Transformational leaders should inspire their employees.

Transformational leadership: Drive change at work

 

Driving change in an organisation isn’t something that happens overnight. Not only does it require a collaborative, motivated team of employees, it requires having a strong, confident leader paving the way for the company. Without both the leadership team and employees working together towards the same goal, change will be difficult to achieve.

Driving change in an organisation isn’t something that happens overnight.

In these kinds of situations, it’s a huge advantage to have transformational leaders at your organisation. Like many influential figures throughout history, transformational leaders come into an organisation and aren’t afraid to make a change if it could benefit the company.

Let’s look at what defines transformational leadership in businesses and identify some ways you can encourage such management skills at work.

What is a transformational leader?

As the title suggests, someone who leads through transformation is primarily focused on implementing change. This will look different for every organisation, but all transformational leaders are driven to address and find solutions for the issues faced by the company.

Rather than view change as a necessary evil, these types of individuals see opportunity in large organisational shifts and help the rest of the team to see the positive aspects as well, according to Forbes. Such leadership also requires personal accountability – a transformational leader must take responsibility while also encouraging others to do the same, leading to a more connected, accountable workforce.

These types of individuals are typically great communicators – they inspire and motivate their employees and are constantly keeping the mission and goals of the company in mind, according to author Julie Bawden Davis. Productivity and employee performance tend to improve when the organisation is run by a transformational leadership team.

A transformational leader must take responsibility while also encouraging others to do the same

The one drawback to this type of leadership is that it doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for day-to-day leadership tasks. Transformational leaders are so focused on the big picture that smaller factors can get lost in the fray. For this reason, it’s also important to have a solid management team who can handle the details, says Colibri Facilitation.

Working under transformational leadership

Since transformational leaders tend to be at the very head of an organisation, most people will work under one at some point in their lives. What is it like to operate under this kind of leader? You could say it’s transformational. Employees tend to feel inspired, motivated and driven to improve by transformational leadership teams.

Another key component of this leadership style is communication – workers should feel like management is sharing all important information with the whole team. They should also get the sense that their opinions are valued and listened to – that the leader views them as important.

Working under transformational leaders can inspire and motivate employees to be their best.Working under transformational leaders can inspire and motivate employees to be their best.

Cultivating transformational leadership skills

Though some people are simply born with the charisma it takes to be a natural leader, everyone can learn important leadership skills that will help them run successful businesses.

The most important step to becoming a more transformational leader is introspection. Firstly, it’s important to make a conscious decision to align your mindset with the big picture goals of your organisation. Without this, it will be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and lose sight of driving growth in the company.

Leaders must make an effort to engage with their employees, inspire them to work hard and let them know that they’re valued. The best way to learn these skills is through leadership training courses; ICML offers a number of different opportunities for leaders working on their personal and professional development. Reach out to us today for more information!


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