Rooting the Paradigm of Transformational Leadership. Delia Elena Mateias

Transcription

1 Rooting the Paradigm of Transformational Leadership Delia Elena Mateias

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3 !1 The International Journal of Transformative Emotional Intelligence: Research, Theory, and Practice Contact Information: Emotional Intelligence Training & Research Institute (EITRI) P.O. Box Corpus Christi, TX Editors: Richard Hammett Gary Low Darwin Nelson 2014 by the Emotional Intelligence Training & Research Institute. All rights reserved.!i

4 2 Rooting Transformational Leadership!7 Rooting the Paradigm of Transformational Leadership Delia Elena Mateias, Ph.D. in Psychology, Romanian Academy This article examines the roots of the transformational leadership construct as related to the paradigm of emotional intelligence. In an attempt to delineate the emergence of the relationship between leadership and emotions, a theoretical framework is presented. Inferring leadership dynamics from inceptions to early contemporary notions, this article acknowledges the impact of emotions within the transformation of leadership paradigm. Introduction The bulk of leadership research has examined the construct of leadership as related to emotional intelligence from various perspectives. Traditional leadership theories put forward two different leadership models, task or transactional leaders and relationship leaders (Bass, 1990). While the task-related leadership model concerns mainly cognitive tasks, including planning, organizing, and controlling, the relationshiporiented leadership or socio-emotional model posits leading with emotions. Contemporary leadership theorists put forward a cutting-edge leadership paradigm, transformational leadership or charismatic leadership, also referred to as leadership with charisma or a transformational component. To encompass the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership, and gain a comprehensive understanding of emotional implications for leadership performance, researchers have been reframing the leadership style as transformational leadership. In line with the construct, George (2000) posited that leadership is an emotion-laden process, both from a leader and follower perspective (p. 1046). Since the follower s perception about leadership effectiveness is influenced by the leader s emotional intelligence abilities, it may be concluded that emotional intelligence is a key factor of successful leadership. The Emergence of the Transformational Leadership Construct From its inception, leadership theorists have identified elements related to emotional regulations. In the 1950s, Bales interaction process analysis (1950), at the group level, revealed that the majority of individuals cannot effectively balance the task or transactional (Forward Backward) and relationship (Positive Negative) dimensions. Accordingly, individuals have the tendency to allocate more time to one task, neglecting the other. The study endeavored to place the role differentiation within the context of leadership effectiveness, outlining that successful groups were actually structured groups, i.e. having either transactional or socioemotional leaders. Furthermore, findings revealed that the few people that were fairly high for both variables could achieve a UPF score, i.e. active teamwork toward common goals, organizational unity. Hence, Bales early work attempted to put forward the hypothesis that there may be a relationship between individuals who successfully balance both task and relationship behaviors and charismatic leaders. In addition, the behavioral and the trait-based theories of leadership label interpersonal relationships between leader and follower as a relational or employee-oriented style (Bass, 1990). While Ohio State leadership studies identified this leadership dimension as leader s consideration of followers needs, the Michigan Leadership Studies added variables dealing with the leader s employee centered style, including socio-emotional traits, nurturing a positive environment to enhance group cohesion, and behaviors to decrease the expression of negative feelings (Bass, 1990). Although neither behavioral nor trait-based leadership literature directly examines the management of a team s emotions, the findings provide valuable groundwork and insights for future studies. Other researchers take a step toward understanding how components of emotional intelligence relate to both task and relationship leadership style. For instance, Kellet, Humphrey, and Sleeth (2002) stated that empathy, a core component of EI, is mainly related to the relationship-oriented leadership model. On the contrary, Wolff, Pescosolido, and Druskat (2002) hypothesized that the task leader s empathy related to follower s needs enhances his/her cognitive knowledge and skills. Humphrey (2002) also claimed that empathy is not only an

5 ! 8 The International Journal for Transformative Emotional Intelligence important trait for leaders who manage with emotion, but it also contributes to the cognitive skills used by task leaders, because they must delay gratification while working long hours on tasks, overcome their frustrations when encountering problems, maintain confidence when facing difficult goals, and in general marshal enthusiasm for completing their work tasks (p. 496). Moreover, Fiedler, Chemers, and Mahar s theory (1977) highlighted the importance o f contingency factors, a s w e l l a s transformational leadership theorists perspective upon the influence of leader s EI abilities on followers emotional states. Furthermore, Weiss and Cropanzano (1996) developed Affective Events Theory (AET) for assessing emotions in the workplace. Researchers state that each individual is likely to have an average affective mood level and, based on his/ her type of personality it may tend to be either more positive or negative. In particular, the theorists bring to light the concept of affective experience in work settings that can modify this average mood level, and, in turn, jointly affect the degree of job satisfaction and performance outcomes. In a further study, Pirola-Merlo, Hartel, and Mann (2002) mainly integrated Weiss and Cropanzano s AET to examine the leaders ability to help followers deal with negative events within a longitudinal study of a research intended to development the work environment. Researchers hypothesized that leaders have a significant impact on the overall affective tone of team climate, which, in turn, correlates with team performance. As hypothesized, team climate score positively correlated with team performance (.71), as well as leadership and team climate (.52). Thus, the findings indicated significant development in the understanding of leadership into the emotional dimensions of work. Formerly, researchers examined transformational leadership and charismatic leadership models, as distinct constructs. In the middle of the 20th century, Weber first introduced the concept of charismatic leadership. The author stated that the leader s divine mission is to be perceived by followers as The God-sent master (1968, p. 1114), as set apart from ordinary men and as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities (1947, p.358). Recently, Pescosolido (2002) stated that charismatic leaders gain legitimacy and power not only by identifying the emotions that are present in the situation, but also by modeling them in order to accentuate the meaning and intent of their communication, vision, and goals (p. 593). Although leadership theorists have examined the construct of leadership from various perspectives, research findings have provided genuine insights for more effective leadership, as well as future research. Since the end of the 19th century, leadership theorists have emerged with transformational and charismatic theories, emphasizing emotions and values, in the shadow of traditional leadership theories that emphasized rational processes. Bass s research (1985, 1996) is widely regarded a s g r e a t e s t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o w a r d t h e conceptualization of transformational and charismatic leadership models. Accordingly, transformational leadership is primarily defined as the leader s ability to motivate followers, raising their awareness about the importance of duties. The leader s behavior during this process plays a vital role, enhancing followers commitment toward organizational goals. Furthermore, Yukl (1999) stated that transformational and charismatic leadership models have enhanced the appeal of the leader s emotions, values, and behavior in making events meaningful for followers (p ). Charismatic and transformational leadership theories provide important insights for leadership processes (p. 301). Although the t h e o r i s t c o n s i d e r e d c h a r i s m a t i c a n d transformational leadership as distinct constructs, the study reinforced Bass s findings and provided a new perspective on the leadership dimension: Transformational leadership includes individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, idealized influence (charisma), and inspirational motivation. Transactional leadership includes contingent reward behavior, passive management by exception, and active management by exception. there is considerable evidence that transformational leadership is effective (p ). Twenty-first century leadership theorists have acknowledged that the most complete theorization is defined as transformational leadership or charismatic leadership. Given the literature, Humphrey (2002) stated: The term transformational leader more accurately describes leaders who change organizations or society by developing a vision and plan for the future. Often, transformational leadership occurs under crisis situations when most people are confused and uncertain about what to do. Clearly, transformational leaders need strong emotional

6 Rooting Transformational Leadership!9 self-management in order to persevere under difficult circumstances. Transformational leaders show strong task leadership under these situations by scanning the environment, grasping the key elements, and developing a plan the vision that they transmit to their followers. By planning, organizing, and making decisions, transformational leaders perform many of the same functions that task leaders do [emphasis added] (p. 497). McColl-Kennedy and Anderson s research (2002) revealed that transformational leadership has a major direct impact on employees emotions, i.e. frustration and optimism, and, in turn, has an indirect influence on performance. The study found that transformational leadership style had a structural model correlation of.44 with group followers level of optimism. A high transformational leadership style will increase followers commitment, and perception of sense of mission, enhancing directly followers optimism and, indirectly performance. The article also provided significant findings that underscore that a high level of employees frustration has a significant impact on performance. Accordingly, leadership style had a structural model correlation of -.52 with frustration. As a result, the researchers strongly recommended that organizations should endeavor to recruit and nurture transformational leadership qualities among the leaders for increased performance among subordinates (p.556). In line with transformational leadership evidence, some researchers regard the construct of transformational leadership as a synergy of task orientation and emotional leadership. Over a decade ago Humphrey (2002) summarized and highlighted the core of leadership literature on emotions and leadership, stating that there were seven studies that depict different faces of leadership. Hence, research into the relationship between emotions and leadership is only just beginning, so there should be grounds for future research for many years to come (Humphrey, 2002, p. 502). Since Humphrey, Nelson and Low (2003) put forward a quadratic model of leadership, placing at the core of the transformation the construct of emotional regulations. Firstly, the leader s social awareness ability enables him/her to make adequate choices as related to emotional, social, and physical interactions with others. Next, the degree of empathy empowers the leader to understand others feeling, accurately responding to their needs. Decision making ability qualifies the leader to constructively accomplish all the stages of the process, from planning, initiating, and applying, when making decisions. Last but not least, the leader s positive influence ability is reflected at all levels, influencing others and making a positive transformation. In 2008 Hammett, Nelson, and Low forwarded their own quadrant model to begin to describe an EI-centric theory of leadership. This model attempts to describe the influence of emotional intelligence when coupled with leadership style (reactive versus reflective) on the overall organizational climate and effectiveness. Following this model, reactive leaders with EI developmental needs tend to create chaotic and toxic work environments. Conversely, reflective leaders, characterized by shared leadership styles (collaborative and democratic) with enhanced EI skills create highly effective work environments. This Hammett-Low-Nelson leadership model is illustrated in Figure 1. In the original color version, the color of the arrow pointing down to the toxic leadership description would be red to indicate stop, go in a different direction. The color of the arrow pointing up to EI leadership would be green, for go. More recently Nelson, Low, and Hammett (2011) forwarded an updated EI leadership theory based on descriptions of leadership provided by Barbuto and Wheeler (2006) in their research efforts to clarify the construct of servant leadership. Nelson et al. added a fifth column to Barbuto and Wheeler s seminal table comparing leadership styles based on the fundamental theoretical characteristics of leadership. To better understand the construct of EI leadership, compare the EI leadership approach offered by Nelson, Low, and Hammett to servant, transformational, and LMX leadership theories described by Barbuto and Wheeler in Table 1.

7 ! 10 The International Journal for Transformative Emotional Intelligence Figure 1. Hammett-Low-Nelson EI Leadership Model. Presented by Richard Hammett at the 2008 Institute for Emotional Intelligence, South Padre Island, Texas. Table 1. Contrasting EI Leadership With Other PopularTheories.

8 Rooting Transformational Leadership!11 Conclusions and Future Research A review of leadership literature concerning the developments of transformational leadership patterns was undertaken in an effort to advance knowledge about the relationship between leadership and emotional regulations, and to identify issues for the content and methodology of future research. In the shadow of traditional leadership theories, modern leadership patterns reveal that emotions play an important part in our understanding of the leadership process. However, a research agenda for the 21 st century demands consideration of experiential studies, at both the leadership and team levels, to support claims for route-learning and development strategies. Longitudinal studies would provide conclusive evidence of experiential learning interventions, empowering researchers, practitioners and policy makers to endeavor to recruit and nurture future transformational leaders. Lastly, mapping evidence-based practices within interdisciplinary settings will more comprehensively expand understanding of the transformation, nurturing the grounds of an emotionally supportive work environment.

9 ! 12 The International Journal for Transformative Emotional Intelligence References Bales, R. F., & Slater, P. E. (1955). Role differentiation in small decision-making groups. In T. Parsons, & P. E. Slater (Eds.), The family, socialization and interaction processes. Glencoe, IL: Free Press. Barbuto, J.E. & Wheeler, D.W. (2006). Scale development and construct clarification of servant leadership. Group & Organization Management, 31(3), Sage Publications. Bass, B. M. (1996). Anew paradigm of leadership: An inquiry into transformational leadership. Alexandria, VA: U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Bass, B. M. (1990). The Bass and Stogdill handbook of leadership (3rd. ed.). New York: Free Press. Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press. Fiedler, F. E., Chemers, M. M., & Mahar, L. (1977). Improving leadership effectiveness: the leader match concept. New York: Wiley. George, J. M. (2000). Emotions and Leadership: The Role of Emotional Intelligence. Human Relations, 53, Hammett, R. D. (January 31, 2008). Leadership: The role of emotional intelligence in the transformational style. Keynote program presented at the First Global Forum for Emotional Intelligence, Mumbai, India. Humphrey, R. H.(2002). The many faces of emotional leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 13, Kellett, Janet B., Ronald H. Humphrey, and Randall G. Sleeth Empathy and Complex Task Performance: Two Routes to Leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(5) McColl-Kennedy, J. R. and Anderson, R. D. (2002). Impact of leadership style and emotions on subordinate performance. The Leadership Quarterly, 13 (5) Nelson, D., and Low, G. (2003). Emotional intelligence: Achieving academic and career excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice- Hall. Pescosolido, A. T. (2002). Emergent leaders as managers of group emotions. Leadership Quarterly, 13, Pirola-Merlo, A., Hartel, C., Mann, L., & Hirst, G. (2002). How leaders influence the impact of affective events on team climate and performance in R&D teams. The Leadership Quarterly, 13, Weber, M. (1947). The theory of social and economic organization, trans. In Jones, H. B. Magic, Meaning and Leadership: Weber's Model and the Empirical Literature, Human Relations, 54(6), p Weiss, H. M., & Cropanzano, R. (1996). Affective events theory: a theoretical discussion of the structure, causes and consequences of affective experiences at work. In R. I. Sutton, & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior, 18, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Wolff, S. B., Pescosolido, A. T., and Druskat, V. U. (2002). Emotional intelligence as the basis of leadership emergence in self-managing teams. Leadership Quarterly, 13, Yukl, G. (1999). An evaluation of conceptual weaknesses in transformational and charismatic leadership theories. Leadership Quarterly, 10, Author Note Delia Elena Mateias, Ph.D. in Psychology from Romanian Academy, Student- Counselor, the Counseling and Career Guidance Center of The University of Politehnica of Bucharest, President and Founding Member, Transformational Leadership NGO. Correspondence regarding this article should be directed to delia.mateias@gmail.com