Transformational leadership and its role in evolving organizations.

While there are different leadership types, transformational leadership has over time become one of the preferred styles for companies that are continually evolving since this style of leadership seeks to foster change, innovation, and creativity within the organization.?Transformational Leaders usually have great power of influence and strong management skills to inspire change and engage teams towards a common vision while driving high motivation and a culture of empowerment.

The concept of transformational leadership began with James V. Downton in 1973 and was later spread by James Burns in 1978, who proposed that this type of leadership has the capacity to promote change within organizations. The leader must be able to transform the company’s philosophies into new and more effective ways of thinking and guide the team towards continuous improvement to adapt rapidly to multiple changes by developing a culture in which common interest, cooperation, people development and open communication will prevail.

The implementation of transformational leadership positively impacts the results of the organization in different areas:

• ?Performance increases noticeably: when employees are inspired and motivated by their leaders, they become a team capable of responding to evolving company needs and adapting to constantly changing situations.
• The engagement increases and team members become aware of the value they bring to the organization and their contribution from their knowledge and skills.
• In addition to foster change, the leader involves the team in strategic business decisions, and spends time to ensure that everyone can understand the rationale behind the change to accelerate their adaptation curve.
• Organizations become more open to take risks to improve and continuously look for new ways to raise the bar.

?The past few years have brought us new opportunities to take a transformative leadership style; facing a pandemic, evolving into new ways of working and new business models, and adjusting strategies to respond to evolving market trends have constantly led us to face change. As leaders we must seek to inspire our teams around a compelling vision that reflects a changing environment, engage them in strategic decisions to create the future, and ensure the effectiveness and smooth transition of all areas of the organization by directing the entire team in the same direction to achieve together the goals and objectives defined. We cannot forget that it is the people who turn a transformation into a successful process and, by recognizing the importance of each individual and its valuable contribution to the wider team, we can manage change successfully.

?Remember that if you want to be a transformative leader or bet on this style of leadership you must first become an example, where your words and actions are consistent with the change you want to create and the decisions you take. ??I still remember the first deep transformation I run for a business, a transformation that required a change in the strategy, the setup of new capabilities, and the establishment of a new culture. This was a major challenge since this happened when I was facing my first role as General Manager in Malaysia and this change clearly took me out of my comfort zone. To successfully led the team through the change, I started by creating a new vision and engaging key team members as change ambassadors while bringing progressively new capabilities to the team.

Taking people decisions is also needed when running a transformation since we need to ensure that the organization is fit for purpose and the capabilities are the right ones for the future success; probably this was the most difficult part and potentially the biggest learning I had during my experience in Malaysia since people are the key to success and surrounding with the right team makes a great difference specially when running a transformation. Today I embrace change differently and, after many transformations in different parts of the world, I have understood that change will always come and our role as leaders is to ensure we support the teams to transition smoothly and navigate comfortably during moments of change.

From my experience a transformational leader must:

-Motivate and inspire the team to achieve extraordinary results and always go beyond with innovative thinking.

- Demonstrate agility to adapt rapidly to change.

- Lead with example by being consistent between what is said and what is done.

- Open to take risks and learn from failure.

-Develop new leaders by creating a culture of empowerment and accountability.

- Always maintain a transparent communication style and be ready to face uncomfortable questions. Remember that being direct is what employees will value the most when going through a change

?If you want your team to manage change and transformation successfully, you as a leader must be the first to take a step forward and guide your team towards the changes and goals you envision for the organization.

??You have everything to shine in everything you do!