Characteristics and differences of charismatic, transactional, and transformational leadership

1 Leadership Styles Paper Charismatic, transactional and transformative leadership styles each embrace different qualities and characteristics when it comes to leadership. Charismatic leadership focuses on using the charm and personal appeal of the charismatic leader in order to unite followers to the vision and objective projected by the leader. Transformative leadership focuses on using vision, values, and supportive approaches to bring followers into unison with the leader’s objective. Transactional leadership focuses on using rewards and incentives in order to motivate followers to achieve an objective. This paper will discuss the characteristics of each of these three leadership styles, describe their similarities and differences, and identify the pitfalls of each. As Clawson (2006) points out, the charismatic leader’s strongest points are charm and personality. Charismatic leadership depends completely upon the ability of the leader to generate positive relationships with followers by exuding qualities that people like—such as confidence, strong and good character, the ability to communicate a vision and to motivate by energetic displays of personality. The charismatic leader has to be particularly skilled at communicating and embodying the vision that followers are meant to embrace. The more that the charismatic leader can personify that type of qualities that he wants to see in followers, the more likely followers are to develop those qualities out of love and admiration for their leader. Charismatic leaders recognize that imitation is the greatest form of flattery and they expect their followers to imitate the qualities they display in their leadership. Transactional leadership does not rely upon the personal charm of the leader as much as charismatic leadership does. In transactional leadership, the main element is the rewards and incentives that are used to get the desired behavior from followers. The leader motivates by offering followers rewards in exchange for goals. Success is not dependent upon the charisma of the leader. However, the ability to communicate expectations, vision and objectives is still necessary so that followers know what they are supposed to be working towards in exchange for the incentives offered by their leader (Barbuto, 2005). Transformative leadership combines some elements of both charismatic and transactional leadership. The transformative leader must have the ability to communicate the vision to the followers and must have a strong, convincing character that inspires followers to want to strive towards the vision based on the values and goodness of the goal in and of itself. The leader thus sets out to inspire followers through the concept of virtue, which aligns with the charismatic leadership style, which sets out to inspire by the force of the quality of the leader’s character. The transformative leadership style also uses incentives to motivate workers: the leader will offer supportive terms to followers so that they are both motivated by the words and example of the leader and also by the idea that they themselves will be rewarded for conforming themselves to the vision desired of them. The transformative leader is personally involved in the work of the followers (Victoria, 2016). These three styles are similar in that they all require a vision to be presented to followers—however, they differ in the manner in which that vision is presented. The charismatic leader presents it primarily through himself. His personality communicates the vision and inspires the followers to pursue it. The transactional leader communicates the vision by way of presenting incentives and rewards for pursuing it. The transformational leader communicates the vision by both his own person and his actions in supporting the followers to align themselves with the values promoted to reach the vision. Each of these styles can be successful, but each also has potential pitfalls. The potential pitfalls of the charismatic leadership style are that it depends exclusively on the leader. This means that the leader is not easily replaced if something happens to him or her. It can also mean that a cult can develop around the leader, in which followers will do anything the leader wants, even if it is not in their best interest. The leader’s personality can be so strong that it can demand implicit trust regardless of what logic might be telling the followers. While charismatic leadership can work, these pitfalls are enough to indicate the limitations should be placed on the extent to which charismatic leadership is relied upon exclusively. The pitfalls of transactional leadership are that it relies heavily upon rewards and incentives in order to get the job done. Instead of doing the work for its own sake or because it can build character, followers are motivated because they judge that they personally are getting something out of it. A transaction is taking place: they give their time and energy and in return they get a benefit. This can lead to selfishness in the organization and a lack of virtue development. It can also be a drain on resources over time. For those reasons, it too should be limited. The pitfalls of transformational leadership are that it requires both a strong leader who can communicate a vision convincingly, inspire followers, and devote him or herself to developing their virtues. It is a very intensive style of leadership and depends upon having strong supports in place as it basically calls for an overhaul of an entire organizational culture at root. While effective, transformational leadership can be taxing on all involved.