2. The “term ‘transformational leadership’ was coined by sociologist James V. Downton in
1973” (“What is Transformational Leadership?”, 2018, p. 3).
James Burns was instrumental in developing this theory of leaders who change established
environments for the better (“What is Transformational Leadership?”, 2018).
James Burns identified transformational leaders as centered on the needs of employees
(“What is Transformational Leadership?”, 2018).
Bass (1985) developed four factors of transformational leadership including: “idealized
influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized
consideration” (McCleskey, 2014, p. 120).
3. Bass (1985) and Burns (1978) developed the concept that ”Transactional leadership focuses on the
exchanges that occur between leaders and followers” (McCleskey, 2014, p. 122).
Max Weber, German sociologist, determined three branches of transactional leadership including:
“traditional, charismatic and rational-legal, and bureaucratic” (“What is Transactional Leadership?”,
2018, p.2–3).
James McGregor Burns wrote a book in 1978 entitled, Leadership, in which he listed the following
traits of transactional leaders: ”honesty, fairness, responsibility, and honoring commitments” (”What is
Transactional Leadership?”, 2018, p. 3).
Others wrote further regarding transactional leadership including Bernard M. Bass, Jane Howell, and
Bruce Avolio (”What is Transactional Leadership?”, 2018). These men wrote about three aspects of
transactional leadership including: (a) “contingent reward (the process of setting expectations and
rewarding workers for meeting them), (b) passive management by exception (manager does not
interfere with workflow unless an issue arises), and (c) active management by exception (managers
anticipate problems, monitor progress, and issue corrective measures)” (”What is Transactional
Leadership?”, 2018, p. 3).
4. Innovators who make the work environment and systems better (“What is
Transformational Leadership?”, 2018)
Inspirational motivators who bring departments together for a common goal
(“What is Transformational Leadership?”, 2018)
Restorer of relationships when conflicts have occurred (“What is
Transformational Leadership?”, 2018)
Considerate of others’ well-being and for the common good (“What is
Transformational Leadership?”, 2018)
Giver of confidence to employees as employees are trusted to fulfill their roles
(“What is Transformational Leadership?”, 2018)
Lead by example by building relationships with empathy (“What is
Transformational Leadership?”, 2018)
5. Organized, structured, and prefer rules to follow (“What is Transactional
Leadership”, 2018)
Prefer short-term goals (“What is Transactional Leadership?”, 2018)
Focused on efficiency (“What is Transactional Leadership?”, 2018)
Task-oriented (“What is Transactional Leadership?”, 2018)
Rigid in procedures and policies (“What is Transactional Leadership?”,
2018)
Only one way to get desired results (“What is Transactional
Leadership?”, 2018)
Utilize the system in place to achieve results (“What is Transformational
Leadership?”, 2018)
Keeps creativity to a minimum (“What is Transformational Leadership?”,
2018)
6. The following leaders exemplified the transformational leadership style (”What is
Transformational Leadership?”, 2018):
William Edwards Deming
Peter Drucker
Ross Perot
John D. Rockefeller
7. The following leaders exemplified the transactional leadership style (”What is Transactional
Leadership?”, 2018):
General Norman Schwarzkopf
Vince Lombardi
Bill Gates
Howard Schultz
8. Given the following scenario, which of the two types of
leadership styles is exemplified?
Mr. Basche is a new principal at an elementary campus a few miles from his
hometown. As he takes on the head leadership role, he looks for ways to
improve the system already in place. Mr. Basche is not interested in new ideas or
innovative ways to solve problems; however, he is very focused on meeting the
needs of the campus with policies, procedures, and incentives for staff and
students.
9. Given the following scenario, which of the two types of
leadership styles is exemplified?
Mrs. Basche is a new assistant principal at an elementary campus in town. As
she meets staff members and parents, she is already thinking of creative ways to
solve school challenges. She focuses on building relationships and rapport with
staff, parents, and students. In relating to others, Mrs. Basche loves to talk about
her vision for the school and inspires staff members to “buy in” to her vision of
creating a school environment in which students thrive in all areas of their
development.
10. In thinking about the two types of leadership styles presented, which type of
leadership style best fits how you lead?
Transformational? or Transactional?
Sam Johnson (left) and Ross
Perot (right) (Office of Sam
Johnson, 2008)
Bill Gates
(U.S. Depart. of
Health and Human
Services, 2018)
11. McCleskey, Jim. (2014). Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership
and leadership development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), 117–130.
Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f584/807652909f1c90c5a647ebcea142d2260d9a.pdf
Office of Sam Johnson. (2008). Photo of Sam Johnson and Ross Perot. Public Domain. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sam_Johnson_and_Ross_Perot.jpg
United States Department of Health and Human Services. (2018). Photo of Bill Gates.
Public Domain. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69351594
12. What is transactional leadership? How structure leads to results. St. Thomas
University Online. (2018). 1–7. Retrieved from https://online.stu.edu/articles/education/what-is-transactional-
leadership.aspx
What is transformational leadership? How new ideas produce impressive results. St. Thomas University
Online. (2018). 1–6. Retrieved from https://online.stu.edu/articles/education/what-is-transformational-
leadership.aspx
