1. Transformational and Transactional
Leadership
Leadership Approaches to Motivating
Followers
The PI Leadership Course

2. Transactional V Transformational
 Burns distinguished between
transactional and transforming leaders.
They are distinguished by how they
motivate followers
 Transactional approach is where
leaders motivate followers to achieve
goals by mutual exchange
 E.g. Business – bonuses to achieve
goals, politicians – votes for promises
 Transformational leaders - visionary
leaders seeking to appeal to their
followers better character
 Want to move them toward higher and
more universal needs and purposes to
achieve goals

3. Transformational Leadership
 Leadership that:
 Raises followers awareness of the significance of
team goals
 Brings change in followers from self interest to team
interest
 Brings transformation to their character
 It focuses on relationship between leaders and
followers and their:
 Values
 Ethics
 Goals
 Emotions
 Social style of leadership concerned with

4. Leaders and Followers
 The relationship between leaders and followers
may be:
 One to one
 Team or group
 Organisation
 Nation

5. James MacGregor Burns
 In description of transformational Leadership
Burns sought to link role of leaders and followers
 Described Leadership as process where leaders
and followers:
 Encourage each other to higher levels of motivation
 Motivate each other to higher levels of morality
(ethics)

6. B M Bass
 Bass developed Burn’s thoughts by saying
Transformational Leadership motivates followers
to more than expected by:
 Raising followers awareness of important goals and
vision
 Getting followers to transcend self for sake of the
team
 Getting followers to address higher level needs –
not just for security or significance, but also justice /
morality

7. The Transformation Leader
 Is attentive to needs of followers but stresses important
goals
 Encourages followers to fulfill potential and achieve goals
 Examples include – Ghandi:
 Raised hopes and demands of millions for independence of
India
 Process brought change in followers to use peaceful protests
to do this
 Process also changed himself
 Also Nelson Mandela:
 Committed to peaceful democracy in SA
 Even though imprisoned for 27 years, sought peaceful
reconciliation between whites and blacks
 Before independence many wanted to use violent means,
but he was committed to peaceful

8. Four factors that transform followers
 Charisma or idealized influence
 Leaders are strong role models
 Followers identify with leaders and want to be like
them
 Leaders have high / strong ethics
 Inspirational Motivation
 Leaders communicate high expectations to
followers
 Inspire / motivate them to greater commitment to
the vision
 Use symbols and emotional appeals to motivate
them

9. Four factors that transform followers
(Cont)
 Intellectual Stimulation
 Leaders challenges and stimulates followers to be
creative and innovative
 Motivates them to challenge own beliefs and values
as well as those of leaders and group
 Individualized Consideration
 Leader provides supporting atmosphere to listen
carefully to individual follower needs
 Leaders are like coaches to assist followers in their
needs and to improve
 Leaders delegate to help followers grow through
challeneg

10. Pseudotransformational Leader
 Leaders that are:
 Exploitive
 Self –consumed
 Power-orientated
 Low moral values
 Often pursuing self and negative goals (power
expansion)
 Transform followers in a negative way
 Motivate them towards negative goals
 Lead to lower levels of morality
 Personalized Leadership focused on leader’s
interests (opposite to Social Leadership concerned
with groups collective good)

11. Transactional Leadership
 Burns distinguished transformational from
transactional leadership
 Transactional leadership:
 Focuses on motivational exchanges that occur
between leaders and followers
 E.g politicians get votes by promising tax cuts
 Managers who offer promotions/bonuses/good evaluations
to those who do well/exceed targets
 Teachers who remind students good grades will be given to
those who work hard
 Transactional leadership is common at all levels in
organisations

12. Transactional Vs
Transformational
 Transactional Leadership in motivating followers is
very common
 Motivation to fulfill/exceed goals provided by
personal exchange e.g. money, promotion, gifts
 Transformational leadership- encourages motivation
simply for good of team/organisation and to fulfill
goals.
 Followers will not be rewarded – but are more
professional and team players
 In this way transformational raises morality and ethic
of people
 Many Charismatic leaders motivate followers using

13. Conclusion
 The way they motivate followers distinguishes
transactional and transformational leaders