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Transformational Leader EssayThe entire orb has been caught up in the events spark advance up to the 2008 United States Presidential election. The selection of Barack Obama as Americas first Afri shadower Ameri female genitals President, and his highly effective campaign, provides us with a prime example of the power of transformational leadinghip, and the federal agency by which falsify occurs.The notion of transformational leadership is not just pertinent, however, to the worlds of politics and the community. It is highly relevant to the corporate world and organizations as well. While Obamas ethnicity is obviously noteworthy and is a large part of what come acrosss this election so significant, there is another critically important component of this moment which people contrive a tendency to ignore. It has to do with the transformation that has taken place in the minds of voters in the US and the hearts of people around the world.The convert that has occurred is a dire ct result of the President-elects great power to inspire change. He didnt change the people themselves, which would be impossible.What he did change was the way they see the world and their place in it.Business leaders operate under similar circumstances because they also mustinessengage employees and inspire them to feel a part of an organization.Transformational leadership involves to a greater termination than charisma and emotion. It involves more than giving good speeches and making people feel good.In his hallmark definition of the term James MacGregor Burns coined the term transformational leadership as leaders inducing followers to act for certain goals that re prove the values and the motivations the demand and brings, the aspirations and expectations of both leaders and followers. Italics originalThe leader is not merely wielding power, but appealing to the values of the follower.In this sense, values mean, A principle, standard, or quality regarded as worthwhile o r desirable, (Websters New Riverside University Dictionary).Burns insists that for leaders to have the greatest daze on the led, they must motivate followers to action by appealing to sh atomic number 18d values and by satisfying the higher coiffe needs of the led, much(prenominal) as their aspirations and expectations.He said, . . . transforming leadership ultimately becomes moral in that it raises the level of human conduct and ethical aspiration of both leader and the led, and thus it has a transforming effect on both.Change doesnt just happen. It needs an impetus. Einstein in his Theory of Relativity applied the laws of physics to matter and we can concord this theory to universal behavior. As force is applied to an object in the direction of motion, the object gains pulsation and gains energy.President-elect Obama was the force for change he introduced a naked as a jaybird direction that would address the needs as he saw it.In sanctify for the notion of transformational leadership to be relevant, threeelements must be present1) A Clearly Articulated Vision2) Statements that Inspire stack to Connectand 3) A Detailed Plan to Execute.1) A Clearly Articulated VisionThe fib of the world is replete with examples of charismatic leaders who have led their nations and a cause. The names of Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, Napoleon Bonaparte Julius Caesar, Mao Tse-tung, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt evoke tremendous spirit. The industrial Revolution also evokes thoughts regarding the titans of industry like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell and JP Morgan who had an incontrovertible and formative squeeze on that era.The resource that was articulate by the individuals in these two categories, the ability to inspire people to connect and the plans that were executed to make the resourcefulness a reality is indisputable.In the present, we may not know the names of all of the transformation al leaders who are making change in their sector, but it certainly is happening. Apple, Google, Tata Motors, Carrefour, and Toyota, for example, are having an undeniable global tinct on our everyday behavior and interaction. Apples iPod, for example, has revolutionized the way we think well-nigh listening to music, the way we purchase music, the way we share music, and even the way we settle our individual(prenominal) space.The question for business leaders within organizations much(prenominal) as Apple is how to achieve the multiplier effect of this leadership pattern in order to bring or so continuous innovation and improvement?How do we replicate this leadership pattern at the department and team levelin order to generate change in every sector of an organization?How do we grow transformational leaders so they can rise to the positions of influence to positively impact organizational change?Transformational leadership must occur throughout the organization, not just at the teetotum, in order to bring about the full syner call foric effect.For example, when a CEO articulates the vision of a company, it is up to the global presidents and department vice presidents to execute the vision. But they must also be able to snuff it that vision in a way which translates into local or regional needs. People must buy into the vision and relate it to whats in it for me. To the extent that they do this, the overall vision becomes more compelling. This starts the fulfil of aligning the vision and connecting it to local needs and desires.A intelligibly articulated vision must have in it the elements which usher to a better way for dealing with the present and the future. It must provide a context to address the most pressing issues in a manner which is innovative and compelling.Innovative because any change strategy needs to outline what will be different from the status quo. It must be compelling because it must be believable. People must feel that this vision will definitely lead to a better way of doing things.2) Statements that Inspire People to ConnectThe most powerful visions also are those which have a few words that are easily understood and restated. This eases the communication process and enables everyone to drag in the vision as their own.In the 21st century a brief statement is marketing sin qua non. In others words, it is essential to excellent communications.As transformational leaders seek to communicate their vision using variousvenues, they begin to appreciate the marketing challenge of disseminating their message out and ensuring comprehension of their message.In 1964 Marshall McLuhan coined the devise The medium is the message meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived, creating subtle change over time. 21st century transformational leaders ignore the medium at their peril.In order to give a vision the wi ngs it needs to travel, it must Inspire People to Connect. This is when a vision really begins to come alive. It comes alive because people believe that the vision will take them from where they are to where they want to be.In organizations it means that employees can begin to align to a better way of doing their work reaching their customers or constituencies and providing the goods and services which will make them more effective, profitable and profitable.When people connect on a cognitive and emotional level it begins to move them to action. This action contains the seeds for producing change. Einstein stated that no problem can be solved with the same type of thinking that created it. Inspiring people with a different message gives them an alternative way to approach their challenges.It is this connective element that provides the momentum to a vision and gives it longevity.It is this connective element that enables people to align with each other in a different way to meet th eir challenges. By connecting with the vision they are also reenergized to act.When we talk about motivation this is where it begins. People are make to act and engage differently because they can connect to something unseasoned, innovative and inspiring.Obamas incredibly effective Yes We Can slogan is a great example of how a simple statement can encompass a lofty sacred theme, yet still pertain to day to day action. The slogan was simple, inspirational, easy to remember, and resonated on a number of levels regardless of ones unique person-to-person circumstances. Furthermore, Barack Obama and his team revolutionized the way they used the internet to connect their vision to people. They provided a continuous stream of messages via mobile phone, internet, the web and countless other technological mediums in a personalized manner practically every day for two years You always felt that the vision was on top of mind and that they were utterance directly to you. Every message had your name on it. You didnt feel you were part of a mass communication campaign. The messages were simple, informative and compelled you to action.Corporate transformational leaders need to embrace these same innovative techniques if they are to connect with the workforce of today.This type of conjunctive or engagement is crucial to attracting and retaining high potential workers.When workers are full engaged, a noted Gallup study of Oct 2006 indicates, they are more motivated and more productive. Specifically engaged employees work with passion and have a profound connection to their organization. They drive innovation and move their organization forward.Unfortunately, not enough attention is paid to how people connect to a vision. They must go through a process of enrolling with the vision so that they feel it is their own.In essence, a vision connects when people internalize it and say that it is not just someone elses vision, it is their own. This feeling of ownership is crucial to success.By implementing goal alignment processes, organizations can involve everydepartment in the effort. Individual departments need to know tactically what their grapheme is in contributing to the greater good. They must feel that this vision will definitely enhance their way of performing and interacting. When they have this ownership, then they are motivated to act in different ways.This engagement is directly correlated to employee retention as staff will leave an organization when they cant get their needs met, and they feel that they dont identify with the way things are done and with the values or vision of the organization. In short, just having a vision statement will not achieve results.3) A Detailed Plan to ExecuteIn order to increase the ownership process, one has to move from what and why to how. Transformation falls short when this is not in place. Invariably many great plans fall apart at the connect points.A critical connecting point is a detailed plan to exec ute the vision. This begins to complete the circle. It is no surprise that when you have a wonderfully articulated vision, people will then want to see how it works. For many, this is the litmus test of whether the vision is a good one or bad oneConsequently, transformational leaders must help people come across that their vision is just the starting point. They must articulate the complete process that individuals must go through to make true change a reality.During the change period, it is easy for people to get discouraged because the path to a new future can be difficult to see and follow at times. thither must be constant communication and education along the way to keep people focused on the goal.The vision becomes a compass leading people through the turbulent times.ConclusionIndeed change can happen in any organization when there are transformational leaders who clearly articulate the vision inspire people to connect to the vision and detail the plans in order to achieve t he vision.It is this type of leadership that will bring about true innovation, productivity and employee satisfaction as organizations strive to be relevant on a global basis.The success of the Obama campaign was not magic. It relied on a disciplined approach articulating the vision, inspiring people to connect to it, along with a plan of execution.This same pattern can be duplicated in the business world on an organization-wide level. And if done correctly, it can yield awesome results from the entry level to the corporate suites. The challenges in front of us demand no less. Turning nub managers into transformational leadersIn these turbulent times, nearly every organization is facing the need to transform to survive or thrive.The concept of Transformational Leadership (TL), which plays a direct role in creating change, establishing a vision, and giving confidence to employees to explore new directions, therefore becomes popular once again in management development.By Uwe Napiers ky, Business Psychologist Learning Architect, PhD.The transformational leaders Undergoing such development empowers an organization to greatly exceed previous levels of accomplishment. The transformational leaders are able to challenge and motivate an entire organisation top to bottom. They care about people and want people to succeed. The result is individual, group, and organizational achievement and morale.Many organisations consider the transformational approach of leadership as a revitalisation to increase competitiveness, get growth and to develop their talents further (remember the war for talent hasnt stopped).Instead of exercising formal authority and power over others resulting from a managers formal position in the hierarchy, empowering and enabling people is a key behaviour. The approach represents positive values like quality, performance, respect and fairness.To create a socialization of high performance, where everyone in theorganisation is consistently working to gether to improve performance, not only top management needs to exercise transformational behaviour, but the mall management does as well. Leadership needs to be demonstrated at times by everyone in the organisation.How can middle Managers develop Transformational Leadership?1. A change of mindset2. Development of new (transformational) behaviours3. Three fundamentals for the design of a transformation process in the organization.1. A change of mindsetFrom organizing work and doing things pay to motivating, inspiring and coaching Typically technical professionals, with e. g. engineering, IT, finance or scientific background are promoted to positions in middle management. Entry and middle management roles chiefly consist of task oriented behaviours like planning budgets, setting priorities, controlling and solving problems etc. which are often summarized as doing things right This is known as a transactional management mindset.This kind of management is necessary for the every day functioning of the business but does not bring about change or major innovation. To use a popular expression, it is good in rearranging the deck chairs of the Titanic, but cant keep the ship from sinking.To increase personal impact, a person has to shift his/her mindset (and subsequently behaviour) towards influence oriented behaviour, relationship trust building acquirements, combined with caring to sustain a motivational environment, which inspires and empowers.The manager needs to shift his/her mindset radically, by perceiving his/her role as focusing on people, their dreams, development needs and emotions rather than primarily managing tasks and planning.2. Development of new (transformational) behaviourA Openness to feedback, via 360 degree feedback data A 360 degree feedback tool provides a structured approach to self discovery and a process of understanding yourself which creates awareness about your strengths and areas for development.B Coaching subordinates Coaching an d facilitating subordinates to develop their strengths and work on their development needs enables both the acceptance and understanding of feedback as well as the commitment and relevant action plan steps and practicing of new behaviours.Coaching can be done in one to one sessions, in teams or with peers. It is essential to work on real life/business situations and how to translate theory into manageable relevant action steps.Developing openness to feedback and coaching skillsand behaviours can build confidence, openness and ability for the participant to deal positively with the challenges to exercise new behaviours like motivating and coaching others.C The understanding, commitment and endorsement of the top management to the objective of a transformational leadership process The implementation of TL via training programmes will not be effective unless part of its objectives and design principles are coherent with what TL is really about. The commitment of all stakeholders is n ecessary for the success of the training programs (trainers, participants (managers), their bosses, senior management, CEO of the firm) and is a critical success factor to make TL workSenior management will need to facilitate and nurture a culture of transformational leadership, and to be ready to become mentors who will go to the new managers to develop their own self-confidence to lead change, their own skills set as well as develop the self-concept that allows the transformation from a manager to a leader.3. Three fundamentals for the design of a transformation processA Start by stopping to work with purely cognitive models of change Its a process and not a 2-day course And a successful process will not be mastered only on a cognitive level it has to be exercised on a behavioural level too. Therefore it needs a safe space for learning, reflecting and experimenting. To develop TL means that intentional effort must be made to adopt a transformational style.The process of the self transformation and a learning journey for middle managers largely starts with understanding ones own personal visions, values and how to manage the developmental process.B Behaviour change takes more than a good theory and good explanations It needs self awareness and behaviour change interventions. In particular, it needs self directed learning and motivation to challenge oneself in a field which is for the most part new for most middle managers with a technical background.The transition for a transactional manager into a transformational leader requires time to learn a new skill set, demonstrate new behaviours and embrace a new mindset. The appropriate understanding of how to apply TL is not about some things you do with your employees, it is the positive bear upon relationship with your employee.C Include a systematic approach of Monitoring Either include existing instruments for measuring the impact of TL or they can be developed tailor made to the specific needs of the organisation. The evaluation methods andtools provide information about individual and organisational processes as well as the impact on business results. Conclusions * Create an integrated and flexible process design * Build positive dynamic for middle management