Transformational, transactional, charismatic, and servant leadership in healthcare

Leadership Models

By examining the similarities and differences between four leadership models, future leaders can actively shape their leadership styles to ensure effectiveness within their industry and organization. Transformational leaders can inspire new ideas, but without clear direction, such ideas may remain lofty dreams. Transactional leaders can provide formal procedures and structure, but may lack the ability to motivate and excite their followers. Charismatic leaders can generate enthusiasm for new ideas, but success requires follow-through skills they may lack. A servant leader will often gain the respect of his or her followers due to a willingness to work side-by-side with his or her team to complete the task; however, sometimes a leader requires separation from the troops in order to avoid possible biases.

In addition to understanding the ideas behind each leadership model, the relationship with emotional intelligence plays a significant role in organizational leadership. Leaders guide people and people are opinionated, passionate, excitable, determined, stubborn, and sometimes angry and frustrated. Maintaining the ability to cope with different personality types and workplace emotions is a necessary role for today's leader who can no longer fall back on coercive power to achieve the desired results.

While exploring the benefits and challenges of various leadership models, the theories are put into context using the healthcare industry as an example. An industry that is subject to an intense number of influential variables, is undergoing significant change, and is burdened with highly regulated procedures that impede the necessary change, the healthcare industry presents unique challenges for new industry leaders.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders seek to motivate and inspire their followers by giving them the opportunity to express their creativity in the workplace. Exuding charisma, generous with compliments, and perceptive to individual needs, transformational leaders have the ability to easily influence change within a workforce that has the ability to transform with fluidity and without considerable operational roadblocks. High in emotional intelligence, transformational leaders believe that "transforming their followers through communication, role modeling, and encouragement are appropriate strategies for achieving the mission and goals of the company" (Sarros & Santora, 2001, p. 392).

The transformational leadership model presents challenges in the healthcare industry. Clear, constructive leadership is necessary to ensure strict adherence to rules and regulations. Problem solving skills are critical in the healthcare environment, but employees do not have the opportunity to express the type of creativity that is often encouraged by a transformational leader. While the high emotional intelligence offered by a transformational leader provides the ability to develop positive employee relations, healthcare employees require leaders who will first and foremost provide structure and demonstrate operational proficiencies. Increasing change has been necessary in the healthcare industry due to new HIPPA regulations and electronic medical record requirements over the past few years, but a transformational leader may struggle to provide the decisiveness of leadership to move such a variety of personality types through the change process.

The charismatic tendencies of a transformational leader will have a positive effect on healthcare workers who often feel that the management team take them for granted or do not understand how much work and effort is necessary to perform their tasks on a daily basis. The increased emotional intelligence offered by a transformational leader is likely to garner the type of reverent power that a transactional leader may not offer.

Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership provides the type of functionality that is necessary in a regimented healthcare environment. Whereas transformational leadership may be intellectual and ideological in nature, transactional leadership is more bureaucratic and legislative (Clawson, 2009, p. 462). Rules and consequences are key to transactional leadership, which strengthen the foundation of an industry that relies upon consistency, procedures, and effective documentation.

"Transformational leaders will communicate their vision in a way that inspires optimism and hope in followers, future-oriented emotions associated with the desire to learn more about and pursue new opportunities and goals associated with the vision" (Avolio & Yammarino, 2002, p. 272). More than just a vision and optimism are necessary to facilitate change in a healthcare environment. Any type of change requires inspiration and motivation, but a transactional leader is more likely to provide the step-by-step process, documentation for new operating procedures, budgetary support, procedural analysis, and employee training that is required to affect change in a strictly regulated workplace.

In a healthcare organization requiring change management, combining the servant leader model with transactional leadership would provide the level of emotional intelligence needed to build a positive rapport and generate affinity with the staff. Demonstrating a willingness to put in equal work and effort into coordinating change efforts would increase the leader's power and influence. In an industry that consistently overworks its staff members and is rife with excessive ego, a leader who isolates himself or herself from the workforce is unlikely to build sufficient support to cause broad sweeping change.

Servant Leadership

A servant leader has a level of insight that cannot be achieved when sitting above one's followers. Walking along side the staff, participating directly with their daily activities, provides a leader with insight into problems that may never have been brought to his or her attention. Taking the time to interact with customers and learning about their side of the transaction can inspire ideas that may not have happened if a leader spent all of his or her time in a corner office.

"A leader initiates, provides the ideas and the structure, and takes the risk of failure along with the chance of success" (Business Leadership, 2003, p. 119). If a leader expects to orchestrate change in a healthcare organization, he or she must be prepared to play an active role in coordinating the change efforts. The first step is gaining support from the stakeholders, which can best be achieved by positioning the change in a way that relates directly to each group's role in the organization. A servant leader has more insight into the needs and challenges of each part of the organization and is more likely to have the ability to explain how the desired change will affect each group. Honesty and open communication is crucial to successfully change, therefore, the change may not be readily embraced. A servant leader who has charismatic passion will be best suited to building employee support.

Conclusion

Maintaining a repertoire of leadership styles will prepare a leader to move through a variety of situations. When facing hospital board members or stubborn physicians, a healthcare leader must be strong and charismatic, but also clear and concise with well-documented research and decisions. A staff of nurses who have been working extra double shifts and have twice the normal number of blisters on their feet may need an impassioned servant leader who is ready to put in some extra time to give the staff members a few extra coffee breaks. The administrative support staff who is dealing with frustrated doctors who cannot adjust to the new computer tablets they are using as an alternative to paper files may require a transactional leader who can provide the organizational support needed to move through an uncomfortable transition. A single leader cannot always be everything to everyone. By learning one's leadership strengths and weaknesses and understanding the leadership skills needed to achieve the organizational objectives, the leader can begin to develop and foster his or her leadership team with people who offer complimentary skills and leadership styles.