Video Transcript: How to be a Transformational Leader

Transformational leadership is a very effective style of leadership, and decades of Leadership Research has shown that it leads to a wide variety of positive outcomes. Followers of transformational leaders are motivated, engaged, satisfied, have positive attitudes, experience less stress and burnout and perform at higher than expected levels. In order to be a transformational leader, one is required to perform behaviors that fall roughly into four broad categories. The first category, which is called idealized influence, includes behaviors that involve becoming a strong role model for your followers or your subordinates. You can become a strong role model by working very hard and by setting a positive example for everyone around you. If your followers see you working conscientiously and diligently, day in and day out, odds are that they will begin to respect you and admire you. A second way by which you can become a strong role model is by being uncompromisingly ethical through your words, you can communicate to your followers that you have high moral and ethical standards, and through your actions, you can communicate that you stick to your high moral and ethical standards even when the going gets tough. A third way would be to emphasize to your followers the importance of having a common mission and make self sacrifices to help your followers to realize that mission. Enacting such behaviors will earn their respect, and they will want to identify with you and with what you stand for. The second category of behaviors is called inspirational motivation. It involves developing a promising vision for the future and then clearly communicating that vision to your followers through the use of inspiring stories, vivid imagery and captivating symbols. It also includes making emotional appeals to your followers and urging them to work harder and go above and beyond their roles and responsibilities in the pursuit of this shared vision, such appeals especially if made by someone that they greatly respect and admire, often result in a high level of commitment and performance. The third category of behaviors is called intellectual stimulation. It includes encouraging followers to look at day to day problems from different perspectives and allowing them to come up with creative solutions to those problems. It also involves supporting your subordinates as they think outside the box and try new methods to solve existing problems. This might mean that you might have to have a certain amount of tolerance for mistakes that are made in the process, because thinking outside the box and developing creative solutions can sometimes backfire. A good, transformational leader does not let the fear of mistakes constrain the creativity of his or her subordinates and provides them with a supportive environment where they can take calculated risks. The fourth and final category of behaviors is called individualized consideration. This includes coaching and helping your followers to achieve their goals. It also involves providing a supportive climate and carefully listening to their needs so that you can help them to fulfill those needs. The type of coaching that you can offer your followers may vary depending upon who is in need of help. For some followers, you might have to provide explicit guidance regarding how to get a job done, while for some others, you might have to offer them the resources that they need and let them figure out the solution on their own. These are the four types of behaviors which, if you perform consistently, will make you a transformational leader that people respect and admire, and as noted previously, decades of research has shown that being a transformational leader pays huge dividends. If you liked this video, please consider sharing it with someone else who might find it useful, and stay tuned for more similar content in the future.