Leadership, Life Experience, and Transformational Style

Introduction

In E. Grady Bogue's book The Leadership Choice: Designing Climates of Blame or Responsibility, the author addresses the impact that self-knowledge can have on a person's life and career. The way a person acts in his or her personal life is often directly related to the way he or she acts professionally. The morals, opinions, and beliefs held by a person are not generally confined to one area of life; they spread across all areas and inform how that person engages with the world. When a leader holds particular opinions and beliefs, those tend to appear in both personal and professional contexts, and it can be very difficult to keep them separate. Some beliefs, however, are private in nature and may not align well with what is expected in a professional setting.

Everyone must make choices in life, from simple everyday decisions all the way up to major, unanticipated crossroads. When people make choices that affect only themselves, there is little concern. Most choices, however, affect at least one or two other people — parents, siblings, children, a spouse. People who are leaders must also make choices, but the scope of their influence is far greater. A leader of a large company or corporation may affect dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people with a single decision. Moreover, the choices that leaders make reflect their values and signal the degree of responsibility they are willing to take for their actions.

Overview of Bogue's Argument

Bogue (2010) addresses all of this directly. Many other works also discuss the nature and style of leadership in an effort to make it better understood. The key point in much of this literature concerns the relationship between leadership style and the personal life and beliefs of the leader. Each and every leader is a human being first, possessing beliefs and opinions that may be similar to or different from those around them (Antonakis, Cianciolo, & Sternberg, 2004). Beliefs are a significant part of who a person is, and some of them arise through means that were unexpected or difficult to control. For example, some people hold beliefs passed down from their parents without having carefully examined why they hold those beliefs or whether those beliefs truly fit who they are.

When only one person is involved, this is not a serious issue. When many people are involved — followers, employees, an entire organization — the way a leader was raised and how he or she manages life outside the office can become consequential. Leaders tend to be leaders by nature, possessing a natural ability and desire to guide others (Antonakis, Cianciolo, & Sternberg, 2004). This is not always the case; some people are thrust into leadership by circumstance rather than by choice. Because of this, and because of the complexity of human nature, no two leaders are identical even if they share similar backgrounds. Followers must remember that leaders are not interchangeable — they have different goals, values, and beliefs, and they respond differently to challenges. Each leader must therefore find his or her own way and develop an individual style.

Transactional vs. Transformational Leadership

One of the most significant distinctions in leadership studies is whether a person is a transformational or transactional leader (Frey, Kern, Snow, & Curlette, 2009). This distinction is central to Bogue's (2010) argument. Transactional leaders focus on the "transaction" itself — they issue directives, expect compliance, and are not primarily concerned with the feelings or morale of their employees. Their goal is operational efficiency: get people to do what they are told so the organization continues to run. While transactional leaders may accomplish tasks, they can simultaneously lower employee morale (Bogue, 2010). People need to feel appreciated, and that need goes unmet under purely transactional management.

Transformational leaders, by contrast, are interested in ensuring that employees feel heard and validated, which sustains high morale (Bogue, 2010). When transformational leaders support others, they do so because they recognize the genuine value each person brings to the organization (Frey, Kern, Snow, & Curlette, 2009). The goal of transformational leadership is to elevate both the company and the individuals within it, helping everyone become the best they can be at their work (Bogue, 2010). Improved morale benefits the entire organization, including the leader, who gains willing and engaged followers rather than people who comply only out of necessity. A transformational leader works to make the company a cohesive unit, and it is that cohesiveness that propels the organization forward, differentiates it from competitors, and retains talented employees who might otherwise seek opportunities elsewhere.

Conclusion

People who aspire to leadership are generally inclined to help others, and because they focus on what they can offer, they benefit themselves in the process. Not all leaders are alike, of course, but that is the central insight of Bogue's (2010) book. It is essential that leaders recognize how they differ from one another and from their followers, and that they reflect on what makes them unique. That uniqueness is precisely what they can draw on to teach life lessons to others and to pursue their own personal growth. Leaders who are genuinely committed to helping others have a great deal to offer; they should not retreat from their experiences but should engage with them thoughtfully and use them to their advantage.

No matter what a person has encountered in life — good or bad — that person is capable of using those experiences for growth. The same applies to using them in service of followers. Leaders can become mentors and trusted figures whose influence extends far beyond day-to-day management. They may not fully appreciate the strength of the impact they can have, but they possess the ability to change lives for the better — beginning with their own and extending through the people they lead. Leaders who fail to draw on their life experiences and authentic selves forfeit valuable insight they could use to improve themselves, their employees, and their organizations. Bogue (2010) makes clear that this kind of self-aware, experience-informed leader is precisely what is needed today, and that following such a leader can deliver far more than mere job satisfaction.