Successful Leadership Style’ Creation

Transformational leadership requires the participation of the leader and the followers. Strategic leadership sets the organization’s strategy. Transactional leadership rewards and punishes followers for their roles. The leadership styles can work together within a given system, but transformational leadership supersedes all of them.

Transactional and Transformational Leadership Styles

Transactional leadership, as developed by James McGregor Burns, relies on rewards (Sarkar & Ray, 2014). But the rewards are only available for tasks done. It relates to the transformational leadership in many ways. Transformational leadership works with positive inspiration on the followers. In the process of this collaboration, the leader, and the followers both develop. They both work together in that the followers need to emulate the leader’s skills through motivation.

The rewards are not bribes but a motivation to work extra hard. As the leader and the followers work together, they develop themselves and achieve organizational success. As transactional systems establish mechanisms for reward, the transformational leaders find ways of achieving results as a team. The growth of the organization becomes a comprehensive initiative.

Strategic Leadership and the Other Styles

Strategic leaders use their skills to advance organizational strategy, goals, and objectives (Wootton, Horne, & Wootton, 2010). The focus on results has fewer concerns for staff motivation. Strategic leadership is a mechanical way of developing the organizational vision and working on it. The followers do not have any input or contribution towards the goals. The two styles help to raise motivation (Edwards, 2012).

They reward the organization’s success and the workers at the same time. There is also the need to include the transformational style which will now look at the involvement of the followers in decision making. The three methods can promote efficiency and strategic concerns. The results will be available through team motivation and ambition for growth. The structures set by strategic leadership, the rewards developed by transactional systems, and the involvement of all teams can hasten the achievement of goals.

The Best Leadership Style

Transformational leadership has greater power to influence change than the two leadership styles. It works on shaping the followers through participation. The leader may find the means and ways to show appreciation, but it no longer becomes the motivating factor. The followers become loyal and highly efficient (Bonnici, 2011). The Turkish case and the changing minds study confirm that leadership significantly affects members. He or she excites passion in them. They become part of the organization through discussions and involvement. The members only need inspiration, vision, passion, and enthusiasm in the journey to success.

Study on Transactional and Transformational Leadership Styles

The study on the transformational leadership and transactional leadership indicated that there are more differences than there are similarities. The transactional style of leadership does not embrace the followers as much as transformational leaders do. Although followers would want rewards, they do not want to be excluded from decision-making (Raelin, 2010). Transactional leaders only look at rewards and punishment with stringent rules for maintaining order.

It works best on the military because of its bureaucracy. However, the study did not provide the differences in the styles, their failures, and success. But the information could quickly become the indication for further research. Even though transformational leadership is more appreciated, both methods can become help leaders and followers achieve more in their work (Style, Beale, & Ellery, 2012).

Conclusion

After many studies, it is the transformational style that works best in all situations. It rewards staffs through constructive engagement. The leader raises other leaders from among the followers. The followers are excited to be part of the system with the leader.

References

Bonnici, C. (2011). Creating a successful leadership style. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Edwards, G. (2012). Overreach. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Raelin, J. (2010). The leaderful fieldbook: Strategies and activities for developing leadership in everyone. London: Nicholas Brealey.

Sarkar, M. & Ray, A. (2014). Transactional leadership styles of heads of the departments. Saarbrücken, Germany: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing.

Style, C., Beale, N., & Ellery, D. (2012). In business and battle. Farnham, UK: Gower.

Wootton, S., Horne, T., & Wootton, S. (2010). Strategic thinking. London, UK: Kogan Page Limited.