Synthesis Essay about Similarities

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Introduction

The similarities between these two leaders are reviewed and acknowledged in this paper. Authentic and Transformational Leadership are examined and their followers’ outcomes. The purpose of this literature review was to establish the theoretical similarities between two types of leadership. The first question in the research is through observing the follower’s outcomes do these two types of leadership serve similar styles? The second question asks, what are the similarities of these leadership styles and why are they alike?

The study first presents an overview of the two styles of leadership. Within this section is a discussion of transformational leadership, including definitions, an outline of the basic tenets, why transformational leadership is important, mediators and moderators of transformational leadership relationships, and how it relates to follower outcomes. This overview proceeds with a discussion of authentic leadership, including definitions, the main components of authentic leadership, what is gained by studying authentic leadership, and how it relates to follower outcomes. Next, a discussion of the similarities and differences between transformational leadership and authentic leadership is presented, followed by the development of my position that these constructs are theoretically different even though there is overlap. In theory, each leadership theory adds to our understanding of leadership research.

Abstract

Analyzing the similarities and differences between transformational and authentic leadership will help us outline how we can become better leaders.

To begin with, transformational leadership as defined by James McGregor Burns, transformational leadership is a process where “leaders and their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation.” (Burns, Leadership, 1978)

A transformational leader is conscious of the future and the dynamics of the environment. This type of leader will focus on engaging and enthusing the employees. It is important to transformational leaders that all employees along with being engaged will make sure they understand how the viewed vision will work within the company and the values of the organization. This leader will lead by example and inspire the team to drive change to achieve a common goal. As a transformational leader, he/she will motivate their staff in order to get the best result out of them without having to constantly reward them.

Transformational leadership is a type of leadership approach where the leader motivates and stirs up employees to be innovative and implement change that will enable the organization to succeed in the future (Nguyen et al.,2017).

One of the favorite attributes is to be hands-on and using this method will create high expectations in their workers. It will inspire the employees and will motivate them. Transformational leaders have excellent management skills and qualities and form a bond with their employees that will build strong relationships. A great leader as this is easy to identify. His/her team is highly motivated, and loyal, and will be prepared to work hard in order for the set goals to be met. The leader supports his or her team by involving them in the decision-making process as well as stirring up their efforts to be innovative in identifying solutions to problems (Aga et al., 2016). A successful transformational leader will be able to take the team to the next level by using simple methods. One known method is to be able to motivate people to reach their goals. They will push employees beyond their goals by and usual limits and give them a great sense of accomplishment. By creating a vision that inspires the team, the team will then want to follow and be a part of greatness. They will see what the future can offer them by being a part of the team. Having both, a mission statement and a vision statement is a part of a transformational leadership method. It will help ensure the team knows what exactly is expected of them. They will be able to understand how their contribution will make a difference when setting out the goals. Their contribution will be meaningful and compelling to them. Being a top leader at an organization, this type of leader will feel it’s imperative to do strategy work to develop and inspire a worthwhile plan for the entire organization.

A transitional leader will mirror the vision and will help the rest of the team visualize the future of the organization. They will talk about their vision often and link it to the employee daily goals and tasks. This is a part of how they model for the team, by showing the team that they’re united in something bigger and they can own the vision too. This is a part of their motivational methods as well.

The transitional leader involves learning and instilling the vision on a day-to-day basis.

They will also be sensitive to change and will introduce new concepts to the team with measures. Setting a good example for the team and modeling what is expected from others will be expressed through their own actions. By being hard-working and resilient, transformational leaders will demonstrate what they would like to see in others with hopes of building a stronger team, based on trust.

Meeting regularly with each member of the team to understand the needs that arise and to help them meet their individual goals is a transformational leader’s way of supporting his/her staff. They also set aside time to coach and mentor those who need mentorship. This is a part of their model of integrity and ways of fairness. Enabling employees to find solutions on their own with concerning problems that come up. This also gives their employees confidence and gains their trust in their leader. A strategy that will further entrust building an honest and safe environment.

Transformational leadership will likely see increased efficiency and bring innovative ideas, along with personal growth to an organization and follow the enthusiasm and loyalty of this type of leadership. “Transformational leadership as both macro 1 level influence process between individuals as the macro-level process of mobilizing power to change social systems and reform institutions”. (Yuki G, 2017).

Moving forward, to begin a comparison of transformational leadership to an authentic type of leadership. An authentic leader is the newest theory in leadership and is said to make the most sense on a practical level. Being an authentic leader is one who rises to the top and maintains their leadership position. The word authentic is another word for being genuine. The ones that get followers to follow and stick with them are the ones that recognize their goals and support their leader.

Authentic leadership consists of the following dimensions. The leader is aware of his strengths and weaknesses; followed by balanced processing which means accepting positive and negative traits. Authentic behavior pertains to leaders acting according to their true values. Authentic relational orientation includes leaders being open and honest (Yagil et al., 2014, p.60). The article also lays emphasis on the relationship between leaders and employees. It has been identified that the employee’s behavior is largely inauthentic as the employees find impressing their leaders more important. However, leaders can follow certain tactics to change the behavior of the employees. Two aspects of employee authenticity covered impression management and ingratiation.

Authenticity in terms of service to customers is difficult for the employees as they are expected to follow certain norms and ethics while serving the customers. If the leaders are authentic they will express themselves genuinely which leads to genuine expression of the employees as well. Also, such employees will behave positively with customers. Hence, it can be said that it is very important for the existence of authentic leadership as this leads to positive behavior of employees and results in good service to customers.

Authentic leaders identify strongly with their leadership role and act on the basis of their strong values and convictions (Cohen, 2014). As a result, they

lead in a manner that followers recognize as authentic. Authentic leaders are aware of how their actions will affect their followers and try to make decisions that are best for them. Leaders that are real authentic leaders are considered to be so by their followers, in which case is considered to be of the followers’ perception.

Both transitional and authentic leaders are similar in that they both feel they have a genuine authentic approach in their own personal ways what they’re doing and what he/she is trying to accomplish. They both had they sense of feeling that what they were doing was very important.

When examining both leadership styles, both the transformational leader and authentic leader are similar. They both share the rise of their employees and the moral component. They both increase the awareness of what is right when they help others in achieving goals. The only few differences that I found were that the transformational leader is more known to have less of the charismatic, spiritual traits, whereas the authentic leader does have more of the charismatic traits.

Therefore, authentic leadership is an extension of transformational leadership and shares similar components.

Purpose Statement

The purpose statement is now formulated based on the topic of two styles of leadership and their similarities. There needs to be a clear description of each leadership style and how the followers react to them. The purpose statement is used to summarize the specific topic and goal of the research. It should align with the problem statement. The purpose of this research is to identify methods that both leadership styles bring to employees. Using strong action words such as discover, develop, and understand will help the researcher state the theory of how the two styles are similar.

The similarities between transformational and authentic leadership theories are reviewed in this study. The purpose is to examine closely the styles of these leaders and determine how much in common they have and the characteristics they share theoretically. By the results of the followers’ outcomes, the study can prove if there is significance between them and narrow down the similarities.

Research Questions

What are the similarities between the Styles of Transformational Leaders and Authentic Leaders in Education?
What are the similarities of these leadership styles and why are they alike?
Why transformational and authentic leadership is important, mediators and moderators of both transformational and authentic leadership relationships, and how it relates to follower outcomes.

The following questions will help bring significant answers to the questions in the research:

What is transformational and authentic leadership?
What factors lead to each style of leadership?
Where do leadership methods begin and end?
When do followers attain leadership methods?
Which leadership method is more successful?
What are the positive and negative outcomes of each leadership style?
Strategies to prevail success in each leadership style?
Who is responsible for leadership outcomes?

Methodological Approach

The purpose of this paper is to examine where there are similarities between transformational and authentic leadership. If the are similarities, then the purpose is to identify where the similarities are and how both transformational and authentic leadership impact followers’ outcomes. Once a hypothesis is developed, it will also present the methodology used and the hypothesis will be tested. The methodology for the main research will possibly need changes after the analysis of the study is done and will have a variable added, but will continue with the method and procedure.

Conclusion

The topic, problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions all have to be in alignment in order for a research paper to flow and have continuity. This is especially important so that the research leads the reader to form the same conclusions as the writer in a logical manner without getting sidetracked.

References

Aga, D. A., Noorderhaven, N., & Vallejo, B. (2016). Transformational leadership and project success: The mediating role of team-building. International Journal of Project Management, 34(5), 806-817. Retrieved from doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.02.012
Bass, B. And Steidlmeier, P. (nd) Ethics, Character, and Authentic Transformational Leadership Behavior.
Burns, J.M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Free Press.
Choi, S. B., Kim, K., & Kang, S. W. (2017). Effects of transformational and shared leadership styles on employees’ perception of team effectiveness. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 45(3), 377-384. Retrieved from doi.org/10.2224/sbp.5805
Cohen, S. (2014). Transitioning new leaders: Seven steps for success. Management, 44(2), 9.
Nguyen, T. T., Mia, L., Winata, L., & Chong, V. K. (2017). Effect of transformational-leadership style and management control system on managerial performance. Journal of Business Research, 70,202-211. Retrieved from doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.08.018
Northouse, P. (2019).Leadership: Theory and practice (8th ed.). Los Angeles: CA: Sage Publications.
Yuki, G. (2017). Leadership in Organizations (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Teacher’s College, Columbia University (n.d.). Survey Wizard. Retrieved online: http://devtc3.tc.columbia.edu/surveys/nature/index.cfm
Aga, D. A., Noorderhaven, N., & Vallejo, B. (2016). Transformational leadership and project success: The mediating role of team-building. International Journal of Project Management,34(5),806-817.Retrievedfrom doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.02.012

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