Chapter 8 Response

I think that transformational leadership is very interesting. I think it is a very humbling approach to leadership, seeking those traits in others and trying to cohesively collect others around a common theme. 

The approach i would pick is the Kotter and Heskett: How Leaders Build Culture. I think that in any team, organization, group, club, or any group of people, a common sense of purpose and cultural identity is a real driving factor in overall participation and performance. The four strategies used by these types of leaders are:

1. Creation of the need for change

2. Development of a direction-setting vision

3. Broad-based communication of the vision 

4. Encouraging subordinate managers to take leadership action

The main concept has defined a set of leadership actions, some of which are behaviors and others of which seem to be more like traits or characteristics of leaders. The leaders need to have an outsiders perspective, yet an insiders knowledge. 

I think the main concept is really unique and i wish more major organizations could get past themselves and see the big picture and motivate those internally to try and adapt and change to fit the overall need. A transformational leader has a very difficult task, yet if done correctly and with the right support, is a terrific approach!

Chapter 7 Response - Late sorry!

I think the great man theory is valid and outdated. I think there are certain inherent skills and personality traits that make a person more easily able to follow, more charismatic and thus followed. I think that leadership can also be taught to an extent. Obviously being leadership minors we are being taught how to be good leaders and what good leaders do. 

I am a very big believer in the situational approach to leadership. I think that every person should have their own style and secret set of strategies they use, but every situation is different and should be approached differently. I think by doing a situational approach, it sets each act apart and makes it special in a way. 

An example of my personal leadership situational approach would be when i taught Catechism classes to second graders. Being that i was in high school and closer to their age than middle age women, they treated me differently; more like a friend. I had to change my approach to be more flexible and light hearted to try to reach them at a level they can understand. Normally i am very scheduled and task oriented. Second graders do not think in such a way so in that situation i had to take my schedule and adapt it to their time frame and roll with it. 

Good leaders have their traits and know how to use them when appropriate in any given situation. 

Chapter 8-Transformational Leadership Approaches Summary

Transformational or charismatic leadership have been called the “new paradigm” of leadership. According to Burns, “a transformational leader looks for potential motives in followers, seeks to satisfy higher needs, and engages the full person of the follower. The result… is a relationship of mutual stimulation and elevation that converts followers into leaders and may convert leaders into moral agents. The book reviews eight leadership approaches that consist of: James McGregor Burns: Defining A new Paradigm, Bernard Bass: Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations, Warren Bennis: Behavior Strategies of Exceptional Chief Executives, James Kouzes and Barry Posner: Best Leadership Behaviors, Elliot Jaques: How Leaders Develop Requisites Organizational Structures, David McClelland/Robert J. House: Leadership and Power Motivation, John Kotter and James Heskett: How leaders Build Culture, Jay Conger and Rabindra Kanungo: Charimatic Leadership Behavior, and Marshall and Molly Sashkin: The Visionary Leader-Leadership That Matters. The authors illustrate common behavioral, personal, and context competencies founded throughout the eight approaches of transactional leadership. The four behavioral aspects of leadership found in the theories consist of communicating a vision, creating empowering opportunities, and caring/showing respect for followers. The three shared personal competencies found in the approaches are vision, the power need and its expression, and self-confidence. The context of leadership is the organizational environment or the culture surrounding the leader. Understanding the culture, enables leaders to build and act based on the situation and followers.

I agree that transformational leadership is more effective than transformational leadership, because it focuses on expressing a vision and motivating followers to their full potential through behavioral, personal, and situational aspects of leadership.
Of the eight approaches, which do you think are most useful for transformational leadership? From experience, do you agree with the common competencies established in the eight approaches?