Transforming Leadership
In his seminal book Leadership, James Macgregor Burns coins the phrase, ‘Transforming Leadership’ (1978).
Burns says that a transforming leader “looks for potential motives in followers, seeks to satisfy higher needs and engages the full person of the follower. The result of transforming leadership is a relationship of mutual stimulation and elevation between the leader and follower.
Transforming leaders tap existing and potential motives in followers, not to manipulate, but for the purpose of realizing the intended change that lifts their followers up. They achieve this by trying to connect the motives of their followers to higher-level needs such as morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, or the acceptance of others (Maslow, 1943). In doing so, transforming leaders honor the personhood of their followers and establish a mutually beneficial relationship.
In my earlier work as a pastor, I was on a rotating list with the pastoral team of the church to cover walk-in appointments, phone calls, or anything requiring the attention of a pastor during office hours. Just getting started, I remember feeling a small sense of fear and trepidation about these walk-in visits and calls. Would I be able to handle the situations that would come my way? What would I do if someone like Charles Manson walked through the door? My anxieties were eased a bit as I learned alongside seasoned pastors that shared that same sense of nervousness (no one really wants to meet a Charles Manson, it turns out). I learned to see each walk-in or call as a blank canvas, and was divinely prompted to remember that each person is highly important to God. As a team, we sought to understand what each individual was wanting and needing, while honoring their personhood and helping them expand their choices. It was so encouraging to see God work wonders in real lives and to get to be a part of it. These meetings never failed to remind me of the redemptive work God has done in my own life, for which I am so grateful!
So where are you? Are you intentionally looking to lift others up around you? Are there any excuses you have made that are keeping you from making a transforming investment in a key relationship, whether personal or professional? What are the costs and benefits of making this investment?
It’s a new year; consider making one of your resolutions a commitment in taking the next step in that key relationship. Following through on a commitment like this will likely cost you something, but it will only help you grow in your journey towards being a transformational leader.
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. HarperCollins, New York, N.Y.
Maslow, A. H. A Theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Review 50(4) (1943): 370-96.
