Free «Transformational Leadership» Essay Sample

Thesis Statement: Utilitarianism is the best principle to measure the effects of transformational leadership.

Analysis

One of the most famous leadership theories in use today is transformational leadership.  This form of leadership is very suitable for today’s age where knowledge and information is available to all. Unlike the traditional forms of leadership where a leader had to order or direct people on how to perform a particular task, transformational leadership diverts significantly from this traditional belief.

The theory of transformational leadership was brought forward by a leadership expert   named James McGregor Burns in the year 1978. According to him, a transformational leader is not necessarily the one who leads to a revolution in an organization. Rather, he described this leader as one who creates an environment where leaders and followers can elevate each other to greater levels of inspiration and integrity (Vukasovic?, 2012). At this level, a leader and all employees or followers become a highly motivated team that shares a common goal. This team, therefore, pursues their dream together and, in turn, increases productivity and output.

This book also highlights some qualities that a transformational leader has. A transformational leader carries him/her around as a model of refinement, fairness and reliability. He/she becomes a figure to be emulated and is seen to have high expectations in all aspects of life. He/she encourages others and provides support to a team while recognizing exemplary performance from a group or any individual. He occasionally stirs up emotions of a team and inspires people to look past everyone’s personal-interests. At the same time, this leader chooses to be quick to learn from any positive trait in any member of a team and get better. He appears like the epitome of refinement and inspires people to aim higher and get better in their personal lives. When every member is doing great in their personal life, they are able to give more effort and concentration to their work (Rowley, 2006).

Utilitarianism as an ethical perspective is very crucial in personal or leadership endeavors. It is ambitious and help to keep people focused. As a transformational leader inspires people, it does not have to be for a show off reasons. His personal stature of refinement should be directed to assisting or directing people to achieve greater results practically. When a leader makes any choices, it must be ethical; consequently, this means that it should be acceptable in the society. However, a leader finds himself/herself with options that can be seen as ethical anyway, however, the principle of utilitarianism requires such a leader to make a choice that maximizes the good for everyone. The decision a manager arrives at must be fair and practical for a company and yet be reasonable and fair for all employees.

The reason why utilitarianism is a more preferred principle is that it is practical and simple to describe. It can be hard to describe what ethics is because what is acceptable to various groups may vary greatly. When a leader wishes to make any choice, it might be good to make an ethical choice but it is hard to measure how ethical such an action can be. However, when the parameter of utilitarianism is used, it provides a more practical way of singling out the best possible course of action (Tyssen, Wald, & Spieth, 2013).

When a leader has to make a choice and all choices seem to be acceptable and, therefore, ethical, a leader should start evaluating them one by one as well as all their consequences. Repercussions should also be categorized on whether they are positive or negative. The positive one is assumed to be the ones that will bring the most good to all parties involved. A leader should choose the one that will bring maximum good to the most number of people.