The study on Remote transformational leadership sought to explore
several different questions: does physical distance has an effect on
transformational leadership and leader subordinate relationships, and if
transformational leadership and charismatics in e-mail can affect subordinate
performance. These studies were accomplished through both the vignette
technique and in a laboratory setting.
The first of these studies was accomplished through a vignette. Twelve MBA students who had recently listened
to a lecture on transformational leadership were each given a questionnaire to
fill out. They were asked to answer a
number of questions relating to a particular fake scenario. The scenario presented three possible e-mails
sent from a leader figure to a subordinate.
Each e-mail was based on a separate leadership style. These styles are transformational,
management-by-exception and laissez-faire.
The e-mails were from Mark (the leader) to Jeff (the subordinate).
The first of these styles used the transformational approach
encouraging and praising Jeff, suggesting that if he has any questions he can
reach out to Mark for help in accomplishing the problem if it is needed. The second e-mail followed the
management-by-exception style and informed Jeff that he would be watched
closely and that any mistakes would not be tolerated. The final e-mail was presented in laissez-faire
style and suggested that Mark could really care less about the situation, he
would be gone for the weekend, and that it was up to Jeff to figure it out, if
he wanted. In the text Yukl describes
this as “passive indifference about the task and subordinates and as the
absence of effective leadership” (Yukl, 2013, p. 323)
In order to further answer the question posed by the researcher,
two specific questions were posed for this method. The first question posed was, “can recipients
perceive and accurately identify leadership “styles” communicated by e-mail?
Second, is receiving an e-mail with a positive leadership method as opposed to a
negative message perceive to be associated with positive outcomes” (Kelloway,
Julian, Elizabeth, Julie, & Bernadette, 2002, p. 164) . In this study, students read the scenario and
answered the questions. The results were
as follows, the e-mails sent in a laissez-faire style had no effect, the
e-mails sent in a management-by-exception style had a negative effect and the
e-mails sent using a transformational style had a positive effect. To both the questions asked for the first
study, the answers would be yes.
Students can perceive leadership styles and the positive e-mails would
have a positive effect.
The purpose of the second study was to build on the first, asking
whether or not students who read an intellectually stimulating e-mail would
show higher levels of task motivation and perform better than those that read
an e-mail from a charismatic leader. This was accomplished through an
experiment involving 105 college students.
Each student was assigned the task of sorting out a list of items in
order of importance to survival. Before
being assigned to groups they were to sort out the rankings individually and
then were put into groups to complete the task again from a group
standpoint. Before beginning the task,
each student was presented with an e-mail that contained either a charismatic
message presenting the leader’s vision and confidence in the students, while
the other e-mail contained an intellectually stimulating message encouraging
participants to “think outside the box”.
According to the research, the group that had read the intellectually stimulating message performed better with
higher scores than the groups that had read the charismatic leader’s e-mail. Much like in the
first research method, the researchers hypothesized that the students who read
the intellectually stimulating e-mail would perform better than the students
reading the e-mail from the charismatic leader.
In both studies the researchers hypothesized correctly.
Both of these studies are important for several reasons. They ask a variety of questions which are
relevant in our day and age. We live in
a technologically advanced world that has brought about a great deal of change
in the way we communicate. Much of our
communication is done through e-mail in many cases foregoing personal contact
with our leadership for days. Because of
this, it is important to understand how we affect our subordinates as leaders
and what we can do to help and encourage them in the most effective way
possible. Through positive e-mail, that
encourages and stimulates the thinking of our employees, we can be better
leaders who help them create positive change within our organizations.
The first studies shows that positive forms of electronic communication
are very important in boosting the productivity of those we are asked to lead,
while the second study shows that intellectually stimulating e-mails will help
them show more motivation and perform better.
The most interesting piece of the second study was that both e-mails
were positive, the only difference was that the second e-mail was also
intellectually stimulating and encouraged participants to think outside the box
rather that rely on the vision of the leader.
Yukl groups intellectual stimulation in the text with transformational
leaders, and suggests that it “is behavior that influences followers to view
problems from a new perspective and look for more creative solutions” (Yukl, 2013, p. 322) .
I would suspect the reason the group that read the intellectually
stimulating e-mail performed better was due to the fact that those that read
the first e-mail were too worried about accomplishing the task the way the
leader wanted them to, rather than thinking for themselves, and approaching the
situation in the way they thought best.
Transformational leadership is important in that it is meant to develop,
encourage, and motivate employees to think for themselves, and want to perform
at a high level. Yukl explains, “Transformational
leaders probably do more things that will empower followers and make them less
dependent on the leader, such as delegating significant authority to
individuals or teams, developing follower skills and self-confidence providing direct access to sensitive information, eliminating unnecessary controls, and building a strong culture to support empowerment” (Yukl, 2013, p. 329) . When we approach leadership in this style, we
can help to improve and build up subordinates.
If our goals are to help build quality, independent future leaders and
workers, the positive outcomes for the organization and the individuals will be
great, and will only help to build on our own success as leaders within our
organizations.
References
Kelloway, K. E., Julian, B., Elizabeth, K., Julie,
C., & Bernadette, G. (2002). Remote Transformational Leadership. Leadership
and Organization Development Journal, 163-171.
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations.
Boston: Pearson.
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