Foundations of Teamwork & Leadership

Leadership Styles

Prepared by:
Bareeq Saeed
Rana MT. Hussein

A leader is defined as a person with

the responsibility to influence one or
more followers and directing them to
achieve a set objective. While doing
so, the leader has to be aware of the
strength of each of his follower and
identify the areas to be improved. A
leader should be able to change his or
her leadership style based on the
situation in order to be more
effective, focus on supporting the
followers and build their trust and
respect.In this global competitive
environment, effective leadership style
is necessary to reduce the attrition
rate. From the effective leadership
styles only it is possible to achieve
organizational goal productively.
Leadership styles affect on the
employee performance and
productivity.Leadership style is often
viewed in the context of an
individuals’ approach to carrying out
their job. Depending on the source,
anywhere from 3-10 (or more) leadership
styles have been referenced in various
articles and publications. That are
includes Transformational Leaders,
Transactional Leaders, Relational
Leaders, Autocratic Leaders, Democratic
Leaders, and Situational Leaders. We
are going to summarizes and analyzes
the available literature of leadership
styles (Transformational Leaders and
Transactional Leaders)effect on
different components of Quality of work
life.
Transformational Leaders
The aim of transformational
leadership would be to ‘transform’
people and organizations inside a
literal sense to alter them in the mind
and heart enlarge vision, insight and
understanding clarify reasons make
behavior congruent with values,
concepts and brings about changes which
are permanent, self-perpetuating and
momentum building. Transformational
leaders encourage followers to view
problems from new perspectives, provide
support and encouragement communicates
a vision, stimulates emotion and
identification. This style is also
often unstructured in its approach to
management. The consequence is that
focus on the goals and objectives of
the organization can be lost.  
When starting a job with this type
of leader, all employees might get a
list of goals to reach, as well as
deadlines for reaching them. While the
goals might seem simple at first, this
manager might pick up the pace of
deadlines or give employees more and
more challenging goals as employees
grow with the company.This is a highly
encouraged form of leadership among
growth-minded companies because it
motivates employees to see what they're
capable of. But transformational
leaders can risk losing sight of
everyone's individual learning curves
if direct reports don't receive the
right coaching to guide them through
new responsibilities.
Traits of Transformational Leaders
Transformational leaders has four main
traits:
● Charisma: creates imagination and
meaning of mission, instills vanity,
and wins confidence and respect.
● Inspiration: Communicates elevated
prospects, uses signs to centering
attempts and expresses important
objects in plain methods.
● Intellectual Stimulation: Promotes
brainpower, rationality, and careful
problem solving.
● Individualized Consideration: Gives
private care and attention, treats
each follower as an individual,
coaches, and advises.
Transformational Leadership Pros
● Excellent at communicating new ideas
● Good at balancing short-term vision
and long-term goals
● Experience building strong coalitions
and establishing mutual trust
● They have integrity and high
emotional intelligence (empathy with
others)
Transformational Leadership Cons
● Lacks clarity
● It is difficult to define the
parameters
● Difficult to measure. Idealized
influence, inspirational motivation,
intellectual stimulation and
 individualized consideration are all
similar and can be hard to make
distinct from each other
● Transformational leadership can be
seen as a personality trait or
personal disposition rather than a
behavior in which people can be
instructed
● It is elitist and antidemocratic
because it gives the impression that
the leader is acting independently of
the followers
● It has the potential to be abused.
● It only works in situations that
require change. This may not work in
 an organization that is not open for
a tranformation.
Benefits of transformational leadership
One of the best uses of this
leadership style is in an organization
that is outdated and requires serious
retooling. It is also a perfect match
for a small company that has big dreams
and wants to change and adapt to get
there. In both of these examples, the
board of directors can bring in a
transformational leader who will change
the structure of the organization and
also motivate the current workers to
buy into the new direction.
Transformational Leaders in History
Mahatma Gandhi is a great example of
a transformational leader because he
led by example. His vision of
leadership went beyond himself. Instead
of a power grab, he remained sensitive
to a higher purpose. He was humble –
living in poor conditions just like
millions of people in India. His
leadership inspired his followers to
give their best effort to make a
difference.
Transformational Leadership
The transactional style of leadership
was first described by Max Weber in
1947 and then by Bernard Bass in 1981.
This style is most often used by the
managers. It focuses on the basic
management process of controlling,
organizing, and short-term planning.
Transactional leadership involves
motivating and directing followers
primarily through appealing to their
own self-interest. The power of
transactional leaders comes from their
formal authority and responsibility in
the organization. The main goal of the
follower is to obey the instructions of
the leader. The style can also be
mentioned as a ‘telling style’.

Traits of transactional leaders

How do you identify a transactional

leader? Here are some of the traits.

 Extrinsic Motivation:
A transactional leader motivates the
team through money, recognition or
praise. These leaders can become overly
reliant on external forms of motivation
even if the incentives fail to attract
the most productive and creative
people.

 Practicality:

One of the most distinct

characteristics of a transactional
style of leadership is practicality.
Transactional leaders are pragmatic
in their approach, realistically
considering all constraints and
 obstacles.
 Opposed to Change:

Because transactional leaders rely

on order, they can be resistant to
change. These leaders can exhibit
laser-focus on meeting company
goals. For this reason, they may
strive to maintain the status quo
rather than embrace new ways of
thinking or working.
 Conventional Decision Making:

To mitigate risk, transactional leaders

may discourage autonomous action.
Everyone within their purview is
rewarded for doing the expected. This
means delivering results and keeping
the mavericks in line.
  Performance-Oriented:

The transactional leader monitors

employee performance based on
established goals and targets. They
are quick to notice when employees
achieve a predetermined goal and
will reward them appropriately.
Similarly, they are also aware of
poor performance and may withhold
rewards or even punish the employee
in such instances.
 Linear Thinking

Transactional leaders excel at

achieving organizational goals within
the existing systems and constraints.
They tend to think inside the box to
solve problems. While many may be
excellent at handling routine affairs,
they may struggle to find flexible
solutions.

 Just-in-Time Management

By definition, transactions are

short-term. The transactional leader
prefers to handle issues as they
arise rather than proactively
seeking to solve problems, mitigate
risks or identify new opportunities.
An emphasis on the numbers and the
bottom line may keep leaders so
mired in the details that they fail
to see the bigger picture.
 Directive

Transactional leaders are

 authoritative decision makers, and
they embrace this trait as a
principal part of their charter.
Employees who do well under this
style of leadership follow
directives and instructions.

 Structured

The transactional leader places a

lot of importance on structure, the
org chart and rules. Organizational
hierarchies provide a framework,
placing the leaders at the top and
determining the responsibilities and
accountabilities of each role.
 Individual Effort

The motivational style of a

transactional leader may appeal most to
individual performers. Although
employees may be assigned to teams, the
rigid organizational structure that the
leader prefers may place limited
emphasis on collaboration in pursuit of
broader organizational goals.

Transactional leader pros:

Clarity and efficiency are two obvious

potential advantages of transactional
leadership. Let’s explore those and
additional advantages to a bit higher
detail.

1.Employees who deliver results are

rewarded

Transactional leaders are clear

about how they operate. Employees
will get rewards if they deliver
and they will suffer consequences
if they don’t.

2. Rewards and punishments are

clearly defined

Employees know beforehand what is

expected and the associated
rewards and punishments. Rewards
could be salary, bonus, time off,
promotion, recognition, and
awards. Punishments can for
instance be no bonus, being
highlighted as a problem somehow,
and even termination.

3. Short-term goals can be achieved

quickly
Unlike the democratic leadership
style where decisions are made
through collaborative effort,
transactional leaders make
decisions quickly and usually with
minimal consultation.
Additionally, close staff
monitoring means that mistakes are
spotted early and addressed so
that they don’t have a ripple
effect on the organization. Short-
term goals are, therefore, more
likely to be achieved quickly.

4. There is order and structure

There are certain times in an

organization’s business cycle
where a strong emphasis on order
 and structure is necessary and
beneficial. Transactional leaders
work feverishly to maintain the
order and structure an
organization needs. Anything that
threatens predictability is
immediately dismissed
5. It can be very productive

The transactional approach can lead to

very high productivity if done right.
Broken down tasks, repeatability, the
right incentives, high clarity – this
can be very effective when deployed in
the right way in an appropriate area.

Transactional leader cons:

There are some substantial cons with

transactional leadership. Make sure you
are aware of them before you use this
leadership style, that way you can
mitigate the effects

1. External motivation works up to a

point

Some people are motivated by rewards,

others aren’t. The strict focus on an
approach of concrete incentives to get
things done doesn’t encourage employee
loyalty. If the only reason to stay
with an organization is the possibility
of getting a reward, an employee is
more inclined to pursue better
opportunities outside the organization
if such alternatives exist.

2. Creativity is discouraged
Transactional leaders are more akin to
bureaucratic leadership since they
follow strictly outlined goals and
procedures. Outside-the-box thinking is
discouraged. This stifles the
creativity of employees and forces them
to work within a rigid framework.
Organizations with strong transactional
leadership do not handle change well.

3. Employees are blamed for the failure

to meet targets

It is expected that employees will

successfully complete tasks once
instructions are given. Therefore, the
leader instinctively casts the blame on
employees if the overall goal has not
been met. A possible statement this
leader would make is, “I gave them
clear instructions and they didn’t
comply. They should learn from their
mistakes. There will be consequences.”
This could result in a punishment
culture that is detrimental in so many
ways
.
4. Leaders and employees are
underdeveloped

Motivation and growth aren’t

priorities for transactional leaders.
They have a laser-like focus on numbers
and results. Therefore, there is little
room for either the leader or the
employees to grow because there are no
opportunities for continuous learning
and development. (Consider Coaching
leadership for an example of the
opposite.)

5.The leader becomes a bottleneck.

Consistent monitoring of employee

output is fundamental to this
leadership style. Therefore, the leader
becomes a bottleneck as employees await
feedback before they can move on to
their next task. The employees will
also feel micromanaged at the same
time, normally not a good thing.

Benefits of transactional leadership:

There is definitely a place for

transactional leadership in the world
today. One of its best uses is in
multinational corporations where not
all of the workers speak the same
language. Once the structure and the
requirements are learned, it is easy
for workers to complete tasks
successfully. This works because
transactional leadership is simple to
learn and does not require extensive
training. The transactional approach is
easy to understand and apply across
much of an organization.
The military, policing organizations,
and first responders use this style of
leadership so that all areas of the
organization are consistent. It is also
easier to apply in a crisis situation,
where everyone must know exactly what
is required of them and how a task is
to be done under

Transactional leader example:

Many high-level members of the
military, CEOs of large international
companies, and NFL coaches are known to
be transactional leaders. Transactional
leadership also works well in policing
agencies and first responder
organizations. Here are example of
transactional leader.

Bill Gates
Bill Gates was born in Seattle in 1955.
In his early teens, he met Paul Allen
at the Lakeside School, where they both
developed computer programs as a hobby.
When Gates went to Harvard, Allen went
to work as a programmer for Honeywell
in Boston. In 1975, they started
Microsoft, and by 1978, the company had
grossed $2.5 million, when Gates was
23. In 1985, Microsoft launched
Windows. Bill Gates is now one of the
richest people in the world. As a
transactional leader, he used to visit
new product teams and ask difficult
questions until he was satisfied that
the teams were on track and understood
the goal.

Difference Between Transactional and

Transformational Leadership
Both transactional and transformational
leadership are needed. The
transactional leaders ensure that
routine work is done reliably, while
the transformational leaders look after
initiatives that add value.

Transactional Transformational
leadership Leadership
Leadership is Leadership is
responsive proactive
Works within the Work to change the
organizational cultureorganizational culture
by implementing new
ideas
Transactional Transformational
leaders make leaders motivate and
employees achieve empower employees
organizational to achieve
objectives through company's objectives
rewards and by appealing to
punishment higher ideals and
moral values
Motivates followers Motivates followers
by appealing to their by encouraging them
own self-interest to transcend their
own interests for
those of the group or
unit