Some people also call this kind of leadership servant leadership, because of the way the leader makes himself more equal with the followers. Transactional leadership is more about giving orders that are expected to be followed, where transformational leadership is more about discussing ideas and finding ways that the organization can be changed for the better (Bass & Avolio, 1994). There are times when transactional leadership is better, of course, depending on the type of organization. For most organizations, though, transformational leadership is the right way to go. Another thing that Bass and Avolio (1994) point out is that leaders who focus on transformational leadership keep their followers for a much longer period of time. They are in the game for the long-term, and because of that they are committed to changing the organization for the better overall. There may be some growing pains, but the level of trust that is created between the followers and the leader will carry them through any kind of problems that the organization faces when changes are taking place. That is very important to keep in mind when a leader is planning to change things, because the followers need to be kept informed. If they can come along and they feel that they are part of the process, they are much more likely to support what the leader is trying to do, even if they were not sure about the idea originally (Bass & Avolio, 1994).

When a transformational leader has an idea of how he wants to change things, he generally presents the idea to his followers. They are then able to talk over the idea and any options that should be discussed. An organization is much more effective when everyone is in agreement, instead of just when one person tells all of the others what they will be doing (Bass & Avolio, 1994). Rather than just insist that people do things a certain way, a leader can help his organization greatly improve...

That way, everyone will feel like he is included in what the organization is going through, and growing pains will be a lot smaller (Bass & Avolio, 1994).
As Bass and Avolio (1994) and Bennis (2003) both show, transformational leadership is a great way to keep an organization on the right track and to make sure that the leader and the followers are working together for the common good. It is much more difficult for an organization to succeed in the long-term if the leader and the followers do not respect and trust one another. Organizations do operate this way, but their effectiveness could be greatly improved if they would focus more on helping one another instead of only on things like how much money they make. Money matters, and it is necessary and important. That does not mean, though, that it should be the only thing that a person considers when leading an organization (Bass & Avolio, 1994).

In order to make the money that an organization wants to see, the way the organization is handled and how well the people in it work together are two of the most important issues when it comes to success. These are strongly affected by the kind of leadership that the organization has. Transactional leadership will not provide the proactive stance that transformational leadership will, which means that the organization will fall behind its counterparts (Bass & Avolio, 1994). That is something very valuable to keep in mind when planning an organization and working to ensure that it moves ahead, instead of getting lost in the competition. Bass and Avolio (1994) do a good job of showing the value of being a transformational leader.

Bibliography

Bass, B.M. And Avolio, B.J. (1994) Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. California: Sage Publications, Inc.

Bennis, W.…