishing Limited.
Cavazotte, F., Moreno, V., & Hickmann, M. (2012). Effects of leader intelligence, personality
and emotional intelligence on transformational leadership and managerial
performance. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(3), 443-455.
García-Morales, V. J., Jiménez-Barrionuevo, M. M., & Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, L. (2012).
Transformational leadership influence on organizational performance through
organizational learning and innovation. Journal of business research, 65(7), 1040-1050.
Rd.com, R. (2017). 3 Inspiring Teachers and their Life Lessons - Reader's Digest. Reader's
Digest. Retrieved 19 November 2017, from
https://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/inspiring-teacher-stories/
Researchgate.net. (2017). Elon_Musk_A_Case_for_Transformational_Leadership. Retrieved 19
November 2017, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299784561_Elon_Musk_A_Case_for_Transfor
mational_Leadership
Wright, B. E., Moynihan, D. P., & Pandey, S. K. (2012). Pulling the levers: Transformational
leadership, public service motivation, and mission valence. Public Administration
Review, 72(2), 206-215.