The dynamic and abstract nature of leadership Essay

Introduction

Leadership has been defined and explained by various authors and researchers in an attempt to collectively embody what leadership is in their literature but till now no generally accepted definition has arisen. The dynamic and abstract nature of leadership results in the theorists, individuals and participants defining leadership as they have witnessed it, felt it, experienced it and perceived it. The leadership style adopted by an organization can affect the survival and performance (Paracha, Qamar, Mirza, Hassan, & Waqas, 2012).

Leadership is the act of influencing the beliefs and stance of other individuals (followers) by the leader (Singh, 2015 Nikezi, Puri, & Puri, 2012). Leadership entails initiation and direction of followers towards attaining set goals and objectives (DarteyBaah, 2015 Ayub, Manaf, & Hamzah, 2014). Through the beginning of leadership documentation till now various theories have been presented from the trait theory to the situational leadership theory, servant leadership theory and a lot more. The transactional and transformational leadership occupies a significant position in modern day leadership literature. The technological industry was chosen due to it prominence and importance in current times. Steve Jobs was chosen not just because he is a prominent leader but also due to his death he represents a rather stable and constant subject for consideration.

This essay will consider the transformational and transactional leadership theories. The transformational and transactional leadership will be considered. Then Steve Jobs as a representative of the technology industry will be considered in an attempt to place his leadership capacity within either or both of the theories.

Transformational and Transactional Leadership

The idea of transformational and transactional leadership was brought forward by James Burns in 1978 as a product of research on political leaders and was advanced by Bernard Bass but its application has spread into management and various other fields (Stone, Russell, & Patterson, 2003 Givens, 2008 James & Ogbonna, 2013). Bass recognized transactional and transformational after considering Burns transactional leadership concept (Nikezi et al., 2012).

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leadership has realized recognition in the last decades for its applicability and its ability to utilize the holistic and individualistic approach (DarteyBaah, 2015) to motivate the follower to performing better (Givens, 2008 James & Ogbonna, 2013). Though the link and similarities between charismatic and transformational leadership are clear they are not the same thing. A transformational leader is one that transforms, inspires and motivates the followers by being a role model towards achievement of the goals and objective while also ensuring that the employees grow and develop through this journey to goal achievement (Kaya & Ozmusul, 2014 Ayub, et al., 2014 Stone, Russell, & Patterson, 2003 DarteyBaah, 2015).

This leader is interested in employee empowerment and character and value development by aligning the employees individual values and moral to that of the organization (Givens, 2008). Transformational leaders empower and enable follower to achieve their cooperative goals and look further ahead (Stone, Russell, & Patterson, 2003 DarteyBaah, 2015).The leader has high value performance expectations from the employee (Dimaculangan & Aguiling, 2012).