Transformational corporate leaders are born not made Essay

Transformational corporate leaders are born not made - Essay Example or is of the view that transactional leadership is the most common form of leadership where the focus is on the exchange that occurs between leader and his sub-ordinates. Politicians who promise â€Å"more development,† managers that reward their employees with â€Å"promotions† and classroom teachers, which grade students on their completed work, engage in transactional leadership. According to the definition of transactional leadership, â€Å"it refers to the leaders who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements† (Robbins, pp. 44-51, 2001). However, â€Å"transformational leader are those who inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests and who are capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on their followers† (Robbins, pp. 25-31, 2001). As the definition implies, transformational leaders have a boarder vision and go one-step further than transactional leaders. These people actually make an effort to engage and develop and connection with their sub-ordinates or followers and then work towards increasing their motivation levels and making them realize their full potential. More importantly, during this process not only the leader transforms his followers but also finds a transformation in him as well. Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most cited examples of tr ansformational leadership. He influenced the Hindus of the South Asia, raised their hopes and demands, made them felt their needs and rights and during this process he ultimately found himself transforming from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to â€Å"Mahatma Gandhi† (Tichy & Devanna, pp. 85-97, 1990). Other examples include A. G. Lafley of Procter & Gamble, Andrea Jung at Avon, Jim McNerney of Boeing and Orin Smith at Starbucks, Steve Jobs founder of Apple Computer, Mary Kay Ash from Mary Kay Ash cosmetics and others (Daft, pp. 41-49, 2007). A study conducted with five corporate leaders, which have performed like transformational