Transformational Leadership

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Running head: TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP 1

Transformational Leadership

Michael Degnan

March 14, 2014

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP 2

Transformational Leadership

The ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of others into account.

Transformational leaders encourage participation and contributions from subordinates and help

subordinates feel relevant and committed to the decision-making process

(http://thewick.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/does-obama-need-to-get-tough/). In participative

theories, however, the leader has the overall authority to accept input from subordinates. Also

known as Transformational Theory. This theory works well in the career field of

Counterintelligence. Counterintelligence Investigations at times can require input from the

leader as well as the subordinates in order to complete the investigation. In this paper I will look

at what is transformational leadership, definition of leadership, role of leadership, leadership

qualities and skills, leadership styles, effective leadership, ineffective leadership, why leaders fail

and how a leader contributes to success. I will tie each of these to how it relates to a Department

of the Army Civilian (DAC) instructor for the Counterintelligence Special Agent Course

(CISAC).

What is Transformational Leadership?

Transformational leadership is the process a person engages with others and is able to

create a connection that results in increased motivation and morality in both subordinates and

leaders. It is often likened to the theory of charismatic leadership that leaders with certain

qualities, such as confidence, extroversion, and clearly stated values, are best able to motivate

subordinates possess. When leading others especially those that upon leaving your leadership

will be sent into harm’s way to protect the nation, Army and themselves confidence is the

number one quality to possess. As a leader teaching the skills of the Counterintelligence (CI)

agent it is imperative to display confidence in your abilities, being an extrovert in order to talk to

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP 3

people that you are unfamiliar with and setting values are the keys to success. Where I work this

is commonly called Small Group Leadership. I am not just a leader to the students I teach but to

the new instructors called the coaching, mentorship program. This consists of evaluations and

allowing the subordinate instructor provide feedback for how to improve performance.

Definition of Leadership

“Leadership in the simplest form is about the performance of teams, groups and

organizations” (Hogan & Kaiser, 2005). According to the (Academy of Management Journal,

2011) “Transformational leaders are theorized to influence their subordinates by heightening

subordinates self-awareness, instilling a sense of purpose and mission in subordinates, and

influencing them to transcend lower-order needs and goals for the sake of the long-term benefit

of the group to which they belong (Bass, 1985).” Four dimensions of leader behavior are

traditionally associated with transformational leadership

(http://www.mendeley.com/catalog/person-organization-value-congruence-transformational-

leaders-influence-work-group-effectiveness/): The first is idealized influence/charisma (more

recently split into “idealized attributed” and “idealized” behaviors [Bass & Avolio, 1995]), where

leaders influence subordinates by arousing strong emotions and loyalty from them; the second is

inspirational motivation, where a leader communicates high expectations, uses symbols and

imagery to focus effort, and expresses the importance of organizational purposes; the third is

intellectual stimulation, where a leader increases subordinates’ awareness of problems and

encourages them to view problems from a new perspective; and fourth is individualized

consideration, where a leader provides support and encouragement by giving personal attention

to and successfully advising subordinates (http://ron-piccolo.com/wordpress/wp-

content/uploads/2010/12/2011-AMJ-TFL-Value-Congruence-Hoffman-et-al.pdf).

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP 4

Role of Leadership

Within each organization, the role of the leader varies depending upon the requirements

of their job. Most leaders take on the role of a planner, an organizer, a controller, a

communicator, a delegator and a coach. This is especially true in an instructor/student

relationship. Every day I motivate my team to do what is needed and right despite the difficulty.

Leaders also take on the role of accepting responsibility for reaching an organization’s goals.

This role for me in my organization is very important. Uniquely I am more or less evaluated by

the students I am teaching that do not have any experiences in the career. Taking on so many

roles at the same time is very time consuming and stressful however the payoff comes when the

customer (the students) understand the concepts. Coaching plays a vital part to the success of the