Leadership Transformational Era

Avolio describes transformational leadership as a mechanism through which leaders grow followers into leaders. Transformational leaders stimulate progress, rather than discourage it as it happens. Bernard M. Bass, another Full Spectrum Leadership Expert, and in particular transformational leadership, further describes transformational leadership as a “new paradigm of leadership style that is a particularly effective style of military leadership.”

This age is the current and most successful step of the developmental history of leadership theory. Its drastic progress over previous periods rests in the reality that it is based on an underlying rather than an extrinsic motive. Moreover, in contrast with the Transactional Era, politicians must be constructive rather than reactive in their thinking; more progressive than conservative; more imaginative and creative; and more accessible to fresh concepts (Bass, 1985). Here, leadership exercises power to generate an eager dedication on the part of subordinates as opposed to hesitant loyalty or indifferent respect (Yukl, 1989). Tichy and Ulrich (1984) further note that transformational leadership is necessary throughout the corporate transition by generating expectations of future prospects and promoting employee engagement to change (see also Tichy and DeVanna, 1986).There are two periods to this era: The Charisma Period and the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Period

Bass, Bernard M., A New Paradigm of Leadership: An Inquiry into Transformational Leadership, Alexandria, VA: U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, 1996.