Abstract
This study examined the impacts of transformational leadership behavior on organizational change by exploring how personality traits, particularly idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, and trustworthiness, reinforce organizational change capability. This research was a qualitative study as its findings relied on reviewing the literature of past scholarly articles on the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational change. The study found that transformative leaders’ motivation, intellectual stimulation, and trustworthiness attributes are important in improving organizational capability for change since the key changes considerably rely on employees’ competencies, trust, and skills acquired to align with the demands of reforms and innovation. Nevertheless, the study found that, in the context of change initiatives, employee trust in transformational leadership assumes a pivotal role due to the inherent uncertainties and vulnerabilities associated with the implementation of novel concepts and change methodologies. Future research on the spill-over impacts of employee trust on broader organizational outcomes beyond change plans was recommended.
Introduction
For many organizations, organizational change has become the rule rather than the exception. At various organizational levels, change has been associated with the urge to resign, decreased productivity, absenteeism, and increased healthcare expenditures. At the personal level, change has been found to impact time pressure, job satisfaction, psychological well-being, and stress(Grønstad et al.,2019). Hence, organizational change is correlated with potentially adverse outcomes if not well executed by transformative or charismatic leaders at both organizational and individual levels. In this context, the transformational leadership style emerged as a significant factor in driving successful organizational change. According to Pawar(2016,p.17), Transformational leaders, with their visionary outlook, focus on individual growth, and inspirational communication, can profoundly impact the whole organization’s change process. As a result, when executing change initiatives, the more managers are transformative and visionary role models, the more employees appraise the change positively during the final phases of change. Therefore, through a review of the literature, this study found that transformational leadership style positively impacts employees’ long-run appraisal to change.
Literature Review
The transformational leadership theory is a popular leadership approach that focuses on the leader’s ability to inspire and transform their adherents or subjects. Rooted strongly in the scholarly work of James MacGregor Burns, the theory opines that transformational leaders elevate their adherent’s motivation and performance by appealing to higher ethics, ideals, values, and intrinsic motivations(Van Wart,2014). Transformational leaders depict four key elements: idealized influence, where they serve as role models; inspirational motivation, through articulating a compelling vision; intellectual stimulation, by encouraging creative and critical thinking; and individualized consideration, attending to individual needs and growth. In layman’s language, the theory demonstrates that transformational leaders profoundly impact organizational culture and performance, enabling innovation, collaboration, and a sense of purpose among employees.
Research conducted by Bradley (2020) explored the correlation between transformational leadership and the management of change. This study depicted transformational leadership as a leadership approach in which leaders stimulate, bolster, and drive employees to introduce innovations and instigate changes that contribute to the progressive evolution of an organization’s future. Utilizing the power of their vision and their compelling persona, transformational leaders motivate followers to alter expectations, perspectives, and motivations, all directed towards collaborating on shared goals and aims.Bradley(2020) further states that organizational change is a demand of the day and the future, as the organization needs it to survive in dynamic and competitive world markets. Transformational leaders have the wherewithal and ability to lead change in the organization’s vision, strategy& culture, plus promote innovation in technologies and products.
Nevertheless, Transformational Leadership (TL) has risen as a viable and efficient leadership method, yielding favorable results for the majority of organizations within the swiftly evolving business environment. Transformational leaders encourage their workforce to embrace change strategies and motivate them to exceed expected change objectives. This is achieved through the constructive impact these leaders have on fostering employee trust in them. Pawar(2016) states that transformative leaders’ motivation and inspiration attributes are important in improving organizational capability for change since the key changes considerably rely on employees’ competencies, trust, and skills acquired to align with the demands of reforms and innovation. The proposition is supported by the Cao and Le (2022) research that investigated the impacts of transformational leadership(TL) on Organizational Change Capability(OCC) via arbitrating roles of two specific elements of trust in leadership, specifically disclosure-based trust and reliance-based trust. Disclosure-based trust pertains to the openness and transparency depicted by transformational leaders as they are candid in sharing information, intentions, decisions, and implications of organizational change initiatives with their employees. For the reliance-based trust, it appertains when leaders fulfill their promises, meet commitments, and depict competence, thus establishing reliability and dependability.
The study by Cao and Le(2022) opines that reliance-based trust refers to how transformational leaders’ consistent attributes in executing change initiatives positively impact employees’ trust in the leadership’s capacity to maneuver change effectively. Using empirical data obtained from 376 interviewees in 115 Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises(SMEs) in China, Cao and Le(2022) found positive and enormous impacts of transformative leadership(TL) and elements of employee trust in leadership on Organization Change Capability(OCC). The study demonstrated that disclosure-based trust in transformational leadership has a significant impact on changeability compared to the impacts of reliance-based trust in transformational leadership.
Additionally, in the context of change initiatives, employee confidence in transformational leadership assumes a pivotal role due to the inherent uncertainties and vulnerabilities associated with the implementation of novel concepts and change methodologies. Trust signifies the extent of faith an individual places in another’s abilities, expertise, and dedication to adhere to ethical, consistent, and impartial actions. As Van Wart (2014) noted, organizational leaders’ trust reflects an employee’s readiness to acknowledge and embrace vulnerability, driven by positive anticipations regarding the leader’s intentions. As a result, employee-leadership trust occupies the central role of promoting the processing of sharing information, new ideas, and the relationship between leaders and employees for pursuing change initiatives and innovation. A study by Harms and Crede(2010) indicated a positive correlation between TL and trust in leadership since transformative leaders are good role models and mentors who enable emotions and a culture of trustworthiness.
Nevertheless, Harms and Crede (2010) study depicted that when employees possess an awareness of the traits associated with transformational leadership in their leaders, their level of trust in these leaders increases. This enhanced trust among employees, in turn, contributes positively to the process of organizational change(Zainab, Akbar, Siddiqui,2022). This is because the efficacy of Organizational Change Capability (OCC) is directly linked to the levels of trust employees have in both their leaders and colleagues within the organizational context. Correspondingly, if employees maintain high levels of trust in both transformative leadership and the organization itself, their motivation and dedication to effectively embracing and executing changes for the betterment of the organization are notably heightened.
Findings
A literature review of past scholarly articles was the main methodology applied in determining the effects of transformational leadership on organizational change plans. The review indicated that transformational leadership is a dynamic leadership approach characterized by leaders who empower and motivate their employees to achieve excellent outcomes by appealing to their ideals, ethics, and intrinsic motivations. Transformational leadership is based on moral ethics and defined by its four main elements, referred to as the 4I’s of Transformational leadership, that is idealized Influence, inspirational Motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration, which play a crucial role in fostering organizational change(Pawar,2016). Through idealized influence, the leaders serve as ethical role models, guiding employees with integrity and enabling alignment with organizational change goals. Inspirational motivation characterizes enthusiasm and commitment by openly communicating a compelling vision of radication change and innovation. Cao and Le(2021) state that the element of intellectual stimulation is crucial as it encourages creative problem-solving and innovative thinking, which are important for navigating the problems of change. Lastly, individual consideration in transformative leadership fosters leader-employee trust and growth, enabling leaders to address employees’ unique needs and concerns during change, consequently developing an environment where transformation is accepted and pursued with unity and confidence.
Also, the review of the literature found that TL positively affects employee engagement during firms’ change through the mediating responsibilities of valence and trust in leadership, thus enabling organizations to initiate and implement change plans. Transformative leaders openly communicate their vision for the future and depict charismatic attributes that align with employees’ expectations(Zainab, Akbar, Siddiqui,2022). Through open communication, consistent behavior, and cations and transparency, transformational leaders create an environment of disclosure-based trust where employees feel knowledgeable and valued. This development of trust encourages employees to accept change as they believe in the transparency and sincerity of leadership intentions, thus contributing to organizational transformations with absolute commitment and confidence. This finding aligns with Lei et al.(2019), that rationalized that using the TL style aids managers in creating a collaborative environment that is beneficial for promoting the employee’s trust in leadership, therefore making it effective for organizations to successfully implement changes. Still, the finding is in tandem with Islam et al.(2021) study that “inference that TL, directly and indirectly, impacts workr engagement during firms’ change through the mediating responsibilities of valence and trust in leadership”. Therefore, the findings of this study that TL positively impacts employee trust in leadership, consequently enabling the change capability of organizations, are justified as depicted in the conceptual framework below.
The conceptual framework indicates how transformational leadership facilitates trust in an organization’s leaders, thus creating work engagement and innovative actions and behavior(Li et al.,2019). Work engagement is based on trust, enabling workers to commit to the organization in a tenacious condition. The findings of this research depict that trust holds an important predictive value for a range of organizational changes and behaviors, including aspects such as creativity, innovation, commitment to change, and loyalty. The fundamental reason behind this phenomenon lies in the prevalent trust within transformational leadership, enabling employees to concentrate on their present responsibilities. Instead of diverting their efforts toward self-preservation strategies like lobbying and ingratiating, commonly observed in transactional leadership, employees under transformational leaders can direct their energy, time, and dedication toward performing their tasks efficiently(Steinmann, Klug &Maier,2018). Consequently, this study proves that a higher level of trust in transformational leaders affords employees more resources, both in terms of time and focus, enabling them to readily accept and seamlessly integrate organizational changes into their everyday roles.
Still, this study found that TL serves as s catalyst in enabling organizational change by instigating a paradigm shift in the norms and values of employees. As in, transformative leadership arouses the intellectual thinking that motivates employees to explore unconventional solutions and align their commitments with the organizational change visions. The finding is supported by the Holten & Brenner(2015) study, which concluded that transformational leaders facilitate the development of employees’ problem-solving abilities, nurturing independent decision-making, and improving intellectual prowess through modeling expected behaviors. Additionally, the transformational leadership style involves essential components such as motivation, problem-solving, and performance assessment, all of which are important in developing and exposing employees to innovative behaviors that foster organizational change.
Conclusion and Future Research
Conclusively, this research on the impacts of transformational leadership style on organizational change plans underscores the critical role that this leadership approach cultivates in a conducive environment for organizational changes in dynamic and competitive world markets. The four elements of transformational leadership, that is, – Idealized Influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation, and Individual Consideration – contribute to fostering higher trust levels among employees. Inspirational motivation strengthens trust by communicating a persuasive vision that aligns with employees’ aspirations and values, stimulating a shared sense of purpose. Intellectual stimulation enables employees to think creatively, instilling trust in their competencies and promoting a collaborative environment where innovative solutions are embraced. Therefore, This bedrock of trust leads to increased employee acceptance and execution of organizational changes, as they believe in leadership intentions and view change initiatives as credible and beneficial discourses. This study recommends future research on the spill-over impacts of employee trust on broader organizational outcomes beyond change plans, as it could uncover the complex implications of cultivating trust through transformational leadership.
References
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