Transformational Leadership Style

Transformational leaders work with subordinates to identify needed change, create and share an inspiring vision, and bring about change together with committed members of a group. Transformational leadership serves to enhance the motivation, morale, and job performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include connecting the follower’s sense of identity and self to a project and to the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers in order to inspire them and to raise their interest in the project; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work; and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, allowing the leader to align followers with tasks that promote their professional growth. Transformational leaders are often idealized and viewed as moral exemplars for their contributions to a team, an organization, or a community.

Transactional Leadership Style

Transactional leadership, also known as managerial leadership, focuses on supervision, organization, and performance. Transactional leaders pay attention to their followers’ work in order to find fault or deviation and gain their compliance through a system of rewards and punishments. There are two factors that form the basis for this reward/punishment system: contingent reward, and management by exception. Contingent reward provides rewards (material or psychological) for effort and recognizes good performance. Management by exception allows the leader to maintain the status quo; the leader intervenes when subordinates do not meet acceptable performance levels and initiates corrective action to improve performance.

Narcissistic Leadership Style

The narcissistic style, sometimes also called the charismatic style, depends largely on the personality of the leader. Narcissistic leaders are visionary and charismatic, with a keen ability to attract and inspire followers. Anthropologist and psychoanalyst Michael Maccoby observes that “productive narcissists are not only risk takers willing to get the job done but also charmers who can convert the masses.”^[2] Although narcissistic leaders can be transformational leaders, they can also be toxic to an organization. Narcissists tend to listen only to information and advice that supports their view, regardless of the reality. Their sense of supreme self-worth, combined with a continual need for affirmation, eliminates independent thought and creates a culture of yes people. Organizations led by narcissists are typically characterized by fierce internal competition and changing alliances. This culture can be energizing, or, if everyone and everything is perceived as a threat, destructive.