A Case Study of Transformation Leadership

1059 Words5 Pages
Leadership is made of many components: (a) it is a process; (b) involves influence, (c) within a group context, and (d) involves goal attainment. Northouse defines leadership as “a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.” (Northouse, 2004, p.3) Leadership is a two way process that involves both leaders and followers. Transformational leadership involves influencing followers to reach for higher goals while ignoring their own self-interests. It allows individuals to thrive at the edge of chaos by motivating them to create ways to develop new products and ways to do business. Leaders serve as role models and communicate a clear vision to their followers. A transformational leader takes on the responsibility for revitalizing an organization. They define from what is already in place the need for change, create new visions, mobilize commitment to those visions, and ultimately transform an organization. They possess the ability to dream, translate those dreams and images so that other people can share them. (Tichy & Devanna, 1990, pp. 271-280). Synonymous with transformational leadership is the theory of charismatic leadership as published by House (1976). Over the years the charismatic leadership theory has been studied and expanded. According to Shamir, House, and Authur (1993) this type of leadership transforms followers’ self-concepts and tries to link their identity to the identity of the organization. In recent years African American men and women have made tremendous strides up the leadership chain. Two such examples are Kenneth Chenault and Pamela Thomas-Graham. In 2002, both were among Fortune magazines (v146) “The Most Powerful Black Executives in America”. Chenault ranked #2 while Thomas-Graham was #37. Both are Harvard-educated and extremely driven to exceed. Their drive is an internal pursuit of
Open Document