Transformational Leadership as Predictor of Employee Engagement

 

Shweta Jha

 

ABSTRACT:

Transformational leaders consistently motivate their followers to realize their full potentials and distinguish themselves by way of extra-ordinary accomplishments which they can legitimately own even in an organizational context. This in turn works as a cementing force for emotional connect between the leaders and their followers. As a result of profound emotional connects, the employees not only identify themselves with their leaders but also map their personal vision-mission with that of the organization and thus go all out to achieve the strategic objectives set by top management. It is therefore assumed that transformational leadership serves as predictor of employee engagement. While there are factors such as compensation, organizational culture and climate, training and development opportunities, challenging assignments, etc. which augment employee engagement, transformational leadership is the single most important factor that unlocks the hidden potentials of the employees and inspires them to write success stories in a way that they can claim as their own. This article examines how transformational leaders catalyse engagement of their team members in contemporary organizations.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Transformational leaders are uniquely gifted not only to bring out the hidden talents of others but also realise their own potentials for the advantage of the organizations they represent. This special quality serves as superglue that connects them with their team members well beyond the call of duty and proverbial loyalty. Most significant contribution of such leaders is to kindle a constant desire among their followers to explore what drives them to excel professionally.

 

This can be achieved by making the real world palpable for them, encouraging a belief in the underlying purpose of the enterprise and creating a sense of ownership over their achievements (Menkes, 2011).

 

Only the most masterful leaders can make the competitive external environment perceptible in a manner that allows their followers to see how their personal efforts are translating into actual successes or losses in the outside world (Menkes, 2011).  

 

Interestingly, it is a bit difficult to draw a pattern vis-à-vis how the transformational leaders motivate their employees and augment level of their engagement with the enterprise. For example, Satya Nadella of Microsoft did not engage his people by making a speech but rather by leading a company-wide hackathon and empowering them to work on projects they were passionate about –an initiative which augmented employee engagement to new level and helped drive company’s expansion into cloud services and artificial intelligence, areas that now account for 32% revenue of the organization (Anthony and Schwartz, 2017). Story of Satya Nadella indicates that transformational leadership is not limited to the traditional paradigm of charisma, personal appeals and motivational speeches.

Table 1: Elements of Organizational Conversation

Intimacy How leaders relate to employees	Interactivity How leaders use communication channels	Inclusion How leader develop organizational content	Intentionality How leaders convey strategy
Old Model: Corporate Communication
Information flow is primarily top-down Tone is formal and corporate	Messages are broadcast to employees Print, newsletter, memos, and speeches predominate	Top executives create and control messaging Employees are passive consumers of information	Communication is fragmented, reactive and ad hoc Leaders use assertion to achieve strategic alignment
New Model: Organizational Communication
Communication is personal and direct Leaders value trust and authenticity	Leaders talk with employees, not to them Organizational culture fosters back and forth and face to face interaction	Leaders relinquish a measure of control over content Employees actively participate in organizational messaging	A clear agenda informs all communication Leaders carefully explain agenda to employees Strategy emerges from a cross-organizational conversation
What it means for employers and employees
Leaders emphasize listening to employees rather than just speaking to them Employees engage in a bottom-up exchange of ideas	Leaders use video and social media tools to facilitate two-way communication Employees interact with colleagues through blogs and discussion forums	Leaders involve employees in telling company story Employees act as brand ambassadors and though leaders	Leaders build their messaging around company strategy Employees take part in creating strategy via specially designed communication vehicles

[Source:Groysberg and Slind (2012)]

 

Rather, it talks volumes about how the leaders can unite passion of the employees with the fortunes of the organization.

 

Transformational leaders leverage organizational conversations to nurture employee engagement using unorthodox ways as control and command have lost relevance today in the wake of emerging knowledge economy. Groysberg and Slind (2012) have suggested a unique organizational conversation models based on intimacy, interactivity, inclusion and intentionality which go a long way in raising the level of engagement among the employees. Table 1 provides a summary view of the model.

 

It has further been observed that when communication system of an organization is symmetrical (i.e. it has two-way information flow, it emphasizes listening, feedback, reciprocity, inclusion and employee empowerment and participation and it is employee-centred) the internal stakeholder can develop a long-term, trusting, committed and satisfied relationship with the organization which in turn drives employee engagement (Men and Bowen, 2017). Company’s and leaders’ use of interactive communication channels such as traditional face-to-face communication and social media tools to connect with employees help in augmenting their involvement (Men, 2014)

 

Role modelling is another sure way of inducing higher engagement levels among the employees. It goes without saying that transformational leaders are more likely to be role models, given their charismatic mannerisms. An effective role model is someone who is attractive in having positions of influence, especially power over individuals, some who seems to have come from similar set of experiences such as managers who have advanced in their own company, someone who comes across as a guide or teacher for employees, ahead even of being a representative of the shareholder interests (Cappelli, et al., 2010).

 

The best thing that a transformational leader does is to create a positive organizational climate that ensures higher degree of employee engagement in any organization. Typically the leaders’ efforts to nurture positive organizational climate hinge on how they conduct day-to-day transactions with their team members. Amabile and Kramer (2011) have provided a brief checklist on whether the leaders are contributing to positive organizational climate:

·      Consideration for people and their ideas: In word and deed, do top managers honour the dignity of employees and the value of their ideas? Do other managers, too, serve as examples of civil discourse and welcome every individual’s contribution?

·      Coordination: Are systems and procedures designed to facilitate smooth collaboration between individuals and groups? Is the organizational structure congruent with the organization’s strategic goals and employees’ skills to meet those goals?

·      Communication: This is perhaps the most powerful force. Clear, honest and respectful, and free-flowing communication is essential for sustaining progress, coordinating work, establishing trust, and conveying that people and their ideas have value to the organization. 

 

It is undisputed that leadership as a nested influence in the organization is a significant antecedent of employee engagement (Men and Bowen, 2017). Further, leadership, trustworthiness and communication style of the CEO and the communication channels sway employees’ acuity of the organizational standing, their faith and confidence in the organization and their level of engagement (Men and Bowen, 2017). Christian, Garza and Slaughter (2011) have also indicated that transformational leadership which is visionary, empowering, relationship oriented and innovative, profoundly augments levels of engagement among employees. Transformational leadership characterized by contingent reward such as leader clarifying roles and task expectations, and providing concomitant rewards based on fulfilment of job obligations contribute to higher levels of employee engagement (Breevaart, et al. 2014). 

 

Why Employee Engagement?

Disengagement of employees is pretty costly. According to a study, estimated cost of disengagement is $243-270 (Men and Bowen, 2017). On the other hand, comparative advantage of organizations is often attributed to positive attitude and behaviour of employees as well as their holistic engagement (Cappelli, et al., 2010). Engaged employees express themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performances (Kahn, 1990). Such characteristics augment productivity beyond limits. Engaged employees demonstrate high levels of energy while working, feel strongly involved, absorbed and engrossed in their work; exhibit passion, pride and enthusiasm in what they do; and find meaning, inspiration and purpose in their work (Men and Bowen, 2017). 

 

Considering the importance of employee engagement, it is imperative for top leadership of any organization to reorient its strategies towards unlocking the vast potential of the team members. Leaders have a special responsibility towards creating an enabling, progressive and forward-looking organizational culture. However, leadership style may make or mar the organizational eco-system vis-à-vis employee engagement. Hence interventions may ideally begin at the top by examining their leadership philosophy, style, and orientation. It would be wise to provide holistic coaching to the leaders if their traits are autocratic or transactional. All other tactics of fostering employee engagement would invariably fail just in case we miss the point regarding profound significance of transformational leadership. 

 

CONCLUSION:

Employee engagement is one of the critical issues that matter for organization’s long-term success such as customer satisfaction, and fosters positive employee attitudes as well as supportive employee behaviour (Men and Bowen, 2017). Hence the leaders need to focus on strengthening organizational culture based on democratic and humanistic values by stretching themselves to reach out to their team members when they need encouragement, inspiration, or even course correction. Such an approach may foster trust as well as mutual admiration. Organizations are bound to succeed beyond limits if the leaders are able to reinforce a symbiotic relationship with their followers. True, transformational leadership is the way forward.

 

REFERENCES:

1.     Amabile, T. and Kramer, S. (2011). The progress principle: Using small wins to ignite joy, engagement and creativity at work. Harvard Business School Publishing.

2.     Anthony, S. D. and Schwartz, E. I. (2017). What the best transformational leaders do. Harvard Business Review, May 8, 2017.

3.     Breevaart, K., Bakker, A., Hetland, J., Demerouti, E., Olsen, O. K., Espevik, R. (2014). Daily transactional and transformational leadership and daily employee engagement. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87 (1), 138-157. 

4.     Cappelli, P., Singh, H., Singh, J. and Useem, M. (2010). The India way: How India’s top business leaders are revolutionizing management. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press. 

5.     Christian, M. S., Garza, A. S. and Slaughter, J. E (2011). Work engagement: A quantitative review and tests of its relations with task and contextual performance. Personnel Psychology, 17 February 2011.  

6.     Groysberg, B. and Slind, M. (2012). Leadership is a conversation: How to improve employee engagement and alignment in today’s flatter, more networked organizations. Harvard Business Review, June, 2012.

7.     Men, L. R. (2014). Strategic internal communication: Transformational leadership, communication channels and employee satisfaction. Management Communication Quarterly, 28 (2), 264-284.

8.     Men, R. L. and Bowen, S. A. (2017).Excellence in internal communication management. Business Expert Press.

9.     Menkes, J. (2011). Better under pressure: How great leaders bring out the best in themselves and others. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press. 

 

 

 

Received on 07.03.2019                Modified on 31.03.2019

Accepted on 18.04.2019           ©AandV Publications All right reserved