Assignment task:
Please provide a discussion response to the below discussion using two APA resources.
I often reflect on the people I have had in my life who had a hand in shaping the kind of leader I am today. I learned valuable lessons from them all, whether they were great leaders or poor examples. For the less favorable ones, I learned how I needed to show up for those who were impressionable, but I also learned how insecurity in a young leader presented itself. However, I consider all the leaders who intentionally led, poured into my development, and attracted admiration cross-departmentally to be transformational.
Northouse (2021) defines transactional leadership as an exchange between leaders and followers (2021, p. 186) and transformational leadership as intentionally engaging followers and creating a connection that raises their motivation. This type of relationship is often rooted in morals and compassion shown from leader to follower. Each of the three leaders I credit to my development met me where I was in each career stage. Essentially, they picked up where the other left off; however, one stands out for building my confidence. For example, I was always nervous to speak in front of senior-level academic leaders and board members in meetings or give input. Coming from college athletics to an independent school district was intimidating. I did not know the terminology and was the youngest in the department. She transformed that fear into confidence by taking me everywhere with her and coaching me on how to show up in meetings with confidence. She exhibited patience throughout my journey and placed me in a position to be a decision-maker, youngest in the room or not. The factors of transformational leadership that would describe her are individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation (Northouse, 2021). She brought out the best in me, taught me to think past my expectations, and provided a safe space that fostered my growth.
For Transactional leaders, I would compare my time in collegiate athletics. My leaders there were concerned about two things: tickets sold and revenue. Individual development was not the priority. I preface this by saying my opinion of transactional leaders is only harmful if the followers' needs have not been addressed. For example, I would classify Henrik Bunge (Dean, 2019) as a transactional leader using his Framework model. Although he built a strong culture around health and fitness in the workplace with excellent amenities and benefits, he did so with his needs for the company and his Framework in mind that helped them achieve SMART goals - specific, measurable, attractive, relevant, and timely (Dean, 2019).
Transformational leadership could succeed if the various leadership styles, such as goal-path or leader-member exchange, do not work. In the Sister Act (moviescenes4u, 2008; TheSwammie, 2013) video examples, Whoopi Goldberg's character was a transformational leader. She led through inspirational motivation (Northouse, 2021) by setting high expectations and using emotional appeal to motivate the nuns. She also practiced individualized consideration by tailoring her leadership to each nun's choral limitations. In looking at this leadership style through an interdisciplinary lens, Whoopi's character applied multiple disciplines across the area of knowledge by using humanities and social sciences and numerous disciplines within social sciences through effective communication, psychology, and sociology. She built emotional connections while debunking the stereotype of the socially inconspicuousness of nuns.