Leadership is a critical aspect of management as it contributes immensely to the operation and the success of organizations by linking organizational goals and objectives to factors of production. Therefore, scholars have developed different theories to explain leadership’s techniques and effectiveness in addressing the rapidly changing organizational environment. Leadership theories involve techniques that managers can employ to optimize their efficiency and organizations’ performances. Two of the most effective leadership theories are transformational and situational leadership theories. The transformational theory was created in the early 1980s and the situational leadership theory formulated in the 1960s have offered fundamental techniques in organizational management and effective leadership. Situational and transformational leadership theories have similarities and differences in their structure and application in organizations and businesses. Besides, the two theories have weaknesses and strengths that determine the most favorable leadership theory for specific theories. This paper will discuss the transformational and situational leadership theories, their similarities and differences, their strengths and weaknesses, and their leadership development techniques. Lastly, the paper will choose the preferable leadership development technique for effective leaders.
Theories Evaluation
Transformational Leadership Theory
This theory was established by James Macgregor, a political sociologist, in his work Leadership in 1978. Burns founds transformational leadership on the relationship between leadership and followership (Northhouse, 2019). Transformational leadership is a new leadership model that focuses on charismatic elements of leadership and the changes and transformations in organizations. The theory is based on the change and transformation of the followers’ emotions, values, ethics, standards, and goals to create influence and optimize effectiveness (Northhouse, 2019). Burns defines the transformational leadership theory as a leadership process where a leader establishes a connection with the subordinates aiming to improve motivation for an entire workforce (Khan et al., 2016). The transformational leadership theory includes charismatic and visionary leaders who can influence followers on a one-to-one level, organizational level, and organizational-culture level.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
According to the transformational leadership theory, the role of leaders in organizational changes and transformations exceeds formulation of probable changes to include modeling the desired changes and transformations for the followers. The transformational leadership theory agrees with Maslow higher-order theory of 1954 that states that leaders' positive influence induces followers to forego self-interests for higher-order needs such as joint success and organizational prosperity (Khan et al., 2016). Under the transformational leadership theory, leaders appeal to their followers to work towards a shared vision of the future that will satisfy organizational and personal needs and purposes.
Situational Leadership Theory
This theory was established by Hersey and Blanchard as an extension of Reddin's management style theory. The situational leadership theory states that a leader should be directive and supportive in response to different situations (Northhouse, 2019). Directive leadership can involve one-way communication, clearly communicated roles and responsibilities, and close supervision. On the contrary, supportive leadership includes two-way communication, support, encouragement, and followers’ involvement in decision-making. According to Northhouse (2019), the situational leadership theory proposes a different kind of leadership for different situations in organizations. Leaders should evaluate the followers' competence and commitment to assess their ability to perform a given task to achieve an organizational target. The needs of the followers should determine the kind of leadership that a leader should employ. Northhouse (2019) defines effective leaders under the situational leadership theory as those who can evaluate their followers' needs and change their leadership styles to match those needs. Kolzow (2014) the Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership model is determined by the task behavior and socio-emotional support that leaders must facilitate to adapt a situation and maintain operations. The duties and responsibilities that leaders assign to individuals or groups are dependent on the followers' abilities and the circumstances at a specific time.
Comparison between Transformational and Situational Leadership Theories
Similarities
Transformational and situational leadership theories are follower-based, and they seek to address their needs for optimal performance. According to Northouse (2019), the transformational leadership theory is based on leaders raising confidence and interests among their followers to change their concern for interests to achievements. The confidence and responsibility that followers gain from transformational leaders help them perform beyond their assigned roles and established standards. Similarly, the leadership techniques employed under the situational leadership theory are based on the followers' needs and abilities. Leaders under the contingency theories are not stand-alone since they are behavioral theories, and hence they focus on the leader-follower relationship (Khan et al., 2016). The relationship between the leaders and the followers in transformational and situational leadership theories is core to organizational management and performance.
In addition, the success of the transformational and situational leadership theories is reliant on the leaders’ effectiveness. The efficiency of the leadership theories depends on the leaders’ attributes and personalities. According to Kolzow (2014), the situational leadership theorem provides that leaders can measure the amount of power and authority applied when directing, rewarding, or punishing followers and subordinates. In situational leadership theory, leaders' willingness determines how they create favorable or unfavorable environments for engagement in decision-making. Similarly, leadership under the transformational leadership theory depends on the leaders' visions and charisma (Northhouse, 2019). Influence plays a significant role during the transformation and change process in organizations. Therefore, the ability of the leaders to create influence with their followers affects the outcomes of the preferred leadership theories.
Differences
Transformational and situational leadership theories differ on their origins and triggers. Transformational leadership theories originate in response to a need to change. Organizational leaders utilize transformational leadership to cope with the demand for improvement in effectiveness, productivity, and employee satisfaction. Transformational leadership theories propose a long-term project that gradually changes organizational cultures and perceptions (Northhouse, 2019). Conversely, situational leadership theories are triggered by specific occurrences in organizations that demand new leadership approaches. Under the situational leadership theory, different occurrences should be handled depending on their nature, impact, and organizational goal. Under the situational leadership theory, each leadership technique can only be managed for a short period since situations are random and different. The transformational leadership theory proposes a long-term solution to organizational occurrences, while the situational leadership theory proposes instant solutions to current situations.
The transformational leadership theory differs from the situational leadership theory in its effect on the followers. The transformational leadership theory targets individual and unit growth of followers to independence. Followers under transformative leaders experience minimal supervision as they develop higher accountability and self-governance. On the contrary, situational leadership is undetachable from leaders since they are the sole determinants of the organizations' management techniques. Unlike in the transformation theory, where followers are motivated to change, the situational leadership theory grants minimal motivation since it employs a control system. Though situational leaders depend on the followers to determine the most appropriate leadership style, the followers experience slow growth and development. Therefore, organizations applying the situational leadership theory can have leadership gaps in the absence of situational leaders.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Theories
Strengths
The transformational leadership theory’s main strength is its broad research perspective and qualitative studies involving prominent leaders and global organizations. The transformational leadership theory has been applied in leadership studies since the 1970s and has been perfected over time (Northhouse, 2019). Besides, the transformational theory has an intuitive appeal, and it treats leadership as a relationship between followers and leaders. Therefore, it incorporates the needs of followers and leaders and strengthens their interplay. The transformational leadership theory also provides an avenue for other leadership models as it involves strategies on how leadership can be expanded to include the followers. Lastly, the transformational leadership theory emphasizes followers’ needs, commitment, and morality for joint success.
The situational leadership theory has proved to be effective in markets for a long time. Rapid market changes demand flexibility to maintain competitive advantage and productivity. Moreover, the situational leadership theory is practical and has prescriptive value (Northhouse, 2019). The theory can be described in steps and, therefore, easily applicable in actual situations. Also, the theory emphasizes leadership flexibility to deal with unprecedented situations in organizations. Lastly, the situational leadership theory restates the position of the followers in an organization in terms of their needs, organizational goals, and expected productivity standards.
Weaknesses
The transformational leadership theory has been criticized for lacking conceptual clarity and difficulty in assessment. Transformational leadership has been criticized for being practical in social and political contexts but impractical in corporations (Northhouse, 2019). Assessment parameters suggested in transformational leadership are not distinct as they overlap with other leadership models. In addition, the transformational leadership theory proposes a personality trait instead of a behavioral approach that other people can learn. It is challenging to change followers' traits to resemble the leaders', and therefore, training can be ineffective. Lastly, besides lacking evidence of its effectiveness in transforming individuals and units, the transformational theory has been criticized for being anti-democratic (Northhouse, 2019). The theory stresses that changes and transformations are caused by the leaders and therefore risking glory-seeking leadership.
The situational leadership theory lacks research justification and is ambiguous concerning followers' development. Only a few studies have proved the effectiveness of situational leadership in improving the followers, and therefore, many researchers consider the theory as theoretical. Besides, situational leadership lacks a structured leadership style that might be unfavorable for new recruits. Situational leaders react to individual occurrences, and therefore, new followers may take time to adapt to abrupt changes in management (Northhouse, 2019). Lastly, situational leadership fails to account for other demographic factors that impact the leader-follower relationship, such as education, age, and job experience (Northhouse, 2019). The situational approach assumes that followers’ reactions to similar situations are constant and thus require particular strategies.
Leadership Guidelines in Transformational and Situational Leadership Theories
The transformational leadership theory requires idealized influence and charisma to convince followers to adapt to the desired values and acts. Also, the theory includes inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation; the latter refers to the degree to which leaders inspire others to follow a vision and the willingness to challenge obstacles and trigger corporation (Odumeru & Ogbonna, 2013). Lastly, transformational leadership requires personal and individual attention, determining how leaders attend to the followers' needs at individual and unit levels. On the other hand, the situational leadership theory involves directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating. Directing involves giving instructions and assigning tasks, while coaching includes building confidence and motivation to improve responsibility and accountability. Supporting includes shared decision-making and followers' engagement, while delegating involves assigning full responsibility of a task to individuals and units and setting out the expected outcomes.
Supportive leadership is the best leadership approach since it helps followers develop their abilities while still maintaining their independence. In a supportive approach, leaders have limited control over the followers, and hence relationships can be formed easily. The relationship between leaders and followers under supportive leadership ceases to be directive and becomes consultative. Consultation in supportive leadership enhances sharing of ideas and better performance for individuals and organizations.
In conclusion, the transformational leadership theory includes gradual changes in organizations, while the situational leadership theory includes reactions to individual occurrences in an organization. Transformational and situational leadership theories emphasize followers' development and the core position of leaders in organizational development. However, the two theories differ in that transformational leadership is a long-term process while situational leadership is occasional. Transformational leadership enjoys widespread research and application in followers' development. However, the theory lacks contextual clarity and has minimal effectiveness in corporations. On the other hand, situational leadership is flexible and practical and thus applicable in many organizational spheres. However, followers under situational leadership experience challenges in development since the model ignores demographic concerns. Transformational leadership is based on charisma, motivation, and intellectual stimulation. Conversely, situational leadership includes directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating. Between the theories, the best approach is consultative leadership since it fosters followers' development and safeguards their freedoms.
References
Khan, Z, A., Nawaz, A., Khan, I. (2016). Leadership theories and styles: A literature review. Journal of Resources Development and Management, 16 , 1-7.
Kolzow, D. (2014). Leading from within: Building organizational leadership capacity . International Economic Development Council. https://www.iedconline.org/clientuploads/Downloads/edrp/Leading_from_Within.pdf
Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: Theory and practice interactive ebook (8th ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.
Odumeru, J. A., & Ogbonna, I. G. (2013). Transformational vs. transactional leadership theories: evidence in literature. International Review of Management and Business Research , 2 (2), 355-361. https://www.irmbrjournal.com/papers/1371451049.pdf
