Why is Transformational Leadership So Hard? What Is It?
I am very focused on and believe that transformational leadership has many benefits to medical technology. It might be needed in all sectors that need to exit the industrial era. For example, I also think it’s potentially needed in many other contexts than medical technology but can bear much higher risks of failure, for example the NonProfit and public sectors.
WHY:
The irony of transformational leadership is that while the focus is on enthusiasm and inspiration, the practice actually requires exponentially greater operating, management, and execution, coordination, and communication acumen than traditional management does. It’s a paradox of requiring the most of both styles, transformational and transactional leadership, in order to work.
Transformational leadership can result in boldly going nowhere if there is not a strong balanced team to bring forward operational acumen and operating excellence. A transformational leadership style can contribute to burnout through two of the largest causes of burnout cited by researchers stemming from the lack of key management and execution competencies:
1) Inability to accurately scope work in fine precise details. Hard to do, especially in software. It’s key to break everything down into small, manageable, trackable tasks.
2) Inability to plan accurately and appropriately in fine accurate details. You need project and program professionals and a culture that respects them and recognizes that project and program management are the ultimate team sports.
One thing I’ve noticed is that many professionals including executives don’t know what transformational leadership really is. The practice is actually extremely time consuming. Another CEO told me a story about being asked whether the role of an enterprise startup CEO was a full time one. The person asking the question obviously misunderstands the requirements inherent to attracting, engaging, and retaining team members and collaborators engaged in a startup context. That requires transformational leadership. Those that don’t understand transformational leadership fail to realize that it takes an enormous amount of operational planning, communication, and coordination. Much more than full time.
This article does a great job outlining the differences between transformational and traditional transactional leadership styles.
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-transformational-leadership-20979.html
FTA: What makes transformational leadership hard: “Requires a Continuous Feedback Loop
The other side of communication requirements for transformational leadership is that it really only works if there’s continuous communication available. Transformational leaders rely on keeping enthusiasm levels high, and that takes a lot of work and a lot of meetings and feedback — to be successful.”
There is no panacea and different people can need different forms of leadership. If you’re a transformational leader, congratulations on being future-ready but beware of the style triggering burnout due to any potential lack of management and execution excellence. Also, make sure that you have crystal clear detailed operating requirements and plans that everyone understands as well as the capabilities and the model, frameworks, and time built in for all the meetings, communication, and coordination it takes to execute on transformational leadership.
image credit: CQ Net C
By: Sherri Douville CEO & Board Member at Medigram, Inc.and Editor, Mobile Medicine: Overcoming People, Culture, & Governance https://www.linkedin.com/in/sdouville/
