Question

How you can develop your own transformational leadership style by applying the four elements described in the article; Transformational leaders in the preoperative setting to your nursing practice.

Answer 1

Developing a high quality, performance oriented nursing workforce has become the need for the hour and every

nurse leader strive to inspire the followers in order to create committed, enthusiastic team which work beyond

the requirements of the job. The concept of leadership is also changing with the emergence of various theories

and frameworks. As a result, many nurse leaders have adopted various emerging leadership styles,

Transformational leadership is one among them. The word transformational leadership was coined by James

Victor Downton in the year 1973.James MacGregor Burns, an authority on leadership studies defined

transformational leadership as “a process by which leaders raise the aspirations and motivations of others to

higher levels by appealing to higher ideals and values. The transformational leadership which is grounded on

moral foundations has got mainly 4 components, essentially known as the 4I’s of Transformational Leadership.

They are Idealized Influence (II), Inspirational Motivation (IM), Intellectual Stimulation (IS), and Individual

Consideration (IC). These four components of transformational leadership are schematically represented by the

model of transformational leadership. The model suggests that even though these four components are

interdependent, they must harmonize to yield a performance which is beyond expectations. The effective use of a

transformational leadership will result in a performance that exceeds the organizational expectations. This is

often referred as the “additive effect” of transformational leadership. Transformational leadership has got wide

implications in nursing leadership and is a powerful management strategy for nurse leaders. It enables nurse

leaders to implement change effectively and is an essential medium to develop an effective nursing workforce.

Even though transformational leadership is considered as an effective leadership strategy, one major criticism is

the use of impression management in transformational leadership. Healthcare system is dynamic and is on

continuous metamorphosis, hence it is imperative for nurse leaders to embrace a leadership style that enable

followers to adapt the changes and works towards the organizational vision. Transformational leadership is

considered as one of the most effective leadership strategy to achieve this. As a result of transformational

leadership nurses at all levels in the organization perceive that their voices are heard, their inputs are valued and their practices are being supported.

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP MODEL

The model schematically represents the four components (intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational, motivation, and idealized influence) of transformational leadership.