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Rate Your Leadership Style
TRANSACTIONAL
X
TRANSACTIONAL
X
Demands
Requests
Demotivates
Motivates
Failure: “It’s your fault.”
Learning experience: “It’s my fault.”
Divisive
Unifying
Finds strength in rules & policies
Finds strength in people
“You should know.”
“I will teach you.”
Apathetic
Compassionate
Discourages
Encourages
Belittles
Supports
Impatient
Patient
Pushes from the back
Leads from the front
Envious of followers’ success
Pleased with followers’ success
Rules enforced only when breached
Rules are known upfront
Suppresses hope
Promotes hope
Autocratic style
Democratic style
Instills fear
Instills courage
Shortsighted
Visionary
Closed minded
Open minded
Lets others fend for themselves
Helps others
Disorganized
Organized
Total
Total
Count the number of X’s in each column.
Multiply the number in the Transactional by 3 Multiply the number in the Transformative by 5 Grand total
If your combined score is:
__________ __________ __________
60 – 70 71 – 80 81 – 90 91 - 100
Seriously reconsider if having responsibility over others is right for you.
Find a mentor who can help you become a leader who cares about others.
You are on your way to being a truly transformative leader. Stay focused. Congratulations! Your leadership style will transform the lives and careers of others.
(e.g., premature delivery), the risks for both the mother and the baby increase exponentially. A similar amount of increased risk occurs when a new leadership technique is being tried out. A manager might try to rush the inculcation of the new technique while a true leader will be appropriately patient, yet sufficiently determined to give the new approach a fighting chance to succeed.
Level 5 Leadership
In his book Good to Great, management researcher Jim Collins describes a large corporation version of a mentor-leader as a “Level 5 Leader” who is “...an individual who blends extreme personal humility with intense professional will.” (p. 21)
Once again, two common mentoring leadership traits surface: sufficient humility to sincerely help others succeed, and a dogged determination to stay the course to realize beneficial long-term outcomes.
Whether an individual is a corporate CEO or a small business owner, the principles involved with properly leading others remain the same – treat all people fairly, and with respect, and provide a meaningful purpose flag to rally around. By doing so, the outcomes can exceed expectations. Transformative leaders understand this.
Colin Powell, former Secretary of State and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1995), recommends that anyone wishing to be a transformative leader “find ways to reach down and touch everyone in a unit. Make individuals feel important and part of something larger than themselves.” (p. 59)
Is there an actual difference between management and leadership? I believe there is. It boils down to which you feel is more important: things and processes or people.
This article contains many statements of my opinion and referenced leadership statements of others. If you are motivated to gain additional insights into leadership principles and concepts, I urge you to review the books and articles found in the accompanying Recommended Reading list. — SBAM
George Scott is the President of Business Consulting Services, an East Lansing based business consulting and business brokerage firm that helps business owners fix, grow, or sell their businesses. He serves on two SBAM committees: Strategic Communications Advisory Committee and Entrepreneurial Task Force. George can
be reached at (517) 515-1701 or georgescott@businessconsultingsvcs.com.
Recommended Reading
If you are interested in learning more about different leadership styles, below are some of the articles and books that you will undoubtedly find helpful. – George Scott
Badaracco, J. L.& Ellsworth, R. R., (1989), Leadership and the Quest for Integrity, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Bass, B. M., (2007), From Transactional to Transformational Leadership: Learning to Share the Vision, In R. P. Vecchio, (Ed), Leadership: Understanding the Dynamics of Power and Influence in Organizations (ed. 2), (pp. 302-317), Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press
Collins, J., (2001), Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap...and others don’t, New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Dungy, T. (with Whitaker, N.) (2010), The Mentor Leader, Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Gonos, J. & Gallo, P., (2013), Model for Leadership Style Evaluation, Management, 18, 2 Greenleaf, R. K. (2007), The Servant as Leader, In R. P. Vecchio, (Ed), Leadership:
Understanding the Dynamics of Power and Influence in Organizations (ed. 2), (pp. 407-415), Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press
Khan, M. L., Langrove, N., Shah, F. A., & Javid, M. U., (2015) The Modes of Conflicts and Managerial Leadership Styles of Managers, Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2
Powell, C. L., with Persico, J. E., (1995), My American Journey, New York: Random House Sample, S. B., (2003), The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Uzonwanne, F., (2015), Leadership styles and decision-making models among corporate leaders in non-profit organizations in North America, Journal of Public Affairs, Volume 15, No. 3, pp. 287-299
Vecchio, R. P., (Ed), (2007), Leadership: Understanding the Dynamics of Power and InfluenceinOrganizations,(2Semd.a),llNBoutrseinDeasms Ae,ssInodciantiao:nUonfivMeriscihtyigoafnNotre1D1amePress