Introduction
A transformational leadership (TL) style inspires workers to change, develops a sense of responsibility, and promotes accountability and autonomy in the workplace. Unlike most leadership theories, which focus solely on the leaders’ actions, TL revolves around both followers and leaders. One of the methods for evaluating leaders is an interview when they reveal their management aspects and styles. Well-formulated questions allow the researcher to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the leaders and their ability to innovate and change. This paper will examine how the questions posed to Professor Mercy Ford are relevant to the theory of transformational leadership.
The Role of the Leader
The first question focuses on the leader’s characteristic that allows her to create innovation for school change. According to the transformational model, the responsibility for effective leadership lies not only with the leader but also with the behavior of her followers (Le, 2020). This question reveals how Mercy Ford understands her unique role and applies it to her colleagues. Such a practical application can be an idealized influence on employees when the leader serves as a role model and the leader’s behavior becomes a transformative factor.
The second question focuses on the leadership style that influences the change process. It reveals whether the leader adheres to a transformational or transactional model. The TL connects with the team’s psychological aspects and communication (Bakker et al., 2022). The transformational leader does not treat all employees equally, sees each employee’s contribution to the common cause, and helps them remove obstacles to the goal. The answer to this question may include one or all four elements that define a transformational leader.
Organizational structure and motivation
This question aims to identify the leader’s ability to notice the team’s concerns and fears during the change process. It also shows how a transformational leader adapts people to change and maintains motivation and performance at a high level. Transformational leaders will influence motivation and productivity through team satisfaction with work. For example, impact measures include communication, emotional support, appreciation of each employee’s contribution, and convincing people that work makes sense and changes the world.
The fourth question is a continuation of the previous one and reveals the problem of the company’s organizational culture in more detail. The answer to this question gives an idea about the methods the leader uses to maintain an innovative culture. Research confirms that employee dissatisfaction with an organization or company will impact their job dissatisfaction and undoubtedly affect their performance (Paais & Pattiruhu, 2020). The answer to this question demonstrates the company’s willingness to listen and support employees in their desire to create innovations.
Transformational Leadership
Methods for achieving employee growth or intellectual stimulation are critical questions in the study of transformational leadership. A good leader lets people know they can do something no one else has ever done before. The fifth question shows the methods that Mercy Ford uses for this purpose. Examples of questions that reveal the same issue can be “What interesting tasks does the leader set for employees?” or “Do employees keep coming up with great ideas?” (Jensen et al., 2020). An honest answer to this question will help assess the qualities of a leader.
The academic goal of this question is to understand what qualities Mercy Ford finds the most helpful in her job. For example, according to Chua & Ayoko (2021), the inspirational motivation of a transformational leader is related to the ability to articulate and communicate their vision or challenging goal to their subordinates. They consider the trust and identification of employees with the leader as the primary qualities. Other studies argue that a sense of purpose and purpose at work is most significant in employee intrinsic motivation and autonomy (Reza, 2019). However, the common thing is the concentration on the psychological aspects and the development of morality together with colleagues.
The last question involves a subjective assessment that Mercy Ford gives herself. TL involves not a one-time introduction of change but the constant generation of innovations. The leader can honestly answer this question, only relying on her team and their results. This question can also be a test for the researcher. In the case of the practical application of all TL methods, the team will likely not get stuck and will implement more reforms.
Conclusion
Questions and answers can provide insight into a leader’s qualities, character, and skills to apply TL theory. Answers to these questions may vary in different cases but contain several standard approaches. Thus, in answering questions, the leader must demonstrate his ability to apply inspiring motivation, intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, and individual consideration. In addition, leaders have qualities such as listening to colleagues, including criticisms, being ready to answer questions, and clearly articulating their goals and objectives. For academic purposes, the compilation of questionnaires is essential since correctly formulated questions will allow researchers to get answers adequate to their topic. Forming questions also requires a clear understanding of the topic. In addition, the collected data will enable gathering information to identify trends in the study topic of transformational leadership.
References
Bakker, A. B., Hetland, J., Olsen, O. K., & Espevik, R. (2022). Daily transformational leadership: A source of inspiration for follower performance?. European Management Journal. Web.
Chua, J., & Ayoko, O. B. (2021). Employees’ self-determined motivation, transformational leadership and work engagement. Journal of Management & Organization, 27(3), 523-543. Web.
Jensen, M., Potočnik, K., & Chaudhry, S. (2020). A mixed-methods study of CEO transformational leadership and firm performance. European Management Journal, 38(6), 836-845. Web.
Le, P. B. (2020). How transformational leadership facilitates radical and incremental innovation: The mediating role of individual psychological capital. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 12(3/4), 205-222. Web.
Paais, M., & Pattiruhu, J. R. (2020). Effect of motivation, leadership, and organizational culture on satisfaction and employee performance. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(8), 577-588. Web.
Reza, M. H. (2019). Components of transformational leadership behavior. EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinari Research, 5(3), 119-124.