Transformational Leadership - Becoming an inspirational leader

Hello

 In the previous post I made reference to "Transformational Leadership", and thought I'd elaborate on the topic today.

 The business world has moved from management styled running of businesses, to leadership. It is the hype today, and it brings with it a lot of excitement, but also uncertainty in some cases.

 Trailblazers James McGregor and Barnard M. Bass saw the importance and the need for businesses to survive, to change the way they were managing or leading their teams. James defined transformational leadership as: "leaders and their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation." 

 Leadership became more about a team effort, than an individual in charge of the whole. 

 This was a revelation that stuck with me, and worked magic everywhere I implemented this behaviour. Now, I cannot imagine managing or leading any team any other way.

 The Backbone:

  • Creating an inspiring vision of the future:
    • A team needs a compelling reason to follow your lead, therefore you need to create and communicate an inspiring vision. I have used noticed boards to display the vision. Daily we have an opening meeting wherein we discuss the performance of the previous day. We do not always talk about the vision, but the meeting is at the "vision" board, as a reminder. Remember, as humans, we are more stimulated by what we see. And with it in clear sight, nobody can claim they did not know. Have fun with this! We had pictures, colours, buzz words, and even created a war cry!
  • Motivating the team to buy into and deliver the vision:
    • The most important aspect in motivating anyone is to deliver the mission with the reason why, and the consequences. Appealing to their values will deliver the mission statement with more punch. They will believe in you and the mission.
  • Managing the delivery of the vision:
    • A vision is no use on its own: it needs to become reality. As the leader one must put in the hard and often mundane work of delivering it. Combining project management and change management will help manage the vision delivery. Stamina and self discipline is key. We divided tasks of our vision into AORs - areas of responsibility - and had weekly follow ups. This helps you still focus on operations and prioritise business needs.
  • Building trust-based relationships with your team:
    • As a leader your focus should be on the individuals in your team, working hard in helping them achieve their goals and dreams. Your people are the success you are as a leader. In this it is obvious that leadership is a long-term process and not an instant fix.You can build trust by being open and honest in your interactions. Use the Johari Window to disclose information about yourself, and to get a better understanding of "what makes your people tick." 
I hope this was helpful. If you have any comments or suggestions, be free to share.

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