Transformational Leadership “For https://courseworkhero.co.uk/”

The key attributes of the transformational style of leadership are as follows:

· Task versus Relationship
Working together in organizations is increasingly the norm, yet the challenges of working effectively are considerable. One challenge is conflict—the process resulting from the tension between team members because of real or perceived differences. Because unit members contribute to the unit through social inputs and task inputs, conflict may arise with relationship and task issues. Examples of relationship conflicts are conflicts about personal taste, political preferences, values, and interpersonal styles. Examples of task conflicts are conflicts about the distribution of resources, procedures and policies, and judgments and interpretation of facts.
Whatever the task at hand is, there could be varied opinions on how to achieve the task or project. Managing both takes a flexible leader. In using the Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode instrument (TKI), collaborating, compromising, and possibly accommodating would fit in evaluating a leader’s skill set in dealing with these conflicts.
Empirical evidence has supported the negative relationship between conflict and unit productivity and satisfaction. Also recognized was that low levels of conflict could be beneficial. When in conflict, people confront issues, learn to take different perspectives, and realize the need to be creative. When conflict is absent, teams might not realize that inefficiencies exist. Indeed, research showed that units made better decisions when pre-discussion preferences were in disagreement rather than agreement. Task versus Relationship would be considered an operational dilemma.

· Empowerment versus Control
The empowerment leadership style calls for delegation and collaboration of the team, while control is about the competitive style of conflict which is task oriented—taking a firm stand and operating from a position of power. Delegation is considered part of the empowerment process, while control is considered to be task oriented. Empowerment is utilized with a more experienced and highly skilled team. They would have the ability to step up and be proactive to gain positive results. Control is usually utilized with less highly skilled teams that are geared more toward the manufacturing/assembly line industries, such as bottling or shipping. Empowerment versus control would be considered an operational dilemma.

· Getting Results versus Building Capacity
Getting results and building capacity should work hand in hand but can be at odds as well, depending on strategy and objectives. To gain results, a leader must build capacity of the team; however, building capacity takes time and resources away from getting results. Ultimately, production must be sustainable and be a long-term strategy in order to plan ahead to gain sustainable results over a longer period of time. This is an ongoing dilemma that haunts many public and privately owned organizations.

· Shared Vision
Shared vision is related to the traditional concept of goal-oriented implementation and consensus building in strategy and leadership (related to products, technologies, or markets), and values are developed by strong, charismatic leaders and imbued in the organizations they create. In such organizations, entrepreneurial decision making tends to be highly centralized among visionary leaders.
A shared vision is imperative in that it is communicated and developed as the organizational culture. The organization’s culture consists of diverse personnel in many ways but must share the same strategic vision from the top down in order for all to thrive together. That is the strategic dilemma.

· Self versus Team Interests
Self versus team interest affects or is highly influenced by the organization’s culture. How does the team or organization achieve its objectives and goals? Does the company promote and incentivize individual effort in lieu of team objectives? With one person excelling and the team suffering, does the entire organization succeed? Many times, individual goals or incentives must be sacrificed for the good of the team.
In sales, that is very prevalent. If the sales team of a company that is closing the fiscal year at the end of the month is on track to hit the overall sales goal, but I have not met my target as an individual, I can make my number by increasing spending to get the sale. The sale is not needed by the company. In fact, the increased spending will lower the end-of-year profitability number. The right thing to do is not spend and the company re-evaluates incentive payouts based on the decision. That would be putting the team first.

Coaching is a relationship-oriented style that helps the employees realize their aspirations and goals. It requires person to person interactions at a personal level. Coaching is about people and not metrics or presentations. Coaching is one of several emotional leadership styles. Trust, respect, and rapport are critical elements in the coaching equation. Leadership by example is crucial in coaching. This means that coaching leaders must be well organized, be competent in their field, communicate effectively, encourage feedback, and have a clear understanding of the organization’s vision, mission, and goals. Coaches must set the example; their credibility is a key currency in their relationship with their employees.

The key point here is that coaching is a way of leading that supports, encourages, guides, and challenges individuals to reach their potential. Coaching can be applied to a wide variety of leadership situations and leader/employee interactions—identifying strengths and weaknesses, motivating, delegating, building relationships, providing feedback, resolving challenges, increasing self-awareness, altering problematic behaviors, and seizing opportunities to grow and improve.

Mentoring is another example of a person-to-person, emotional style of leadership. It is more aligned with the transformational style than the traditional transactional (task-oriented) style. Mentors support mentees through questioning, example, and storytelling to a large degree. The mentor acts as a listening outlet for the mentee and provides suggestions and options without providing a direct answer. Mentors must be able to tell mentees what they need to hear in a manner that gets through to the mentees.

Mentors need to focus on the positive and what is working as well as what may need to be addressed. The underlying idea is that the mentor helps the mentee come to the answer indirectly so the mentee will own the answer and internalize it. It is still necessary to understand that different people learn differently and the mentor has to shape his/her approach to the employee.

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