Assessment questions to measure effectiveness of a transformational leader
- The individual has the capacity to become the role model for his followers (1-10 scale)
- The individual has absolute trust on his followers and the followers also trust him (1-10 scale)
- The person has the willingness to take risks and is consistent (1-10 scale)
- The leader has a vision (1-10 scale)
- The individual communicates expectations with followers and shows optimism in reaching those particular goals (1-10 scale)
- The activities and behaviour of the individual inspires and motivates the colleagues (1-10 scale)
- The person creates a team spirit and ensures that he works enthusiastically with the colleagues as a group (1-10 scale)
- The individual stimulates the colleagues’ problem solving ability and analytic skills (1-10 scale)
- The individual encourages his followers to come up with their own solutions to the common problems even if they differ with his own (1-10 scale)
- The person encourages his followers to approach old issues with new methods (innovations) and creativity in order to realize great output (1-10 scale)
- He does not criticize his followers’ efforts and does not pass sarcastic comments when in public (1-10 scale)
- The individual keeps his ego in check and does not let it get in the way of acting in ways that are beneficial to the business or firm (1-10 scale)
- He accepts the fact that different individuals have different levels of potential and only ensures that he develops higher levels of potential in the individuals (1-10 scale)
- The individual can maintain a clear two-way communication in order to ensure that issues are understood properly and solutions arrived at (1-10 scale)
- The individual ensures the development of his followers through delegation of tasks and only monitors and provides improvement tips to delegated tasks (1-10 scale)
- The individual has the habit of making solid eye contact with his followers and stopping everything he was doing in order to focus on the employees (1-10 scale)
- The person takes extra care to make sure that his followers’ needs are met (1-10 scale)
- The individual promotes respect, trust and loyalty amongst the colleagues by applying proper behaviour and charismatic vision (1-10 scale)
- The leader is willing to adapt to and looks for new ways of working in order to meet the needs of the ever-changing business environment (1-10 scale)
- The individual has the ability to make difficult decision based on the values, vision and goals of the business or organization (1-10 scale)
Analysis
Using the same instrument, the supervisor, a personal associate and I rated my leadership traits based on the model’s leadership characteristics in order to measure my tendency towards transformational leadership style. There were several similarities and differences in the individuals’ assessments.
For example, each individual who participated in the assessment procedure agreed that the individual had the capacity to become the role model for his followers. The average rating out of ten was eight. From the assessment, it is clear that the individual also has absolute trust on his followers and the followers have also earned his trust.
All the participants also rated highly the trait that suggested that the individual could maintain a clear two-way communication in order to ensure that issues were understood properly and solutions arrived at. This suggests that the individual has good communication skills and applies them in the work environment.
The results suggested that the individual had the ability to make difficult decision based on the values, vision and goals of the business or organization. This was shown by the high rating from all three participants. According to the results, the individual also came out as a leader who promotes respect, trust and loyalty amongst the followers through the application of charismatic vision.
The rating on the assessment of whether the individual avoided criticism on his followers’ efforts and avoided making sarcastic comments when in public was moderate. However, the results showed that the individual did not encourage his followers to approach old issues with new methods and with creativity. This suggests some form of rigidity and conservatism.
One of the differences was seen in the ratings of whether the individual had the willingness to take risks and ensure consistence. The self-rating was much higher than that of the supervisor and the personal associate. This result suggests that the individual does not the ability to take risks when required to.
Another difference appeared in the assessment to determine whether the individual was willing to adapt to and looks for new ways of working in order to meet the needs of the ever-changing business environment. This characteristic had a low rating and this suggests that the individual is rigid to changes in the business environment.
There were different ratings when it came to the determination of whether the individual ensured the development of his followers through delegation of tasks and by monitoring and providing improvement tips. The self-assessment indicated a high rating of eight while the rest rated it at five and three respectively.
Recommendations
One way of ensuring that one qualifies as a transformational leader is by ensuring that one embraces change. The business environment is usually moving fast and not moving with the speed would impair the business’s ability to gain a competitive edge against similar businesses. Such a business also fails to meet the needs of the clients and this causes them to fail in obtaining loyal customers.
Embracing change also allows for the growth of the employees. This is mainly due to the opportunity they get to learn new skills. They would have the ability to exercise creativity that would be beneficial to the organization. A transformational leader would prepare his employees for such changes by ensuring that they receive the necessary skills (Simic, 1998).
Examples of tools that organizations can implement in their organizations as a way of embracing change include Six Sigma and the Theory of Constraints. The Six Sigma concept, for example, is a very useful tool to use in numbers-based organizations. Organizations that have embraced this tool include Motorola and General Electric.
A transformational leader should also encourage his followers to come up with their own solutions to the problems facing the organization. The leader should welcome all ideas even if they differ with his own. Such a leader would also involve the employees in matters such as goal setting. This could be done by asking the employees to help in drafting the goals.
The employees could contribute by giving their thoughts about what they think could contribute to their organization’s success. The leader can also consider some of the ways in which the employees can enhance their competencies for future positions. When the goals have been set, the leader can monitor the progress and later celebrate success when the goal have been achieved.
In looking for new ways of carrying out businesses, a transformational leader should appreciate technology and use it to add value to the organization. One of the current technologies that are being used is information technology (IT). IT has been determined to be useful in all industries including the financial institutions, industries and even grocery stores.
Organizations that embrace the use of IT become competitive in the rapidly developing business world. A transformational leader needs to understand the importance of IT in ensuring that the organization survives in the current market. Firstly, information technology plays an important role in communication.
Many companies use the email service to facilitate communication among the employees and between the organization and its suppliers (and clients).
Other tools such as the video conferencing systems also enable the organizations to set up virtual boardrooms where they can hold meetings without necessarily being at the same venue. Information technology is also vital in data management. Data storage is made easy, effective and safe with the use of IT.
A transformational leader also needs to be able to motivate his followers since motivation is very essential. In order for employees to embrace change, they need to be motivated by the potential benefits they expect from the change. They should be convinced that the change would benefit them and the organization as a whole.
Embracing culture change requires the use of tools of learning, negotiation and persuasion. A transformational leader would persuade the individuals using a user-friendly approach. This means that the employees would be allowed to express themselves.
It would also be expected that employees could make mistakes during this transition period. Therefore, the leader should not criticize or punish the employees when they make such mistakes. Instead, they should coach and encourage them.
Since employees are different and have different levels of potential, a transformational leader would need to treat them fairly rather than equally. Treating workers fairly is beneficial to the organization since it creates stronger and better relationships between the employees and the leader. Such a relationship would be based on trust and respect.
Consequently, the turnover rate would be low since the organization would be able to retain its employees. In order for a transformational leader to be fair, he must treat every employee individually and appropriately. The leader should be able to make good judgement regarding the employees and this judgement should be based on the circumstances and contributions of the particular employee.
As a transformational leader focuses on the needs of his followers, he creates a people-centred organization. Such organizations usually excel at recruiting good employees and keeping them committed. They also understand the need for training and empowerment of the employees in order to enable them to serve their clients effectively. Such leaders know the importance of continuous learning and embracing change.
Therefore, they encourage their employees to do the same. A transformational leader should create a people-centred organization through several ways. One of them is through treating the employees as a balance sheet asset.
The leader should also create a habit of celebrating the achievements of the employees. A transformational leader ensures that the working environment is positive in order to ensure employee satisfaction.
A transformational leader should also work towards creating a good organizational culture. This usually dictates how the employees would behave and what meanings they would attach to the actions. This usually calls for the aligning of the organization’s vision, beliefs and norms.
Teamwork culture may be achieved by having similar performance expectations. Leaders should strive to create a strong organization culture in order to ensure that the employees adjust well and respect the policies laid down (Armstrong, 2009). This ensures employee satisfaction since employees would enjoy working in such environments and taking each assignment as a lesson.
A transformational leader should also embrace diversity in the organization. This would require the recruiting of individuals from diverse backgrounds including race, age, personalities, educational background, ethnic groups, among other factors (Pielstick, 1998).
Successful organizations usually have the ability to embrace diversity. One of the benefits of having a diverse workforce is that the organization will have an increased adaptability. In the event of a problem, the employees will have a greater variety of solutions.
People from diverse background would also bring different talents and experiences on the table and this would lead to exchange of ideas. A diverse workforce also ensures the availability of a broader service range. This is to mean that the diverse abilities of the employees would ensure that the customers receive service on a global basis. Such an organization also has a more effective execution.
This is due to the fact that diversity would inspire every individual to perform at his or her best. This would in turn lead to greater productivity and greater profits. However, a transformational leader should be aware that challenges such as communication might be encountered in such an organization.
Therefore, he or she must be able to develop mechanisms to overcome such barriers. Another challenge may be encountered when employees become resistant to change. A transformational leader should also find a way of convincing and encouraging the employees to embrace such useful changes.
Teamwork is essential in the agenda of a transformational leader. It is essential to encourage employees to work as a team since this would help increase productivity, unity and organizational culture. One of the benefits of working as a team is in problem solving.
Problem-solving synergy would be achieved due to the inputs from different individuals. The pool of ideas would ensure that problems are easily solved within the shortest time possible. Teamwork also ensures that communication is made effective. Effective communication is one of the requirements within a company. Teamwork also encourages cohesion.
Consequently, this increases the level of trust among employees. Such a team is less likely to act in a confrontational manner towards each other. Instead, they would accept each other’s decisions and support each other. Teamwork also makes learning easy and enjoyable. This is due to the fact that each individual would be learning from the other.
A transformational leader is expected to act as a role model in the organization. Therefore, he is expected to show high levels of ethics in order to raise trust in his followers. For this to be achieved, leaders need to familiarize themselves with the application of the dimensions of transformational leadership (Singh, 2012).
References
Armstrong, A. (2009). The ethical dimension in transformational leadership. Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, 3(3), 21-35.
Pielstick, C. (1998). The transformational leader: A meta-ethnographic analysis. Community College Review, 26(3), 15-34.
Simic, I. (1998). Transformational leadership – the key to successful management of transformational organizational changes. Economics and Organization, 1(6), 49-55.
Singh, K. (2012). Developing ethics at the workplace through transformational leadership: A study of business organization in India. Journal of Knowledge Globalization, 4(2), 1-24.