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Posted on February 7, 2008 by Daiv Russell | Posted under Leadership
Transactional Leadership - Are Your People Motivated?
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The transactional leader works through creating clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of their subordinates, and the rewards that they get for following orders. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well-understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place. The first stage of Transactional Leadership consists of the negotiation of a contract, thus the subordinate receives salary and other defined benefits, and the company (and by extension the new employee's manager) receives authority over the subordinate. Employees will be punished for their failure if things do not go correctly, just as they would be rewarded for their successes. When a job is given to an employee by the Transactional Leader, the employee is fully accountable for its completion. This accountability applies whether or not the employee has the means or ability to finish the project. The transactional leader usually leads with the philosophy that if things are going smoothly and working at acceptable levels of success, they don't need to be addressed. Performance that goes above and beyond the expected standard is of course commended, while poor behavior is given some type of punishment and/or corrective measure. There are several differences between Transformational and Transactional Leadership. Transformational leadership denotes positive change, and persuading others to participate in achieving this positive change. A good transformational leader will impart the same enthusiasm for achieving the team's goals that the leader himself has. A transactional leader, on the other hand, is concerned with a hierarchical approach -- one of stating what he expects from his subordinates and what they may expect from him. There is no sense of "team" and the subordinates may or may not become personally enthusiastic about completing the task. They may receive praise if the leader deems their work acceptable -- or they may be penalized for poor work. Many managers still hold the Transactional Leadership approach in high regard despite recent research which has highlighted some limitations. The fact that this approach skews towards Management rather than towards Leadership makes it far easier to implement for those light on talent, time, or training. The main limitation is the assumption of 'rational man', a person who is largely motivated by money and simple reward, and hence whose behavior is predictable. The underlying psychology is Behaviorism, including the Classical Conditioning of Pavlov and Skinner's Operant Conditioning. These theories are largely based on controlled laboratory experiments (often with animals) and ignore complex emotional factors and social values. Practically speaking, Behaviorism sounds quite reasonable to keep up methodologies involving transactions, which in turn is armored by the supply-and-demand situation of much employment, chained with the results of greater demands, as the theory of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs suggests. When the demand for a skill outruns the supply, transaction leadership becomes insufficient, making other such approaches highly recommended. About The Author: Daiv Russell is a marketing and management consultant with Envision Web Marketing. Read more Articles about Management, learn about Abraham Maslow. |
Tags: MASLOW'S NEEDS HIERARCHY, LEADERSHIP, MOTIVATION
