european journal of social sciences issn: 1450-2267 - EuroJournals

European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007)
Bass (1985) labeled the type of adaptive leadership described above transformational leadership. One
of the best styles of leadership is transformational leadership that can change and transform individuals
(Northouse, 1997). Transformational leadership occurs when one or more persons engage with others
in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality
(Burns, 1978). An important goal of a transformational leader is to develop followers beyond their
potential (Lee, 2005). Hence, transformational leaders try to develop and satisfy the higher-order needs
of followers to gain their followers’ commitment to the organization (Rowden, 2000).
The concept of transformational leadership has acquired wide popularity among leadership
researchers during the past decade (Lowe, Kroeck et al., 1996) because of its qualitatively different
approach to motivating followers as compared with other leadership styles (Howell & Avolio, 1993).
Bass and Avolio (1994) described transformational leadership as being composed of four unique but
interrelated behavioral components: inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, idealized
influence, and individualized consideration. Several empirical and theoretical studies have found that
leaders who display these four behaviors are able to realign their followers’ values and norms, promote
both personal and organizational changes, and help followers to exceed their initial performance
expectations (e.g., Jung & Avolio, 2000).
According to Bass (1985), charisma (idealized influence) is the most important component of
transformational leadership. Bass and Avolio (1994) noted that charismatic leaders were admired and
respected and they did the right things. Moreover, charismatic leaders instilled pride, promoted the
good of the group, built respect, and displayed a sense of power and confidence. They talked about
values and beliefs, specified the importance of having a sense of purpose, considered the moral and
ethical consequences of decisions and emphasized the sense of mission (Bass & Avolio, 1994). Also,
in description of charisma, Judge and Piccolo (2004) suggested that charisma can be defined based on
the amount of faith, respect, and inspiration that he instills in his followers.
Another component of transformational leadership is inspirational motivation. Such leaders
articulate, in an exciting manner, a vision of the future that the followers are excited to accept and
strive towards (Kikbride, 2006). In other words, these leaders use of metaphors, models, symbols,
stories, and pictures to communicate their vision and their message (Kelloway & Barling, 2000), can
inspire a shared vision (Bass & Avolio, 1994).
Third component of transformational leadership is intellectual stimulation. Bass and Avolio
(1994) stated that these leaders stimulate followers' efforts to be innovative by questioning
assumptions, reframing problems, and approaching old situations in new ways. Also, Leithwood
(1994) stated that transformational leaders try to challenge followers to reconsider and rethink about
their work and encourage new practices. This intellectual stimulation is the act of encouraging new
ways of thinking, reasoning before acting, and enabling subordinates to analyze problems from many
different viewpoints (Schepers and Wetzels, 2005). Hence, such leaders stimulate followers to search
new ideas as well as to direct the school. Also, they remove penalties for mistakes as a part of efforts
toward school improvement and strengthen the school climate by establishing high expectations for
both staff and students (Leithwood, 1994). In this way, such leaders prompt subordinates to be
creative, think critically and independently and find novel ways of solving problems while seeking a
wide range of opinions before deciding upon solutions (Pounder, 2003). Thus, intellectual stimulation
has been viewed as a vehicle for developing subordinates’ confidence to tackle problems (Bass, 1985).
Another factor of transformational leadership that is measured by the Multifactor Leadership
Questionnaire is individualized consideration. It is considered as a first step of transformational
leadership style. Schepers and Wetzels (2005) pointed out that such leaders delegate responsibilities to
their subordinates and stimulate people, create learning leadership styles experiences, and pay attention
to the personal needs of their followers. Hence, they coach and mentor, provide continuous feedback
and links organizational members’ needs to the organization’s mission (Pounder, 2003). Therefore,
transformational leaders are not born but transformational leadership can be taught (Bass & Avolio,
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