The Lion King | 7
Theme Story
By Anthony Osae-Brown
A
common characteristic of
leaders that have been able to
inspire change in the companies
they run has been the ability to inspire
followership to buy into an organisa-
tion’s vision. Usually, the vision may not
be clear because the organisation is
on the starting block, but such leaders
are able to take control and paint a
clear picture of the corporate goal in
a way the followership are recharged
and energised to take on whatever
obstacles that may stand in the way of
achieving those goals.
This style of leadership is called transfor-
mational leadership. Businessdictionary.
com describes it as a style of leader-
ship in which the leader identifies the
needed change, creates a vision to
guide the change through inspira-
tion, and executes the change with
the commitment of the members of
the group. It is about the capacity of
a leader to inspire others to achieve
extraordinary outcomes through
direction, control, incentivising and
empowerment to achieve the corpo-
rate or group goals.
Transformational leaders believe in
the ability of their followers and their
sincerity to work in the best interest of
the organisation. Such leaders do not
just change their companies; they also
have positive impacts on the industry
and their societies.
Several studies are beginning to show
that when management place the
growth and well-being of staff above
profits, the surprising results is that
“profits begin to rise at a faster pace
and a sustainable long term business
model emerges.”
This is because a transformational
leader does not just measure success
by the numbers but also by the growth,
development and well being of its
people. This two dimensional measure-
ment of corporate performance results
in more fulfilled employees, happier
customers and the resulting higher
profits, a three prong platform on which
a sustainable business model is built.
The transformational leader is different
from the transactional leader. Professor
James MacGregor Burns, a Pulitzer Prize
winning historian, describes the trans-
actional leader as one who believes
all the staff wants from him is “Money”
which he offers in exchange for
“labour.” So, the relationship between
a transactional leader and staff is
basically “Give me your labour, and
I will give you my money.” This often
leads to a “mechanic” relationship
between staff and leadership.
Workers in a transactional leadership
business environment are not passion-
ate about the work they do. They do
it for the money, which the leadership
provides. The result is lack of innovation,
routine and working just within assigned
duties. Staff in this environment do not
go the extra mile to achieve organisa-
tional goals.
Transformational leaders on the other
hand see their role as going well above
the transaction motive. Burns describes
the transforming leader as one who
understands that “the leader’s job is a
radical commitment to the growth of
the organisation’s people, such that
these people are not just more effective
employees but also better, stronger and
smarter human beings in all aspects of
life”
The transformational leader is thus more
energetic and passionate than the
transactional leader. His energy and
passion flows into the workforce or team
which he or she leads and that team
soon sees the transformational leader’s
vision as a collective vision of the team.
The result is a team or organisation that
is able to achieve extra-ordinary results.
Firing the
corporate vision!
and believe that the result will
impact positively on all. This could,
however, undermine the team
spirit and can be counterproduc-
tive if used always.
Affiliation-People come first:
I use
this style, mostly with my inner
circle but with caution. Though,
I place value on emotions and
well-being of people, I am careful
not to unnecessarily encourage
mediocrity. You must focus on
performance if you use this style
often.
Democratic - What do you think:
You have to avoid this style if
things need to be done quickly.
It leads to long meetings as every
input is to be considered. You
have to know when to stop. This is
best if you are running a volun-
tary organization. If you can get
people to follow you willingly, then
your leadership influence quotient
must be very high.
Pacesetting - Do as I do:
I love
to use this style when I need an
extraordinary leap in performance
from my people. It is the best style
if you are leading people who are
self motivated and highly compe-
tent. Simply show them you can
perform at a very high stand-
ard and they will follow suit. It is
however not effective if you have
inexperienced staff or people with
a low commitment level.
Coaching - Try this:
This is my best
style. It is what you call transforma-
tional leadership style. With this
style, you teach your people to
establish long term developmen-
tal goals. These goals will bring out
the leadership capacities in them.
This style works best when you are
working with people who are not
resistant to change.
Leadership, to some people,
is about their nomenclature or
knowledge. The focus of transfor-
mational leadership is on people.
If you are truly leading; who is
truly following you? The proof of
leadership is followership, Chief
Arierhi concluded.
I felt great after listening to Chief
Arierhi. His words were the best gift
to me on this my special day. Now
the next 50 years do not look so
daunting. I have just been given a
transformational road map.
