I am a bookworm. I learn about the world by reading. In fact, I do not enjoy being told about something I wish to learn. I always like the idea of learning something by reading it from the source rather than have someone tell you about it. It takes half the fun away, don’t you think so?
Before taking this class, I experienced the pleasure of reading many non-fiction books written on the subject matter. In fact, I have some favourite authors on the subject as well, Sheryl Sandberg being one of them. Of course, Stephen Covey is right up on that list as well. At the time, the subject seemed so straightforward and quite frankly simpler to understand than tying your shoelaces. That’s why taking this class seemed like the best option as it was not only the perfect class for a person like me, but it seemed like it would somehow be fun! However, little did I know that everything I have learnt was only the tip of the iceberg.
After taking Dr Jamilah’s class, I have learned about the many theories that I did not know about in the past. It has made me realize that I have much to improve about myself and my attributes if I am looking to be a better leader in the future. For instance, when I had to complete the presentation on “Communication, Coaching and Conflict Skills”, I realized that I still have a long way to go with my skills. In addition, this class has also helped me realize that leadership skills does not always mean people need to be always led by direction. Sometimes, people are led by the influence you have on them by doing what you do best, and that is always leading by example. Another big takeaway is that I learned that tapping into emotional intelligence and empathizing with your followers is a crucial factor in leadership, which is almost always overlooked. Leaders who lead their team with emotional intelligence are deemed weak and have their leadership style undermined. When in actuality, leading with consideration while being goal-oriented will bring about empowerment and engagement.
So, if you ask me where I am now since the class is over? Hmm, my Wednesdays at 4pm are now no longer filled with a meaningful academic engagement on leadership topics. I miss this class and think you would too if you planned to take it in the future. For a heavy topic like leadership, Dr Jamilah made this class really enjoyable for me. Taking this class has widened my horizon about the dynamics of leadership (sorry for the cliche, but what is life without it).
Thank you for coming this far. I hope you had a good time reading my lengthy posts!
Topic 1 Introduction to Leadership and Course Outline
17th & 24th March 2021
I had my head in the clouds and enrolled in the wrong section of Dr Jamilah’s class. Therefore, I was not enrolled in the correct session until 31st March 2021. However, I watched the videos myself and tried my best to catch up with the materials presented during the week of my absence.
Like most classes, the beginning lectures explored the formal definition of a leader/leadership and the influence one yields on his followers. I learned that effective leadership is essential in crisis situations, maintaining organizational performance and employee job satisfaction, leading to a successful organization overall. A leader can effectively lead with an objective in mind and the potential to influence change within an organization for continual development.
Topic 2 Leadership Traits and Ethics
31st March 2021
This was my first class meeting the kind Dr Jamilah in-person (video I mean). Her classes are so interactive and inclusive. Students participate and give their opinion with regards to the subject discussed freely, and this is welcomed. It establishes conversation and encourages critical thinking about the topics discussed as well. I loved the environment more so than the videos supplementing our lessons. I also met my group members during this session. The presentations for assessment 1 began this week, which began with Leadership Traits and Ethics.
I learned something new today, which was Theory X, Theory Y and the Pygmalion Effect! Though I feel the theory is rather simplistic and primitive, I think it’s worth exploring. For instance, people can be led autocratically by a theory X leader or in a participative manner by a theory Y leader, which in turn produces different types of effects on their followers. The Pygmalion effect was something rather new and unheard of for me. It simply suggests that the level of a leader’s expectation of his followers will yield the resulting action. It’s somewhat philosophical, and I think it relates to what Dr Jamilah always says in class. “What you give is, what you get”. A leader who expects high performance from his followers will receive excellent results and vice versa.
Activity 1: “McGregor published Theory X and Theory Y over 30 years ago. Do we still have Theory X managers among us? Why do you think so?” Please share your thought.
While the findings may seem dated and most corporate practices should already be leaning towards a more positive management style, this is obviously not the case. Some of us are fortunate enough to have worked with bosses that inspire us and allow us to contribute productively at our pace in a nurturing workplace environment. However, some of us have certainly had to deal with a micromanaging boss at our workplace, possibly even causing us to lose our motivation to continue with said company. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and work from home policies came into play, many employees had to experience being monitored for levels of productivity. The lack of trust that an employee can produce similar results by working remotely is a key trait of the theory X management style. In order to punish employees who were slacking off, the “carrot and stick” approach is also used to ensure employees are fear-driven into being productive. It is safe to say that theory x managers are certainly not obsolete.
Nevertheless, I believe most workplaces in Malaysia practice neither Theory X nor Y management styles almost exclusively within their organizations. Larger firms that focus on a goal-oriented setting may practice and adopt a mixture of these managements’ styles. Even factories involving routine and task-oriented work, tend to adopt a more dynamic management style drawing from both theories where applicable. For instance, theory X is usually adopted when managing newly hired individuals, where more direction and micromanagement will be required until they are able to work independently with minimal supervision. I have personally experienced this type of management practice during my internship at a food manufacturing site. Even though the underlying assumptions of theory X are pessimistic, the management style is picked apart and applied where relevant and required. Theory Y, on the other hand, is more practised with a little restraint to ensure individuals who are less motivated do not fall through the cracks and take advantage of this relaxed method of management in the long run. Theory X managers, therefore, do exist but may not exclusively practice this style of management. Instead, a hybrid management practice of both theories is more likely to be adopted and widely implemented in most workplaces these days.
Topic 3 Leadership Behavior and Motivation
7th April 2021
Today, we learned about 3 different leadership models by the University of Iowa, University of Michigan, and Ohio State University respectively and how leaders demonstrate different types of traits and behaviours within the model. We also learned that anything that affects behaviour to produce the desired outcome can be seen as a source of motivation. The real takeaway from today’s class is to think about what level have we come to occupy within Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as future leaders ourselves. I have included a picture below for reference. Personally, I am in limbo between safety needs and love and belonging. I say this because, I have achieved parts of each level, but not in a manner that is considered wholesome for either. I still have to look forward to employment upon graduation and a sense of independence stemming from security and property. However, I will strive to someday be in the self-actualization stage.
Activity 2: Have you ever been demotivated before. Based on the video, why do you think the employees were demotivated?
I have certainly been demotivated at my workplace before this. They stemmed from external factors such as a micromanaging boss, lack of recourse for recurring poor performance, and even poor coworkers amongst many. I believe many of us go to work, not only for a paycheck but for a sense of fulfillment of our contribution to society. We do our best through our company to ensure we are being the best versions of ourselves and continuously improve our community with the little that we do within our workplace culture. However, when that carefully curated balance becomes perturbed due to these external factors that we are not in control of, it can lead to demotivation.
In the case of the employees at Despair. Inc,, they were demotivated due to an incompetent leader or boss. People offer their best when their environments nurture their capabilities and supplement their contribution. However, in this case, poor working conditions and workplace ethics from upper management was sufficient to bring the employee morale down and demotivate them. They were frustrated that those in charge to help them function optimally were not doing their job, but were instead employing a more job centred leadership style that neglected the employees’ working conditions. Instead of replacing the malfunctioning headphones as they should have, the employer/boss chose to deal with the situation by giving little consideration to the needs of the employees and instead used his power to threaten the position of the employees, denoting that their services were replaceable. This overall poor leadership style is the major cause of their demotivation. Even if their working conditions continued to stay poor, I believe if the employer genuinely worked on improving it and listening to his employees’ complaints and constructive feedback, they would have been less motivated. This was not the case, therefore they were demotivated.
Topic 4 Influencing: Power, Politics, Networking, and Negotiation
14th April 2021
We learned about the sources of power, 3 types of political behaviour, networking on the job, and the importance of negotiating. If I were to pick out the most prominent lesson this week, it would be that a leader appeals to his followers due to his/her own charisma and behaviour, and this is his personal sense of unyielding power. This will not be threatened unless the nature of the leader changes in the course of his leadership, which is less than likely. Of course, this notion is rather simplified and there are more ways in which a leader is able to wield power based on one’s own traits and characteristics. In addition, we learned that workplace politics are essential to maintain successful and working relationships that enhance productivity and progress within an organization.
7 Types of Power
Activity 3: There are seven types of power. What are they? Please find one example of video that reflect one of this types of power and share with us the link. Attached video is an example of video that I found that reflect one of the power (legitimate). Hope to see your video sharing!
The seven types of power are legitimate power, information power, expert power, reward power, coercive power, referent power, and charisma power. All bosses or managers would naturally be able to wield their legitimate power simply due to their status and hierarchy within the employment system. However, they may or may not use it to their advantage, as some leaders are experts at what they do and thus have access to a wealth of information, thus possessing expert and information power respectively. Bosses also have the power to reward or coerce employees into performing their very best simply through a reward and punishment system. When their employees meet their monthly or annual expectations and company goals, they can certainly expect some sort of reward for their invaluable contributions. Otherwise, they will be facing the coercive brunt and may have to work unpaid overtime hours to meet those expectations. Most leaders are usually well connected before they even reach upper management positions and thus have the power to refer employees to positions they may desire. This is simply due to the time investment they put into networking and expanding their contacts by establishing a rapport of their capabilities. Lastly, charisma comes into play. Being able to work under a leader who is charismatically powerful would truly be an honour as they are usually those we admire and respect within an organisation.
The video I have chosen to share discusses ways in which employees can be rewarded within the workplace. Nowadays, large organizations such as Walt Disney and Groupon already have employee reward programs in place to passively motivate and recognize their contributions.
This video will hopefully share insights into employee motivation, reward, retention and recognition.
Topic 5 Contingency Leadership Theories
21st April 2021
This week we learned about 4 types of contingency leadership theories that are based upon a leader’s behaviours and environment, which were the contingency leadership model, the path-goal leadership model, situational leadership model, and the normative decision model. Out of these four, I am perhaps most fond of the path-goal leadership model, which is comprehensive yet simple to implement successfully with great results in mind. How it will be implemented to 21st-century leaders has been covered in my video post under assignments! 😉
However, the most unique thing I learnt this week is the Least Preferred Coworker Scale (LPC). This came about when researchers attempted to quantify the parameters that make a great contingency leader within Fred Fiedler’s model. One would know their own weaknesses and strengths as a leader when they measure themselves against someone they work with poorly. This will enable them to refocus their energy on the component that requires compensation and work. One of the many examples of what your score tells you is shown below.
This week we were supposed to begin our Assessment 2, the Short Talk assignment on how 21st-century leaders can apply one of the four explored contingency leadership theories. I have posted my video submission separately under the Assignment category.
Topic 6 Communication, Coaching and Conflict Skills
28th April 2021
This week, Group 5 (my groups) presented this topic after Dr Jamilah delivered her lecture. Unlike other weeks, the topic covered this week was focused on skills that a leader should hone rather than a particular model or theory. These skills were communication, coaching and conflict management skills. I spoke about the message-receiving process under the communication spectrum and the importance of soliciting feedback and using it effectively. The gist of this week’s lecture is that leaders have to actively realize their communication tone and message delivering capacity to be an effective leader. Once they have mastered becoming an excellent communicator to produce desired outcomes, conflicts can be managed. Finally, when a leader takes the right tone, they can be a coach or mentor to other employees within an organization.
Activity 4: Please spend some time to read the article below. It is about Myanmar’s Rohingya conflict. Based on your life experience, how do you know when you are in a conflict? Share with us below.
Oftentimes, I find myself trying to rationalize my emotions by bottling them up and trying to resolve it within myself, at least if I can help it. However, when this is not possible, I know I am in a situation of conflict. Arguments and outward disagreements are other ways in which I find myself in a situation of conflict. When I do find myself in a state of conflict, I try to retract and hold back instead of saying or doing things that would otherwise damage the relationship or rapport I have built painstakingly. Whenever I experience conflict with my colleagues or peers, I first try to list out the why’s and how’s. It helps me list the issues that need immediate attention to the ones that seem less important in comparison. If it will affect our work together in any way, it will receive a higher priority than other issues.
In the article, there are clearly strongly different views from both side Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims. There are sentiments on each side that one should view before making a judgement. I believe taking a stand on this will not be an easy way to mediate the conflict or look at it from a neutral standpoint. Reducing the argument will not help both parties achieve mutual understanding. In these situations, I firmly believe in the negotiation conflict mediation technique. There isn’t a cut-and-dry solution that these ethnic groups can take. Instead, there should be negotiating for common ground instead of taking matters into their own hands and using violence to assert each other’s will upon one another.
Topic 7 Dyadic Relationship, Followership and Delegation
5th May 2021
This week we learned about the importance of leader-member relationships and the many dimensions it can take when viewed from different lenses/theories. The interesting aspect of this week’s lecture was that some followers tend to exhibit out-group behaviour while others behave with the in-group approach. However, a leader should be able to establish an effective dyadic relationship regardless of how withdrawn they seem from the organization. This is where team-building exercises would be useful and establishing meaning to the work turned in by your subordinates is vital. Once they can correlate their job with a meaningful experience, this out-group will be able to transform into an in-group that is more mentally present and involved with the organization.
This week’s activity involved interviewing my favourite leader. I interviewed someone I look up to, not just in terms of leadership skills but also as an individual; my father. Please hear more of what he has to say in the voice recording in my assignment tab. Till next week!
Topic 8 Team Leadership
19th May 2021
This week we explored the difference between groups and teams and their individual strengths and drawbacks. What I gathered is that an organization stands to gain more from forming a team of individuals rather than a group as they are more likely to exhibit a shared vision and drive that benefits the organization. After assembling a good team, an effective leader should maintain and harness the synergy produced towards task accomplishment. However, with the right leader, a group can be turned into a functional team by reassigning roles, instilling motivation and fostering good work relationships. When this idea is extended to a larger concept, efficient teams from one division can also cross-functionally cooperate to produce results within an organization. The reverse is also true; a self-managed team can accomplish the same by working on the cooperation within the team.
Activity 5: What is the advantages of team leadership?
A team led by a great leader becomes functional and successful for the betterment of the organization. However, team leadership is more beneficial to help an organization thrive than just having an effective leader to propel it all. A good analogy for this is how the cogs in a watch work together to propel the entire mechanism of showing time precisely. Each cog has its strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly, its own role and function.
A well-led team will have sufficient momentum and drive to complete a task with minimal distractions in its aim to achieve a collective goal for its organization. In addition, team leadership drives motivation and strong belief towards the common objective so that tasks are not only completed, but done so enthusiastically and productively. Team leadership will allow for key issues, task conflicts and strategies to be addressed from multiple and diverse perspectives. This will help distribute and delegate the weight of a task to every team player and provide room for other areas of organisational success. Overall, team leadership brings novel perspectives and challenges traditional leadership strategies to progress together as a whole.
Topic 9 Leading Self-Managed Teams
26th May 2021
This week there was no class due on Wesak day. However, we still had an activity to complete. The lecture materials covered the idea of self-managed teams that were self-sufficient and productive enough to bring an organization to greater heights. When I learned about this concept, I thought it was a great notion. It has been nurtured into the management of many large organizations that are always moving forward and require people who were self-sufficient and excellent at doing so.
Activity 6: What are the challenges of implementing self-managed teams effectively? Please share your answer with us in the form of mind map.
Topic 10 Charismatic and Transformational Leadership
The only topic we did not go through or talk about in-depth was this topic. However, after researching and learning whatever I can on my own, I have come to learn much about it and their distinct differences. However, many articles say the same thing; transformational leaders tend to be charismatic, not all charismatic leaders are necessarily transformational. I will explore this further in my transformational leadership column in my e-Portfolio. Do give that a read!
Topic 11 Level 5 Leadership
2nd June 2021
This week we learnt about Jim Collins’ Good to Great flywheel concept. A leader can bring his organization from good to great by having the right people with the right mindset and action.
I loved the bus stop example given during class which aptly explains this concept. With the right people on the bus and the right seat, the final destination will always be great. A leader who can execute and figure this out when forming his team will be more likely to be successful. However, most hiring processes are not so ideal. Therefore, I feel this type of leadership can only be applied when there is some flexibility. Instead of getting rid of people who don’t quite fit within a specific role, reassigning by magnifying might be a more resourceful way to handle the team forming process of a company. In addition, we also learned about level 5 leadership and how scarce these types of leaders are in general. Someday, I aspire to be a level 5 leader who has a synergistic team and lead with empathy.
Activity 7: Level 5 leadership (Jim Collins, 2001) is an essential factor for taking a company from good to great. He describes the hierarchy as having 5 different levels that progress from the bottom to the top. Name the five levels from the hierarchy.
The 5 levels of the hierarchy are as listed below.
Level 1: Highly Capable Individual
This type of individual makes productive contributions through talent, knowledge, skills, and good work habits.
Level 2: Contributing Team Member
This type of individual contributes to the achievement of group objectives and is a team player.
Level 3: Competent Manager
This individual organizes people and resources towards achieving the team’s objectives efficiently.
Level 4: Effective Leader
This type of leader drives commitment and stimulates motivation to achieve the set compelling vision and high performance standards
Level 5: Executive
This type of leader builds enduring greatness with personal humility and professional will.
9th June 2021
Class was cancelled this week. So, I continued to work on my e-Portfolio and remaining activities instead.
Topic 12 Authentic Leadership
16th June 2021
This will be my last weekly reflection entry. We have sadly come to an end to this amazing and intellectually stimulating class. But all good things also come to an end. Well, for me, it’s merely the beginning of carrying with me the life lessons and implementing them within my leadership style. Today, we learnt about authentic leaders who have reached a self-actualization level as described in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Authentic leaders are leaders that have a crucible moment. This was a completely new concept to me. A crucible was defined as a signal event or challenging situation in a leader’s life. Once they have experienced and grown from it, they become powerful leaders, true to their nature. Some of the leaders that we studied today were Howard Schultz (Founder of Starbucks), Oprah Winfrey (Talk show host and philanthropist), Mahatma Gandhi (Political Ethicist and Peace Reformist), and Nelson Mandela (1st South African President). They led with conviction and reflected their True North in their leadership style, which again was a new concept. Bill George’s True North model embodies your calling in life. It is a symbiotic combination of your values, beliefs and purpose in life which is unique to you. I know at this stage of life, I have yet to discover my True North. But I think I will eventually get there through many experiences.
Activity 8: Mahatma Gandhi is one of the authentic leaders in the world. What are the characters of Mahatma Gandhi that characterized him as an authentic leader?
Mahatma Gandhi was an authentic leader because he was a very self-actualized man who led with a heart filled with purpose, more than a personal goal. His purpose was to free his country from foreign invaders and help it gain independence in the long run. He was genuine and very outright with his personality traits, principles and beliefs, which made him very popular globally by people from all walks of life. People were drawn to his ideologies and selflessness, which garnered him a following on his principle of non-violence (ahimsa) as a conflict resolution method for mass action.
Transformational leadership is a leadership style that focuses on what a leader accomplishes and how that inspires positive changes in their followers.
These leaders encourage, inspire and motivate their followers to be innovative and creative to help their organization’s progress. Essentially, a leader who personifies this model will lead by example by trusting their trained followers to be accountable about their decisions within their roles without micromanaging. Followers who are often managed under this leadership style will become transformational leaders themselves through mentorship and training.
Model & the 4 Dimensions
Originally the model was proposed by James V. Downton in 1973, but it was later expanded by James Burn in 1978. Like all models, this theory was built upon in 1985 further by researcher Bernard M. Bass to include a systematic way to measure the success of this model is applied.
Fig. 1 Bernard M. Bass suggested that making followers realize the task value, instilling an inclination to put the organization’s interest before their own and addressing their higher-order needs will allow them to be on the track of transformation.
The model was developed to include the 4Is, which stand for inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, and individual consideration. As shown in the fig below, the ideal transformational leader embodies all 4 traits to incite the innate change within their followers.
Fig. 2 The 4 Is of the transformational leadership model.
Ways in which these traits can be exuded from leaders are listed as follows:
Idealized Influence: The leader should be arole modelfor his/her followers. They should be admiringly, respectfully and honourable such that the followers wish to emulate these characteristics. A good transformational leader always puts his follower’s need before his own and is ready to shoulder the risks with his followers. The leader is always accountable for his/her actions and demonstrates high standards of ethics and moral conduct. But he/she never uses his influence for personal gain and wields it carefully.
Inspirational motivation: The leader behaves to motivate and inspire his followers’ with meaningful yet challenging work. The leader believes when their team is high-spirited, enthusiastic and optimistic, they will share similar achievement goals with a shared sense of convictions and motivation.
Intellectual stimulation: The leader should encourage creativity and innovation among his/her followers, by questioning assumptions, reframing problems, and taking a jab at old situations in a novel way. Suggestions and new ideas are welcomed, even if they present differing views from the leader on matters.
Individualized consideration: The leaderprioritizes the individual’s need for achievement and progress through coaching and mentoring. In this way, the followers are put on the track to achieve their higher potential as leaders continue to provide new learning opportunities within a supportive environment. Each follower is accepted for their character and the leader-follower relationship is personalized and fostered.
Strengths and Weaknesses of this Model
Strengths
Fosters unity for the organization’s vision: A transformational leader gets his/her followers on the common goal bandwagon, making their work experience feel enjoyable. Therefore, the unity allows for great productivity and performance.
Annual turnover costs for the organization are reduced: Transformational leaders seek to maintain their followers for the long term and they will do everything they can to provide the necessary environment and training.
Changes within the organization is accepted and dealt with well: Leaders will usually convince followers of the merit of the implemented change for the betterment of the organization or the “greater good” by providing roles for their participation in the big picture. The inclusion will make the change feel acceptable and somewhat welcomed.
Encourages an ethical and is value drivencorporate culture: Transformational leaders base their principles with integrity and strong values at the core of their leadership style and encourage the same within their followers.
High morale environment accompanied by good communication:Followers led by these kinds of leaders are aware of their roles and duties because of the excellent stream of communication maintained within the institution. Thus, the followers are provided with an environment that encourages high morale.
Employees have a lot of ‘wriggle room‘: Employees are allowed quite a bit of personal freedom as they are valued for their experience and contribution to the organization. This is inherent in one of the 4 Is, inspirational motivation listed above.
Weaknesses
Not everyone sees the big-picture:This kind of leadership lacks the task-focusing and operation planning aspect that certain employees require more than others. Therefore, the unified vision might actually be more difficult to implement than it seems.
Some employees experience burnout: Inspiration and motivation towards the organization’s goals and greater vision are consistently expected of the employee under this leadership. Simply turning up and doing a good job is not going to cut it, which inevitably leads to burnout for some.
Risky and disruptive: When change is welcomed too often, the followers lose structure and it may not be the best decision for the organization as a whole at the time of implementation.
High abuse potential: When the right and morally driven people lead at the forefront, this theory holds firm. However, it breaks down when certain transformational leaders have a twisted sense of morality and dangerous vision like Adolf Hitler or Osama Bin Laden.
Feedback loop is essential: For any decent stream of communication, feedback is an essential component that completes the loop. Therefore, this requires constant meetings which are both impromptu and planned for the feedback to be registered and processed. In this aspect, all employees should be consistently present to be not left out of the loop.
Only functional when followers agree:Transformational initiatives only prosper and thrive in environments where the follower can share the sold vision. If the goals are not shared, the model breaks down and is dysfunctional.
World’s Transformational Leaders
Jeff Bezos, Amazon
Everyone knows Bezos led e-commerce into a new era with Amazon (one of the most popular online commerce websites globally). But most people do not know that it started off as an online bookstore. Jeff Bezos is a transformational model due to his ability to lead his company with the transition it has taken over the years to be where it is now. He leads with a vision shared by his employees with powerful communication and conviction.
Reed Hastings, Netflix
Coming from the software industry, Hastings grew his company from a DVD operations company to a giant media house. Today, consumers can watch any tv program on the Netflix digital platform, ad-free and at a reasonable monthly subscription rate. He created a business model that brought about significant change in the television market with a vision to continuously do so.
Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Apple
Steve Jobs remains one of the most named leaders on the subject of transformational leadership. He used inspirational motivation, one of the 4Is, to challenge his employees to constantly think innovatively to develop products that brought the digital era to a new forefront. At the time he came up with the idea, these were novel ideas and technological advances. Therefore, it must have taken a great deal of courage to convince his followers to share his vision to bring the IT industry to what it is now, with smartphones, personal computers and more.
Nelson Mandela, 1st South African President
All of the above examples narrate the successes of leaders in the IT industry. However, transformational leadership is not limited to such industries. Nelson Mandela is easily one of the most transformational leaders the world has seen. He struggled and fought for the democracy enjoyed by South Africa today by overcoming his experience of incarceration for 27 years. Mandela promoted change through forgiveness and unity, which embodies idealized influence. Mandela was respected for his high moral values, excellent self-management skills, and ethics as a president of South Africa with his nation’s progress in mind.
Difference between Charismatic and Transformational Leadership
Charismatic leaders, as opposed to transformational leaders, often have a heightened sense of who they are. They know the purpose and the role they need to play to actualize their personal meaning. This is not necessarily true for transformational leaders. Transformational leaders lead with their vision and passion for the organization, which comes from a collective nature.
Charismatic leaders influence with personality and charm and are often at the forefront of most of the decisions. A charismatic leader’s vision is his/her follower’s vision. Therefore, the leader can drive their followers to success through obedience and dependency. On the other hand, transformational leaders inspire change within the organization through a common vision and motivation to get things moving. As previously discussed, transformational leaders take great care in getting their follower’s input and continuous feedback to encourage participation and sustain motivation.
Charismatic leaders are, by default, transformational leaders. However, not all transformational leaders are charismatic leaders. This means charismatic leaders tend to be scarce and specialized. They usually emerge in crisis management situations required at the top-level management. However, promising transformational leaders can be nurtured through the proper work environment and training at any level of the organization.
Notable Research and Review Articles
Bass, Bernard M., and Bruce J. Avolio. Improving Organizational Effectiveness: through Transformational Leadership. Sage, 1994.
Lai, Fong-Yi, et al. “Transformational Leadership and Job Performance: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement.” SAGE Open, vol. 10, no. 1, 2020, p. 215824401989908., doi:10.1177/2158244019899085
Moradi Korejan, M, and H Shahbazi. “An Analysis of the Transformational Leadership Theory.” Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, vol. 8, no. 3, 2016, p. 452., doi:10.4314/jfas.v8i3s.192
Steinmann, Barbara, et al. “The Path Is the Goal: How Transformational Leaders Enhance Followers’ Job Attitudes and Proactive Behavior.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 9, 2018, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02338
Liu, Haixin, and Guiquan Li. “Linking Transformational Leadership and Knowledge Sharing: The Mediating Roles of Perceived Team Goal Commitment and Perceived Team Identification.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 9, 2018, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01331
Khan, H., Rehmat, M., Butt, T.H. et al. Impact of transformational leadership on work performance, burnout and social loafing: a mediation model. Futur Bus J6, 40 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-020-00043-8
Tian, Hongyun, et al. “The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Employee Retention: Mediation and Moderation Through Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Communication.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 11, 2020, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00314
I interviewed my father Mr. Muralivaman who is an Operations Director for a company he started with some partners. I conducted this interview in the most neutral perspective possible without seeming biased. The truth is my father has always been a beacon and pillar to me and everything that I have founded my beliefs upon in my life. To many people, he has been a source of inspiration and solace. He has always believed in giving more than taking, especially when you can do so. Even when we were struggling, he always found a way to help people and provide opportunities to those bwho were in dire need. As a teenager, I was never able to come to terms with my reverence for him. Many times I was frustrated that he would continue to help others when we were struggling just as much. But today, I can say with certainty that I would have not had it any other way. For this reason, I will always look up to him as a leader and continue to hope that I can be half the person he is.
After this interview, I have learnt that smaller firms and businesses, apply common leadership traits based on some of the theories we have explored in class in their organizations. It is not a single theory per se, but rather parts of one and another made to cohesively work in their favor. The whole process is very fluid and has a steep learning curve. I now understand that leaders enforce principles in the workplace based on a cooperative relationship between employees, managers and the workplace environment. Their work ethics and leadership qualities must be relevant and functional to meet their organization’s goals and objectives. But I also learnt that learning and constantly adapting is one of the most important traits a leader should possess. Keeping up and constantly widening your horizons to better your company and always being humble about how far you have come is also very important. At the end of the day, being continuously inspired to work for reasons beyond financial gratification, after you become 50, is a big win to me.
Disclaimer: This interview was conducted solely through online platforms as it was done during full lockdown (FMCO) in Malaysia. Video recording was not consented, therefore only a verbal answers were recorded.
Interview Report
Good evening. First of all, thank you for allowing me to learn more about what it takes to be an impactful and respectable leader in our community. I hope you will continue to light the beacon for the younger generation to gain inspiration and motivation to reach similar heights or better. Before I start this interview, please share a little bit about yourself.
Name: Muralivaman A/L Govindasamy
Age: 54
Career: Unarmed Guarding Security Services
Leadership position you hold: Operations Director for Melawati Securities (M) Sdn. Bhd.
Hobbies: Gardening and recently cooking
Community Services: Providing meals through remote financial support for underprivileged school-going children in poverty-stricken areas in India through the Akshaya Patra Foundation and providing financial assistance to a charitable home that supports people with special needs such as Persatuan Kebajikan OKU Hati Berganda in Selayang, Selangor.
Picture 1. Children from the Akshaya Patra Foundation who are supported by the Mid-Day Meals program in India.
Who are your mentors and why? Please share a memorable lesson you learned and carried with you.
Well for one, it would be my former boss Dato Kasi Palaniappan with whom I have shared a lot of good experiences. During my tenure with him, I worked for him for 16 years. I was tasked with managing his investments in the stock and property market. Now, I learned to manage resources, people, dealings with bankers and insurers. All of these experiences gave me the confidence and good skill set to eventually start a business of my own. I am running a security firm and managing a lot of people. I believe this ability is something that I learned in my previous firm.
In your opinion, how can leaders of an organization like yours support the local community?
In my organisation, we have recruited many locals as employees instead of just hiring immigrant workers. That itself I believe is a big help you can lend the local community. By employing Malaysians, we can reach their families in many ways. Most security guards we see are usually foreign workers, so hiring more locals indirectly helps support the local community by circulating more income, especially to lower-income families. Besides employing locals, getting involved and helping needy school-going children and charitable homes in terms of financial support, is one way we can support the local community. During this pandemic, we have helped in whatever way we can by helping to buy household essentials to those within my organisation and the charitable homes I am involved with as well. This is especially true if you have the means to do so.
How do you feel traits like empathy and vulnerability (EQ side) play a role in your leadership?
Well, corporate companies are usually very profit-oriented. Profit is important for corporations to survive, but I feel empathy is an important element in any leadership. When you can understand, address, and empathise with the needs and feelings of your employees, we will be able to achieve our goals together and easily. In fact, we should be able to assist employees in coming to terms with their weaknesses and vulnerable side through training. Through this, we can instil some confidence in them and they will be able to overcome their weaknesses and challenges. Weakness is not a reason for us to feel like our workers lack something, but it provides us with an opportunity to address and improve it within the organisation. They will then be able to trust us and this will help the organisation progress better. As I said, it is not all about profit, it is about nurturing those relationships with people that will eventually take the organisation to greater heights.
How do you inspire others while keeping yourself inspired to do what you do every day?
I believe inspiring others is a leadership quality itself. Be a good leader and do the right thing. By being a good leader, you create leaders. Inspiring my firm is not that difficult. I work with them and learn new things together. We try not to see the hierarchy in the organisation too often. We blur the lines of our positions and work on the same platform. By working in this manner, we inspire each other. I always say that my position has to be taken over by someone else in years to come and keep motivating our people to take up higher positions within the office.
What are some challenging leadership qualities you continue to develop and work on to this day?
Learning is a continuous process. In today’s IT world, things are changing rapidly. The learning process never stops. I don’t believe we have learnt enough, it just goes on. Every day, we are learning something new. One of the leadership qualities I share and emphasize to my people is being on time to work, responding to clients on time, meeting deadlines promptly. When somebody is looking for answers, we should at least be courteous enough to say we are looking into the matter. We are a company and we must meet deadlines and targets. I motivate my staff to meet those deadlines as we work with many government organisations. I believe these are leadership traits that I part with my staff and continue to work on this day with them. Besides that, patience, tolerance, and learning new things on the job are some of the things I work on to this day and it is an ongoing process as far as I am concerned.
What is something you wish someone had told you during your journey in this career path? Did you see yourself in this position 20 years ago?
Now, when I started venturing into my own business, I actually when into a couple of different businesses at the same time. I just wish someone had told me, rather than be a jack of all trades, be a master of some. I wish someone had told me that, as I wouldn’t have wasted some years experimenting on new businesses that did not take off well. When I was about to leave my former employment, I told my boss that I will not be continuing there as I felt that I had armed myself with a sufficient amount of skill sets to actually start something on my own and I was going to give myself a chance to do that so that I don’t shoulder any regrets later. He did say this to me; he believed that I would do well if I went on my own or even if I did take employment with somebody else. Today I am here, but this is not the end of my journey, I am still setting new goals and targets as long as I am still in the business field.
This is the second big assessment we had for this class.
In my opinion, contingency leadership theories can be applied to 21st century leaders in various capacities. However, in this video I will be specifically exploring how Path-Goal Theory by Martin G. Evans and Robert House can be applied to today’s leaders. Do stay till the end!
I was part of Group 5 in this class and we had the honor of presenting Chapter 6: Communication, Coaching and Conflict Skills and how they are an integral part of leadership skills. I specifically presented on the importance of the message-receiving process, feedback, and the common ways to obtain feedback and utilize it functionally.
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Dynamics of Leadership 