elp their followers get from where they are to the achievement of their work goals and make the journey easier by reducing roadblocks and pitfallsö (Robbins 2003, 137). Measures of effectiveness of transactional leaders include motivating employees to effectively perform and offering the support and guidance required to effectively perform.
Nuances of transactional leadership include being directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented. The effective transactional leader can exhibit any or all of these behavior depending on a given situation. One example of a transactional leader would be a weight-loss counselor. The weight-loss counselor will provide clients with specific and clear goals to achieve, such as losing a certain number of pounds by a specified date and specifics about dietary content. Such leaders are often most effective with individuals who exhibit and external locus of control if directive or individuals who exhibit an internal locus of control if they are participative.
Another effective and powerful form of leadership strategy is known as the transformational leadership style. Transformational leaders are charismatic leaders who inspire, motivate, and create visions for their organizations and followers. It is often by sheer force of personality that such leaders are able to inspire others to forgo their own self-interests for the sake of organizational interests. According to Robbins (2003), transformational leaders exhibit five attributes that lead to such an impact on followers:
Such a leadership strategy often involves unconventional behavior that seems to counter norms. They also are prone to involved themselves in behaviors that have a high personal risk, come at great costs, and demand self-sacrifice to achieve their vision. Such a leader in the real world would be someone like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mary Kay, the founder and owner of Mary Kay cosmetics. Such leaders of...