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Transactional vs Transformational Leadership

Do you strive to be a transactional leader or a transformational leader?


Most of the coaches I know stress the importance of being a transformational leader: leaders who seek to change the thoughts, techniques, goals, behaviors, and lives of the people they coach and lead, rather than being transactional leaders: a give-and-take leadership approach that focuses on transactions; what can I do for you, and what can you do for me.


Which leadership style is more effective for you and the people you coach and lead?


The Case for Being a Transformational Leader



Nick Saban is one of the most successful coaches in the history of college football, and he said his career changed when he switched from having a transformational approach to a transactional approach.


Coach Saban said he started his career being a transactional leader where he said everything was about winning or losing. When they won, he was happy and positive, and he patted people on the back so everyone felt good, but because everything was based on the outcome, when things didn’t go well, he was the opposite. Coach Saban said he was hard on people and criticized them. He said when you aren’t being positive and using failure as a teaching moment, it can create a tremendously negative effect on morale.


Negative experiences without teaching kill morale.

On College Gameday, Coach Saban said he was a transactional coach where everything was about winning or losing until 1998. He was the head coach at Michigan State, and they were 4-5 and getting ready to play Ohio State, the number one team in the country. He said he didn’t think they had a chance to win, and the university was getting ready to fire him, so he had to figure out what his approach was going to be.


After a meeting with a psychologist, Coach Saban said he decided to become a transformational leader, someone his players could emulate. He showed his care for his players and for what they could get out of it, not what he could get out of it. He said he created a strong vision for what they wanted to accomplish and how they were going to do it, and they created value-based principles that would help his athletes be successful in life.


They focused on winning one play at a time, and they actually won the game. Coach Saban changed his career by becoming a transformational leader.


He then said everything in college sports right now is transactional - athletes are jumping into the portal because they want more playing time and more money. 


Being transformational means you have passion and a purpose bigger than yourself and immediate gratification from those things and helping the people you coach and lead do the same.


THE CASE FOR TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP



Brett Ledbetter is a thinking partner with some of the best coaches, athletes, and leaders in sports, and he says the greatest leaders he has been around don’t care about legacy, they only care about doing the best they can and elevating the people around them. He says the best he’s been around don’t even think about being a transformational coach.


When asked what coaches can do to add value as transactional leaders, Brett said the goal is to add value to their athlete’s dreams. Help your athletes identify what they want to accomplish and what their vision for themselves is, and help them work through what they are starting to strive for. Then, help them identify what they need to say yes to and what they need to say no to to begin the journey towards becoming who they want to become.


Brett says wanting to be a transformational leader is all about you. If you want to be a partner in their dreams, that is all about them and they feel that energy. The transformation is a by-product of your relationship.


Which way is right? Should you be a transformational or transactional leader? Which style is about you, and which style is about them?


What if we took the best qualities from both leadership styles, and combined them?


What is one of the best qualities of transformational leadership?

I want to be a positive influence that helps people become the best version of themselves.


What is one of the best qualities of transactional leadership?

I’m going to help you figure out what you want to get out of this and help you earn it so that you can have the experience that you want.


What is one of the worst qualities of transformational leadership?

I know what is best for you, and because I’m your coach, you need to do what I say.


What is one of the worst qualities of transactional leadership?

I care about you when you do well or do what I want, and I don’t care when you don’t.


How can you do more of the best of both, and how can you limit or eliminate the worst of both?


The goal is to be strong in both being a transformational leader and meeting the transactional needs of the people we lead, but sometimes we are lacking in one, the other, or both.


When you find a deficit, address it. Close the gaps until there aren’t any.


This exercise has taught me that I want to be a transformational leader who utilizes transactions to maximize the experiences of the people I lead. My goal is to facilitate positive changes and transformations in the people I lead so they can become who they want to become while focusing on their goals and dreams, not my own.


I want to help the people I lead become (transform) the people they want to become so they can do (transaction) what they want to do. How do we do this?


The concept of Transformational Leadership began with James V. Downton in 1973, and in 1985, researcher Bernard M. Bass found ways to measure the success of transformational leaders by identifying 4 factors transformational leaders do well:


1 - Idealized Influence: They lead by example

2 - Intellectual Stimulation: They encourage people to be creative and innovative critical thinkers and problem solvers, not just doers, so that they can find better ways of performing.

3 - Inspirational Motivation: Motivate and inspire your people by creating a compelling vision for the future.

4 - Individualized Consideration: Transformational leaders pay attention to the individual needs and development of their followers, and act as mentors and coaches, providing support and guidance to help each person reach their full potential.


What about you? What kind of leader are you going to be?


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