Transformational Leadership
This week our class has been focusing on transformational leadership and the difference between it and transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is more authoritative and task-oriented; the more typical leadership role. A transactional leader would tend to “focus on task completion and employee compliance, relying heavily on organizational rewards and punishments to influence employee performance.” In other words, a transactional leader is one who fights and “puts out fires”.
Transformational leaders, on the other hand, work hard and focus on “fire prevention”. According to Tracey and Hinkin in their article, Transformational Leaders in the Hospitality Industry, “transformational leaders are concerned with a broad, holistic perspective of the current and future success of the organization.” Transformational leaders are trustworthy, innovative, inspirational and motivational, and also have the ability to understand the needs of every individual.
One experience I have had with a transformational leader was a woman by the name of Val Ross, who developed and revolutionized a backpacking and hiking program with Girl Scouts San Diego. When most people think of Girl Scouts, they think of cookies, community service, and arts and crafts. Val aimed to change this by getting girls outdoors. She developed a program that allowed girls at a young age to start developing leadership skills and become confident, independent young women. I consider Val a transformational leader for many reasons. First, her main goal is to build girls’ confidence in the outdoors and also sets and amazing example for what that looks like by staying true to her values and “walking the talk”. Second, she always keeps a positive and enthusiastic attitude. Val encourages all girls to take part in conversations and decisions when it comes to making plans for trips or emergency decisions in the outdoors. She makes every girl feel empowered. Val also has a team of youth leaders in her program and will look to them for new ideas or solutions to solve problems that the program faces. Lastly, she takes the time to get to know every person who participates in the program and has a natural ability to understand people and their needs. Overall, she is an inspirational leader who will leave an amazing program and legacy behind. She has transformed and influenced so many lives, including my own, and this is why I consider her a transformational leader.
