Transformational Leadership: A Case Study

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Leadership, according to Keohane, was central to almost all collective social activity and may be defined as follows: “Leaders determine or clarify goals for a group of individuals and bring together the energies of members of that group to accomplish those goals" (Reed, 2013).
Howell & Shamir (2005) stated that leaders guiding a change must establish more relationships, connect with more sources of information, and get out and walk around more frequently. It was only by staying in touch with the world around them that leaders could expect to change the business-as-usual environment. People, who followed, must believe that a leader understood their needs and had their interests at heart. There was a consensus among researchers that leadership …show more content…

Leithwood and Jantzi (1996) defined transformational leadership in terms of a process, by which higher levels of commitment to the organization and its goals were attained. Transformational leadership was the process of building commitment to organizational objectives and empowering followers to accomplish those objectives. Transformational leaders developed the members of the organization to their fullest potential. Wheatley (1999) defined transformational leadership, as a leader’s ability to focus those within the organization on the mission and challenges faced by the organization.
Yukl (1999) claimed a transformational leader articulated the vision in a clear and appealing manner, explained how to attain the vision, acted confidently and optimistically, expressed confidence in the followers, emphasized values with symbolic actions, led by example, and empowered followers to achieve the …show more content…

The path-goal theory was originated by Evans (1970), advanced by House (1971), and refined by House and Mitchell (1974). This theory was based on the idea that different leadership styles complemented the characteristics of the followers and the demands of their tasks. The leadership behavior styles were classified into four categories: directive, supportive, achievement-oriented, and participative. The path-goal theory integrated key elements of behavioral theory, such as leader consideration and initiating structure and expectancy theory, to qualify the contextual circumstances by which to examine effective leadership (Stoner & Freeman, 1992). The path-goal theory of leadership contended that leaders should clarify for their subordinates which path best led to the desired goal in question. Generally, this goal should be associated with certain payoffs consistent with the wants and/or needs of the subordinate (House, 1971; House and Mitchell, 1974; Stoner and Freeman,