Transformational Leadership: Supports Employee Engagement and Well-Being in Modern Organizations

Introduction

Leadership theory or style plays a crucial role to improve a positive safety culture and significantly influences the decision-making process, which is main factor of the firm’s success (Health and Safety Executive, 2013). ?Transformational leadership is one of the multiple leadership theories that has gained much interest. The theory states that the leaders elevate their followers to another level of performance by motivating them to work hard and appreciate the greater aim of the organization. Today, the interrelationship of the three aspects – leadership, employee engagement, and well-being, has become of great importance in the modern competitive business environment.

Transformational leadership contains an inherent focus on the ethical and moral aspects of leadership. To be transformative, a leader should not only motivate innovative ideas, but also portray moral principles and honesty. This approach stands in contrast to transactional leadership, which relies on motivation through outside incentives and punishments to a greater extent. Transformational leadership motivates followers through shared goals, inspiring and driving them which eventually transforms both the follower and the leader themselves (Bass and Avolio, 1994).?

This essay critically evaluates the impact of transformational leadership on employee engagement and well-being, as well as how an organization success by following this leadership style. It makes a balanced argument by considering the negative impact of employee burnouts due to constant pressure expectations, and the positive impacts of high motivation and job satisfaction. This paper will discuss this type of leadership judging from the merits and demerits of its implications in an organizational setting, using dependable evidence from relevant literature. Additionally, an example of an organization effectively implementing transformational leadership will be provided, highlighting its success.

Description of Transformational Leadership

As per the Bass (1985) the transformational leadership theory or style characterized by four key components: the four key components are as bellow:

1.?????? Idealized influence

2.?????? Inspirational motivation

3.?????? Intellectual stimulation

4.?????? Individualized consideration.

Leaders who follow this style they focus on influencing their team by motivating creativity and creating a healthy relation between the leader and their followers. These leaders lead by example by showing commitment to the organization’s vision and goals.

This leadership has proven successful in various industries. Leaders like Ratan Naval Tata who was the former chairman of TATA group exemplified transformational leadership by motivating their employees by prioritizing ethical values, innovation, and strong social responsibility that aligned with Tata’s boarder mission of creating social value in addition to profits (ITDC India, 2024).?

However, transformational leadership theory/style demands at high level of performance from the employees. This means that this can be effect on the employees wellbeing and engagement. Therefore, it is important to explore both the negative and positive impact of this leadership theory or style.

Relation to Employee Engagement and Wellbeing

There are different characters of employee engagement which is effort or involvement of the employees towards their work and the company as a whole. Well-being means it includes different aspects such as emotional, physical, and social health, job satisfaction, as well as work-life integration. Transformational leadership as Arnold (2007) points out has a correlation with employee engagement and well-being. To expand on this claim, Nicol et al. (2020) presented persuasive evidence where both constructs were positively influenced during times of transformational leadership, the qualitative evidence of Peters and Waterman (1982) on the relationship between disengagement of top management and poor work performance is drawn back. There is also practically no information available on the relations between the two terms when engaging a middle level of transformational leadership.

According to Mullen & Kelloway (2009) transformational leaders are the ones who motivate their subordinates through creating a shared vision. Linking employees with the larger picture keeps them happy and engaged thus transformational leadership. Such interaction makes the employees feel appreciates hence enhancing their competitiveness and productivity with regards to their work.

Transformational leadership style notably improves employee engagement, resulting in higher productivity and lower absenteeism. Those employees are at high levels of engagement are often more innovative, proactive, and loyal to the organization (Barling et al. 2002).?

There could not be any challenges on these positive effects on engagement and well-being. This means that the constant drive for improvement and high expectations set by transformational leaders can, over time, lead to stress and burnout, particularly if employees feel pressures to maintain peak performance without adequate support or recognition.

Benefits to the Organization

The positive influence of transformational leadership on employee’s engagement and wellbeing are directly effecting on organizations positively which helps to improve organization’s to higher level. For instance, the companies those who support higher level engagement of employees often experience lower turnover rates, reduced absenteeism, and improved productivity (Kelloway et al., 2012).

There is research which shows that employees who are engaged and satisfied are more likely to stay with their current employer, reducing recruitment and training costs (Clarke, 2013). Furthermore, because of the employees are nurtured to be innovative and play an active role in searching for solutions, transformational leadership can promote innovation leading to a more flexible and proactive organization.

As a case in point, at Google effectively utilizing transformational leadership practices has been critical to the sustained growth and success of the organization. Therefore, the emphasis of the organization has been in promoting inclusivity for every stakeholder which has enhanced employee commitment and gratification as well as service delivery within the organization. Nevertheless, ‘the model’ chasing after the success of the organization has its own merits, but it is essential to consider the demerits of this leadership style for the purpose of providing an objective analysis.

Drawbacks to the Organization

Transformational leadership, however advantageous it may be, has its own share of weaknesses. One of the greatest concerns, for example, is that of employee burnout. Employees in such cases tend to experience stress and even fatigue due to the demanding and constant expectations of superior performance (Arnold et al., 2007). Such expectations, if they cannot be appropriately contained, may impair an employee’s performance at work as well as their psychological well-being.

Cited in Yukl (1999), transformational leadership tendencies may also bring about a form of leadership dependence as employees start relying on the leader to provide vision and high motivation. This excessive dependence on the leader can stifle employee creativity and initiative as they may put seeking the leader’s approval first before their self-development.

In addition to that, transformative leadership may not be suitable for all organizational climates. For instance, the transactional leadership approach, which is centered on the offer of rewards and clear-cut expectations, may be more appropriate in industries that favor operational stability over creativity and evolution. Hence, organizations must assess their needs and ensure that the leadership approach they adopt is in line with their goals.

Critical Analysis and Counterarguments

However, despite the global appreciation of transformational leadership, several factors come into play regarding its effectiveness. One of these factors is the business environment within which it is executed. In high tension demanding environments such as IT or financial sectors, the persistent demand for creativity and advancement, can exhaust the employees ultimately undermining the constructive aspects of engagement and wellbeing (Kark and Shamir, 2002).

In addition, there are a number of limitations when it comes to researching transformational leadership. There is a possibility of bias as most of the studies depend on self-reported data. Therefore, social desirability or the fear of disapproval could lead employees to overstate their level of engagement (Yukl, 1999). As a result, while there is empirical evidence supporting the positive impact of transformational leadership, one has to be careful and evaluate the research designs of the studies.

One of the counterarguments to the effectiveness of transformational leadership is the assertion that servant leadership, transactional leadership, and even other leadership philosophies may work better in given organizational contexts. This indicates that environments where demands for efficiency supersede creativity and innovation would favor more transactional models of leadership which defines specific targets and reward systems. Hence, it follows that the specific goals and needs of the organization in question should be regarded as critical factors before deciding on any leadership style.

Conclusion

In conclusion, transformational leadership has a positive aspect on the engagement and wellbeing of employees since it gives them a purpose and drive as well as fulfillment. This means that such kinds of employees would be most likely attached to their work as well as the goals of the organization. Therefore, this leadership approach is evidently effective in those firms, resulting in high levels of effectiveness, creativity, and low level of staff turnover. Nevertheless, the serious drawback is an occupational burnout of the staff that might occur due to perennial high performance expectations. This suggests that overcoming the challenges of transformational leadership would require companies taking measures to manage the risk of its positive effects being sustained.

Transformational leadership is dynamic as it requires where sustaining high performance standards is matched with due encouragement and appreciation. it is therefore understood that enough support and provision of resources helps in redundancy and maintenances the positive factors such as engagement and employee’s well-being .Thus leadership styles should also change depending on the circumstances that a particular organization finds itself including the willingness of the staffs and the nature of the business types of a particular organization .This means that due to the nature of business, transformational leadership can be maximally benefits when the leaders active leadership styles are varied according to their business environment.

To build an effective leadership strategy, organizations should employ a mix of transformational leadership styles, their merits, and demerits. This means that they can integrate success in business and employee contentment into a long-term approach to leadership.

The national airway of the Qatar is Qatar airlines, headquartered in Doha, which is the best airline in the world, employed nearly 50,000 employees working in this organization. Under Akbar Al Baker’s leadership, Qatar Airways has persistently sought to provide new aircraft and services, which in itself reflects the core principles of transformational leadership. Most importantly, this explains his bold decision to acquire modern fleets such as Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, not only for purposes of operational efficiency but efficiency and safety of the passengers as well. This forward-thinking strategy also illustrates progressive leadership, which is a trait in transformational leadership that inspires followers to prioritize the organization’s bigger vision than their personal aims (Gulf Times, 2023).

Additionally, Al Baker promote an environment where customers are the most priority and he has advised and push to their employees to form an image of the company that fits in with comfort, style and greatness. For these reasons Qatar airways achieved Skytrax World Airline Awards as the best Airline (Birch, 2023).

Qatar Airways provide every employee with extensive trainings and development programs where they can professionally grow in the industry. These include, for instance, skill enhancement workshops, training sessions on customer service award winning techniques, leadership development, and countless others. This means that Qatar Airways aim is to make their employees ready with the necessary skills and competence for their role that specifically assigned to them. Qatar Airways ensure employees satisfaction and promote employee participation in work process through the provision of opportunities for professional development (Qatar Airways Group, 2018; Qatar Airways, 2019).

Moreover, balance and overall wellbeing of employees are important aspects of Qatar airlines. The airlines have put in place different measures aimed at promoting physical and emotional state of its workforce. These are wellness programs, mental wellness facilities, and occasional exercise. For example, Qatar airways providing free routine check-ups and therapy sessions for their employees with the collaboration with healthcare providers (Qatar Airways, 2018).

?References

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