Transformational and Transactional Leadership

鮑玥

1.Introduction

Leadership is the ability to motivate followers to go beyond together. It is unique relationship between leader and followers. The type of leadership applied in functions related to precision， confidence level， sensitivity， care and technical expertise may be not the same in simple management-oriented portfolios， because one that does not fit all heads （Dess and Picken， 2000）. It illustrates that situations， contexts， culture， working environment， new laws and regulations， information overload， organizational complexities and psycho-socio developments affect the leadership concept greatly （Amabile， Schatzel， Moneta & Kramer，2004）. In the classic book Leadership， J.M. Burns （1978）， an American political scientist， makes a qualitative analysis of political leaders such as Roosevelt， Lenin， Mao Zedong and Martin Luther by synthesizing various documents. He pioneered to divide the leadership style of political leaders into two types： transformational type and transactional type.

2.Transformational and Transactional Leadership

The theory of transformational leadership originates from the academic research on leadership style. Leadership style research focuses on the behavior characteristics of leaders， through in-depth analysis of Leaders' behavior， to discuss the different performance brought by different leadership behavior （Bass，1995）. Generally speaking， the development of leadership style theory can be divided into four main stages： trait theory， behavior theory， contingency theory and new charismatic leadership theory. Transformational leadership is one of the main representatives of new charismatic leadership theory （Avolio， 2004）.

Comprehensive behavioral theory and situational factors break through the limitations of previous leadership research from a single perspective， and provide a theoretical perspective for better analysis and understanding of leadership process （House & Shamir，1993）. After that， Bass （1995） formally put forward the theory of transformational leadership in 1985 on the basis of existing research. Bass proposed that transformational leaders can help subordinates to achieve self-realization， so that subordinates can produce a commitment beyond their personal interests， and be motivated by this， take beneficial actions for the organization. After that， MacGregor Bums （2003） distinguished transformational leadership from transactional leadership in his works. Based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory， he pointed out that transformational leaders would find underlying motivations and needs of their subordinates and achieve their goals through a process of mutual incentives and improvement by meeting the higher needs of employees （Maslow，1954）. Since then， transformational leadership theory has gradually developed into an important theoretical perspective in leadership research.

The new leadership theory， represented by transformational leadership， focuses on the interaction between leaders and subordinates. It is believed that leaders can stimulate their subordinates' self-fulfillment needs through their own leadership ability， so as to improve their work performance. Transformational leadership is to analyze and study how leaders influence their subordinates' work motivation， obtain the trust and support of subordinates' employees， and thus produce better job performance. With the deepening of research， the definition of transformational leadership by scholars is also developing （MacGregor Bums，2003）.

As shown in Table 1， although different scholars have different emphasis on transformational leadership， scholars generally describe transformational leadership as a process of interaction between leaders and subordinates. In this process， leaders and subordinates achieve goal sharing. Leaders give value pursuit to followers， which can be said to be one of the most important characteristics of transformational leadership （Wang， 2017）.

3.Does Modern Organization Need Transformational Leadership More

As Bass （1990） said： Unfortunately， most of the experimental research focuses on transactional leadership， while the real actors and guides of the world are transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is the inheritance， development and Transcendence of transactional leadership. It is the product of social and cultural development. There is no doubt that modern organizations need more transformational leadership to conform to the development trend.

From the definition of transformational leadership， we can see that the fundamental point of transcendence lies in the transformation from material level to spiritual level. First of all， the goal of leadership and subordinates should be combined， so that subordinates can see the bright future of their career， and thus stimulate their enthusiasm and creativity. Secondly， transformational leadership can create a mutually stimulating and enhancing relationship between superiors and subordinates. The three characteristics of transformational leadership - charm， understanding and intelligence play an important role.

Of course， transformational leadership is worth advocating， but transactional leadership is not all good， both have their advantages and disadvantages. With the development and progress of society， the advantages of transformational leadership far outweigh the disadvantages， so modern organizations are more worthy of advocating.

Reference

[1] Avolio， B. J.， Zhu， W.， & Bhatia， K. P. （2004） Transformational leadership and organizational commitment： mediating role of psychological empowerment and moderating role of structural distance. Journal of Organizational Behavior， 25（8）， pp. 186-197.

[2] Amabile， T. M.， Schatzel， E. A.， Moneta，G. B.， &Kramer， S. J. （2004）. Leader behaviors and the work environment for creativity： Perceived leader support. The Leadership Quarterly， 15， pp. 5-32.

[3] Hawkes， A.J.， Biggs， A.， Hegerty， B. （2017） Work Engagement： Investigating the Role of Transformational Leadership， Job Resources， and Recovery. The Journal of Psychology，151（6）， pp. 23-34.

[4] Bass， B. （1985）. Leadership and performance： Beyond expectations. New York： Free Press.

[5] Bass， B. （1995） Theory of transformational leadership redux. Leadership Quarterly， 6（4）， pp. 81-85.

[6] Bass， B. （1998）. Transformational leadership： Industrial， military and educational impact. Mahwah. NJ： Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

[7] Burns， J. M. （1978）. Leadership. New York： Harper & Row

[8] Dess， G. G.， & Picken， J. C. （2000） Changingroles： Leadership in the 21st century. Organizational Dynamics， 29（4）， pp. 18-33.

[9] House， R. J.， & Shamir， B. （1993）. Toward the integration of transformational， charismatic， and visionary theories. M. M. Chemers， & R. Ayman（Eds）， Leadership and research： Perspectives and direction. CA： Academic Press， pp.81-107.