Introduction
Leadership can be considered paramount in management due to its direct impact on people’s performance and ability to achieve set goals. Transformational leadership belongs among various leadership styles, providing a unique people-centered approach. In this context, the paper will first discuss the nature of transformational leadership and offer a brief personal assessment of myself as a transformational leader. The paper will then give recommendations for leading and fostering teamwork on a particular example.
Discussion
Transformational leaders generally focus their attention on subordinates, invoke personal changes, and ultimately “transform” them, which consequently reflects on the team’s performance. According to Kovach (2018), the leader’s influence on other team members is idealized – their example motivates them, challenges them, and urges personal and professional improvement. In particular, transformational leaders’ communicativeness and genuine empathy allow them to identify their subordinates’ potential and talent, expand creativity and foster personal growth. It often results in close bonding between the leader and other team members. Moreover, without such a bond, this leadership style will fail to cause any impact (Kovach, 2018). Thus, to be attractive and serve as an example, transformational leaders have to possess specific leadership traits, such as charisma, courage, high initiative, credibility, and reasoning (Kovach 2018). The latter two prove invaluable when it comes to considering the team as a whole. For a team to be truly efficient, every member has to understand their role and the final goal they intend to achieve. In this context, the leader’s purpose lies in transparently and clearly explaining these factors.
In my opinion, I possess all of the mentioned qualities to some extent. Although it is difficult to assess personal charisma objectively, I can confirm the colleagues’ appeal based on their feedback. I have always been fluent in communication, which allows me to predispose people effortlessly. Furthermore, I am attentive to small details in people’s activities, habits, and behaviors, so there is a high probability of me seeing their possibilities and exploring opportunities. Finally, my proficiency in communication proves to be an asset in translating the ultimate vision and purpose.
For instance, one of the most common examples of a team in a healthcare setting is the case of interdisciplinary collaboration. If I were to lead such a team, I would generally focus my efforts on communication and professional respect. According to Anderson-Cook et al. (2019), it can be achieved if I emphasize the five following factors, namely, shared common goals, commitment, execution, intercommunication, and trust. The first three closely relate to the leader’s ability to communicate the general strategy and particular milestones to the team. Understanding their role and contribution ensures subordinates’ personal commitment and efficient execution, whereas shared common goals contribute to team cohesion, morale, and spirit. In the meantime, intercommunication and trust secure the bondage between the team members, including me as their leader.
Conclusion
Overall, transformational leadership perfectly showcases how a single person can have a significant impact on the whole team. Individual performance is subject to many factors, including motivation and commitment. It is the role of a transformational leader to encourage his subordinates – either by serving as a direct example or by providing them with an opportunity to realize their potential and overcome limits. Apart from an individualized approach, such leaders contribute to subordinates’ sense of purpose and belonging, boosting the team’s morale and devotion. Therefore, the combination of the mentioned factors results in the highest efficiency and performance.
References
Anderson-Cook, C. M., Lu, L., & Parker, P. A. (2019). Effective interdisciplinary collaboration between statisticians and other subject matter experts. Quality Engineering, 31(1), 164-176.
Kovach, M. (2018). An examination of leadership theories in business and sport achievement contexts. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 11(2), 14.