This is a guest post by Sarah Jacobs. She is writer and enjoys writing about a variety of leadership topics and the transformational leader.
Gone are the days when the workforce is viewed as some machine where the employees act as the parts that run it. In today’s modern workplace, businesses have changed from traditional management styles and have adopted innovative solutions that increase productivity and engagement of employees. Collaborative work is now the norm that empowers growth in employees.
As the lines between bosses and workers blur, a new approach to leadership has emerged. The transformational leader is more approachable and encourages team building and power sharing. They posses the ability to cause big changes by persuading the way their audience thinks. This causes behavioral changes that lead to the achievement of goals.
How To Be The Transformational Leader
This change in leadership to the transformational leader is a far cry from the traditional hierarchical system as it gives employees more recognition and ownership of their efforts. Below are some characteristics that set the transformational leader apart from their more traditional counterparts:
1. Hold Yourself Accountable
The transformational leader makes changes when they know how to practice personal accountability. Here’s questions from Marshall Goldsmith essential to holding yourself accountable:
- Do I do my best to set clear goals and make progress to accomplish such goals?
- Do I put in my best to find meaning and be happy with what I do?
- Am I giving my best in building positive relationships and fully engaging in those relationships?
Leaders who know how to evaluate themselves are most often those that stand out to make a difference in their leadership.
2. Embrace Change
Innovation is the energy bar for transformational leaders. They crave the opportunities that arise from change, and practice finding ways to create something out of new situations. The transformational leader tries to see something that is good or what they could learn when change comes. They don’t waste time and resources resisting change. Instead, they embrace it to bring good changes to the organization.
3. Think Outside The Box
The transformational leader is often a visionary leader. Visionary leaders, surprisingly, often don’t need to have experience in their industries to lead. Many Fortune 500 transformational leaders come from other industries, but have proven that their outsider’s perspective is essential in bringing about change and growth in their companies.
That doesn’t mean, however, that they do not know anything about the companies they lead. Most of these CEOs spend an average of 14 years before getting into the CEO position. What’s interesting is that their experience on the field is their source of knowledge that helped them understand what change would bring improvement in their companies.
They worked and explored from emerging growth businesses and external opportunities which makes them open to new paths of growth. They are not tied down by the ‘traditional’ success formula of the company.
4. Strive For Engagement
The transformational leader builds a culture of risk taking and exploration. They lead their organizations by pushing themselves and their people to look at each opportunity with fresh eyes. They ask questions that lead them to try different approaches in tackling old and new challenges.
The transformational leader brings out the full potential off their workers by allowing them to be real and authentic to who they are. That allows them to use their strengths to give fresh perspectives to the company.
The transformational leader knows how to invest in their employees. In turn these employees bring more into the company by engaging fully, knowing that what they have will be valued and respected.
Conclusion
To close, the transformational leader knows how to tell stories relevant to bring change. Their stories generate ideas and cause changes that open new possibilities and create lasting and meaningful change. And, the ability to bring this kind of change to people and organizations is the defining characteristic of the transformational leader.
Author Bio:
Sarah Jacobs is an experienced writer who loves creating articles that can benefit others. She has worked as a freelance writer in the past making informative articles and fascinating stories. She has extensive knowledge in a variety of fields such as technology, business, finance, marketing, personal development, and more.
Find out more about her company here: http://www.lea-p.com/
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