Comparative Analysis: Transactional vs Transformational Leadership

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ransactional leadership underlines the compliance with the organizational goals and performance expectations using rewards and punishments through supervision. Transactional leaders are task-oriented and outcome-oriented. When a company has a time and resources constraints, this type of leaders are very effective. They usually pay a close attention to how employees perform their tasks.

Transformational leadership focuses on increasing employee motivation and engagement and attempts to link employees' sense of self with organizational values. This leadership style emphasizes leading by example, so followers can identify with the leader's vision and values.

If we compare these two types of leadership, we can see that they have many differences. Firstly, transactional leaders appeal to the self-interest of employees who seek out rewards for themselves, in contrast to transformational leaders, who appeal to group interests and notions of organizational success. Secondly, transactional leaders work within an organizational culture, while transformational leaders make new ideas and therefore "transform" organizational culture. Thirdly, transactional leadership reacts to problems as they arise, whereas transformational leadership is more likely to address issues before they become problematic. Finally, transactional leaders reward and punish in traditional ways according to organizational standards; transformational leaders attempt to achieve positive results from employees by keeping …show more content…

These leaders motivate their followers by promoting the reward of winning the game. They promote a high level of commitment that their followers are willing to risk pain and injury to obtain the results that the leader is asking for. Another example of transactional leadership is Charles de Gaulle. Through the type of reward and punishment he was able to become the leader of the free French in a crisis

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