Executive Summary
This paper analyses adaptive, transformational and transactional leadership theories. Adaptive leaders employ various techniques to control, shape, or direct their followers’ behaviour in various ways. In turn, transformational leaders attempt to change the nature of their followers’ behaviour by inspiring them through certain ideologies or behaviour patterns or by influencing them personally—significant transactional concerns on the exchange between leaders and followers. Adaptive Leaders use routines and rituals to maintain uniformity, communication, and interpersonal skills within the organization. My experience learning about adaptive and transformational leadership and how I designed an assignment to compare the two approaches. This paper is beneficial as it provides insight into the different levels of leadership. This means that not all leaders are created equal, so there must be a list of leader behaviours for adaptive and transformational leaders. This paper also discusses how one may effectively apply these two types of leadership in various situations.
Introduction
Leadership is a crucial aspect of any organization, and different approaches have been developed to guide leaders in motivating, inspiring and transforming their followers. Three leadership theories that have recently gained significant attention are adaptive, transformational, and transactional leadership. Adaptive leadership focuses on how leaders encourage people to adapt to change and address organizational challenges (Santra & Alat, 2022). On the other hand, transformational leadership is a process of change and transformation. Transactional leadership, on the other hand, describes the exchange that occurs between leaders and followers. This essay analyzes these three leadership approaches by examining the four factors that make up transformational leadership, discussing the possibility of leaders being both transformational and transactional, applying adaptive leadership to an adaptive challenge, and reflecting on the value of adaptive and transformational leadership in my leadership practice.
Transformation leadership
Transformational leadership includes four factors: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. Idealized influence refers to leaders being role models for their followers, and followers emulate them. As a transformational leader, I can use this factor by setting high standards of behaviour and being an excellent role model for my followers (Bak et al., 2022). For instance, if I am a manager in a company that values integrity and ethical behaviour, I can lead by example by adhering to these values and principles. Inspirational motivation refers to leaders inspiring followers to achieve their goals and aspirations. As a transformational leader, I can use this factor by creating a compelling vision that resonates with my followers and motivates them to work towards achieving it. For instance, if I lead a team tasked with developing a new product, I can inspire my team members by showing how the product will change people’s lives and its potential impact on society.
Intellectual stimulation refers to leaders encouraging their followers to think critically and creatively. As a transformational leader, I can use this factor by creating an environment that encourages my followers to question the status quo and think outside the box (Thuan, 2020). For instance, if I lead a team developing a new marketing strategy, I can encourage my team members to explore unconventional ideas that challenge the industry’s norms and conventions. Individual consideration refers to leaders paying attention to each follower’s unique needs and tailoring their leadership approach to suit them. As a transformational leader, I can use this factor by taking the time to understand my followers’ strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations and provide them with the necessary support and guidance (Bak et al., 2022). For instance, if I have a team member who struggles with public speaking, I can offer to provide them with public speaking training or pair them up with a more experienced team member to mentor them.
Why do you agree or disagree that influential leaders can be transformational and transactional?
Influential leaders can be transformational and transactional because both approaches have strengths and weaknesses, and effective leadership requires a combination of both. Transactional leadership is helpful in situations where the goals are clear and the tasks are routine, such as in manufacturing or retail environments. On the other hand, transformational leadership is helpful in situations with a need for change and innovation, such as in research and development or marketing. For instance, the transformational leader can use their visionary and inspirational qualities to motivate and inspire their followers to work towards a common goal. In contrast, transactional leader can use their organizational and managerial skills to ensure that the tasks are completed efficiently and effectively.
Adaptive Challenge
An adaptive challenge I faced was leading a team during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Adaptive Leadership Model, I approached the challenge by identifying the challenge’s technical and adaptive aspects. The technical aspects involved ensuring the team had the necessary resources and technology to work remotely. In contrast, the adaptive aspects involved addressing the team’s emotional and psychological needs during the pandemic (Santra & Alat, 2022). To address the adaptive aspects, I employed several leadership behaviours from the Adaptive Leadership Model, such as building trust with my team members, promoting collaborative leadership, and acknowledging their strengths.
In the face of this pandemic, my team was required to focus on fluid dynamics and aerodynamics simulations because this technology is crucial for research in aviation standards. At first, my team could fulfill our task by using an existing workstation and a relatively secure internet connection. However, after we received word that 19 confirmed cases of H1N1 had been reported in our province, we were told that a new system had been installed at our computer lab. This meant we would have to perform a complex simulation over an untested network connection (Dunn, 2020). As this was the first time we had to work remotely during a pandemic, my team and I did not know what to expect. We were particularly concerned about the reliability of our internet connection and the possibility of our data being hacked. We also wondered what working remotely would be like. Can we collaborate effectively? Would we feel isolated from each other? Whose responsibility would it be to monitor the team’s well-being? These were questions that my team and I asked ourselves prior to beginning our work remotely.
In addition, I employed several leadership behaviours from the Adaptive Leadership Model to deal with these adaptive challenges. The first leadership behaviour I employed was building trust with my team members by assuring them that their safety was my highest priority and that we would address their concerns and problems as soon as possible. I did this by communicating my understanding of their fears, guiding them through each step, and being available when needed. I also used collaborative leadership by encouraging team members to work together and share ideas while working remotely. Furthermore, I used a wide range of Leader Performance Strategies that allowed me to monitor the performance of each member to ensure that they were well supported during the pandemic. For instance, I used the presence of a leadership coach to encourage my team members to ask questions and the leadership development program to provide them with knowledge and tools. This approach helped us to be proactive so that we could identify problems before they arose.
Finally, I acknowledged my team’s strengths using the Leader Performance Strategies that allowed me to highlight each member’s strengths to increase their performance during crises. For instance, I used the celebration of a successful strategy to recognize the achievements of each member through small gifts. This strategy also helped me build trust with each member because I recognized their contributions during a stressful situation.
Reflect on the value of Adaptive and Transformational Leadership to your leadership practice identifying three or more critical insights gained.
Both adaptive and transformational leadership are essential to my leadership practice because each approach has its strengths and weaknesses, and having a combination of both allows me to manage my team. For instance, I can use the transformational leader behaviours from the Adaptive Leadership Model to motivate and inspire my team during times of change or high stress, while I can use the adaptive leader behaviours from the same model to address their emotional needs during those times (Bak et al., 2022). In summary, both approaches are essential for effective leadership because they complement each other.
I found that both adaptive and transformational leadership have their advantages. Adaptive leadership is helpful when we need these skills to succeed in addressing unexpected challenges with limited resources. On the other hand, transformational leadership is precious in times of change when we need to inspire our followers to be innovative and motivated about their tasks. Each of these approaches has a distinct advantage depending on the situation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I have better understood the various levels of adaptive and transformational leadership and how the two approaches complement one another. I now know that to be an effective leader, and I must learn to apply the adaptive approach when unexpected challenges arise while using the transformational approach during change. In order to do this, I will continue to reflect on the lessons learned from this exercise and learn more about both approaches. Reflection is crucial to improve my leadership skills in both contexts. Moreover, alongside the leadership skills I have gained from this course, I have also developed a deeper understanding of the nature of leadership. This understanding has helped me define various leader behaviours to ensure that I apply them best. I also learned that what makes a particular leader a good leader is not their particular approach but rather their ability to adapt and transform their leadership style according to their situation. For instance, we can become ready for whatever challenges by applying adaptive leadership behaviours in times of crisis and transforming these tactics into transformational ones during times of change.
References
Bak, H., Jin, M. H., & McDonald III, B. D. (2022). Unpacking the transformational leadership-innovative work behaviour relationship: The mediating role of psychological capital. Public performance & Management Review, 45(1), 80-105.
Dunn, R. (2020). Adaptive leadership: Leading through complexity. International studies in educational administration, 48(1), 31–38.
Santra, S., & Alat, P. (2022). Adaptive leadership of doctors during COVID-19. Leadership in Health Services, 35(2), 246-266.
Thuan, L. C. (2020). Motivating follower creativity by offering intellectual stimulation. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 28(4), 817–829.
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