Leadership style plays a crucial role in the development of an organization. Transactional leadership is of the leadership style that is often used by many companies. Transactional leadership believes that punishment and reward motivate people. This leadership also assumes that when people agree to do a particular assignment, a part of that agreement is that they give up all authority to their boss. The leader holds control and power over the subordinates. The main goal of the employee is to obey the orders of their managers. The idea is that when a subordinate takes up a job, he or she agrees to obey their manager totally. The ‘transaction’ is the money or any other award that the company pays to its subordinates for their compliance and effort. The relationship between the subordinate and the leader becomes transactional. In transactional leadership the leader has the right to punish his or her subordinates if their performance is not according to the predetermined standard. 

Transactional leadership makes clear that what is required and expected from their subordinates. It also mentions that subordinates will get award if they follow the orders seriously. Sometimes punishments are not mentioned but they are understood. In the early stages of transactional leadership, subordinate is in the process of negotiating the contract. The contract specifies fixed salary and the benefits that will be given to the subordinate. Rewards are given to subordinates for applied effort. Some organization use incentives to encourage their subordinates for greater productivity. Transactional leadership is a way of increasing the performance of its subordinates by giving them rewards. Transactional leadership is also called as ‘true leadership style as it focuses on short term goals instead of long term goals.

In Transactional leadership, when the leader assigns work to its subordinates, then it is the responsibility of the subordinate to see that the assigned task is finished on time. If the assigned task is not completed on time or if something then punishment is given for their failure. But if they accomplish the task in time then the subordinates are given reward for successfully completing the task. Subordinates are also given award and praised for exceeding expectations.  A subordinate whose performance is below expectation is punished and some action is taken to increase his or her performance.

Transactional leadership has more of a ‘telling style’. Transactional leadership is based on the fact that reward or punishment is dependent on the performance. Even though researchers have highlighted its limitations, transactional leadership is still used by many employers. More and more companies are adopting transactional leadership to increase the performance of its employees. This approach is prevalent in real workplace.

The main limitation of this leadership is that it assumes that people are largely motivated by simple rewards. Under transactional leadership, employees can’t do much to improve job satisfaction. Transaction leadership has been ineffective in providing skilled employees to their organization. This style of leadership is least interested in changing

the work environment. Experts do not recommend this approach. Transactional leadership focuses more on management of punishments and rewards.



Thanks to Muna wa Wanjiru for contributing this article to our Leadership Development blog:

Developing Leadership Qualities

Leadership is the most sort after trait for people who are engaged any kind of a business venture. It doesn’t matter if it is a home based business or the regular office based business. Leadership must be shown for the business to take off and prosper. Sound business decisions must be made-this is only possible through good business leadership. In fact, leadership translates to achieving of all our business objectives through strategies which are neither complex nor controversial. These strategies must also be affordable. All those people who deliver in a smooth way are the true leaders. For a home based business to prosper, a person must show tried leadership abilities. These properties must be shown even before starting the home based business; otherwise it will be foolish to engage in any business venture if you can’t take the lead.

One thing about the leaders, they are the people who believes in collective responsibilities. Business leadership requires a broader understanding of what people or clients really wants. You zero in on this to make a business killing. This is also what is known as good business acumen. This is what is required for any person who wants to engage in any home based business. Before starting, you should be able ask yourself, is what I ‘m doing really what people wants? Is the service I’m offering the right type for the people I’m offering to? Anyway, leadership skills and traits have been examined and conclusively tagged as very unique.

Before you quit your present job to engage in a home based business you should have realized that your boss is really fond of your ability to collectively work with your departmental leadership in a participatory way. This is what is going to make your new business to take off. Without being able to participate in collective activities, your home based business is doomed to fail. The ability for your business to prosper depends on how you are going to deal with your clients, thus you must take the leadership helm to show you know what you are doing.

Thus it is of a paramount importance to understand leadership before you engage in any business. In fact, it is almost structural. Business or any leadership has various contexts. A leader could be a leader by default while another has attained leadership through promotions to a managerial position. The general outcome of a leadership is inversely proportional to both business growth and employee productivity. Bad leaders compel bad results, unhealthy working environment and unproductive employees. Good leadership inspires business growth, this does not matter if it is a home-based business or a corporate business, the results are the same, poor or good.

Bad leadership has brought many a businesses to their knees. It has caused millions of money to go to the drain due to mismanagement. Good leadership has constantly brought about rapid change in the face of many business enterprises. Business organizations with good leaders, report in huge profits while the opposite is often true. A good leader listens and participates in all business undertaking with their employees or clients. Furthermore, leadership is not about imposing or instilling fear in employees rather it is all about bringing and instilling hope, passion and the best aspects in everyone they come into contact with. What I am saying is- leadership is not a one man show but a collective, participatory and responsible undertaking to the benefit of any organization. This is also the key to a successive home based business. One should learn to participate in what they preach or engage themselves in. Doing this will see you safely on the sunny side of business life.





Thanks to freddy ngiam for contributing this article to our Leadership Development blog:

Types Of Leadership Styles

Do you want to change your leadership style? Perhaps you’ve discovered something in particular that you want to do, or do differently.

And this, of course, is the problem. You want to change something you do, but the folks in the office just aren’t expecting you to change anything. They don’t WANT you to change anything.

Also, some people around you may be suspicious or cynical. Not all of them, maybe, but enough to make it tricky to change.

So no matter how enthusiastic or motivated you might be to make a change, all of the ‘noise’ around you makes you reluctant, or resistant, to change. The pain of change seems worse than the gain of change.

So you stop even thinking about change. And soon you’re as cynical and suspicious as all the rest. And nothing ever changes.

If this sluggish feeling is familiar to you, then what you’re experiencing is the heavy inertia of ‘the way things work round here’. It’s the power of the status quo to weigh heavy on you and stop you from changing anything.

How can you start the change process? What you urgently need to do is find ways over or round the inertia. And the questions to ask are these:

1. When is it easier to change my leadership style?

2. What will help me to change my leadership style?

First, it’s easier to change your leadership style when you take a new job or a new role in another department. In a new role, you can set out your plans for the new team and you can change the way you manage or lead the team. This is, of course, because no one knows you from your previous role. They don’t know the old boss.

You can also change your leadership style at the start of every new project. Every beginning is an opportunity to restart or relaunch your leadership style.

Of course, you may still have tricky issues to deal with - people asking ‘why the sudden change?’ - so there is something else you need to do: create a Leadership Manifesto to overcome inertia

A Leadership Manifesto will make it easier for you to change your leadership style.

The Manifesto - like a manifesto for a political party - is an outline sketch of what you’re trying to do. And, importantly, it’s also a sketch of HOW you’re planning to do it.

Drafting and actually discussing a one-page leadership manifesto with your team is a great way of getting people moving anyway, and the idea of a manifesto helps people focus round what you’re trying to achieve.

Now your manifesto could address any of the issues you feel are important for the team to address. Here are just three suggestions:

1. Collaborative goal setting versus boss-centred goal setting. You may want to work with people to help them set goals or you may wish to give people targets based on your understanding of their skills and performance in the past.

2. Cross-business collaboration versus cross-business competition. You may want to explore why you believe you should be collaborating with other teams in the business or why you should be competing internally with them.

3. Day-to-day constructive feedback versus end-of-year appraisals. You may wish to create a more open atmosphere and attitude towards ‘live’ performance management. You might want to create an atmosphere where it is acceptable to give practical and constructive feedback. The alternative is waiting for the end-of-year appraisal which is way too late to be useful.

I find that the concept of a leadership manifesto is very flexible and you can use it anyway that suits you. For example, you could with your team develop a change manifesto. Get the team to create their own manifesto for the way things work round here. Invite them to think about, if they were in charge, what would they change?

And finally, make sure that part of your Leadership Manifesto is about making it easy for others to make changes in their role. Give your team permission to change, too. That’s part of your developmental role, which should also be in the Manifesto.

Having an open and understood Leadership Manifesto is all part of building your personal leadership brand. Your openness on what people can expect from you helps them to trust you more, so that when the going gets tough, they know they can rely on you to lead them well.



Thanks to Steven Sonsino for contributing this article to our Leadership Development blog:

Have you claimed your Genesis site?

Can you answer heatherlea’s question about Leadership Development?:

My boss wants us to pay for and attend a baseball game which is for team building outside of work. I am not interested in baseball, paying for team building nor spending time with my boss or co-workers outside of work. So, how do I tell her I do not wish to participate without writing my own ticket out of a job?

Executive Leadership Training Program

You’ve had a great year – so good that the boss or the board or the trustees have rewarded you. Two years off! On full pay!! And the same job, pay and conditions when you get back!!! (You always knew this was a great organization to work for).

The thing is, there is (of course) a catch. But it’s not too big a catch – you simply have to take responsibility for selecting the person who will replace you for these two wonderful years. So you draw up a person spec – you write up all the things that your replacement will need to be able to do, all the things s/he will know, and all the values you want him or her to have.

When you’ve finished, you look at the list. And guess what? The shortest one (by far) is the list that deals with what your replacement needs to know. What really matters are the skills and attitudes that s/he will bring to the role.

Knowledge and facts can be picked up. Anyone can learn them. But growing creative attitudes and developing useful skills is a challenge. Leadership training that works is training that works in these two areas, and trusts the leader who has been formed to pick up the knowledge that s/he needs later on.

So how do you develop these skills and attitudes? Only through practice, through relationships, through seeing good practice modeled, reflecting on it, being coached in it, and trying it out for yourself. Leadership training that works is training that challenges the whole person, shifts his or her perception of themselves and empowers him or her to adopt new attitudes and develop new skills. It treats each and every experience as the raw material for learning, and believes that that includes failure as well as success. All is material for growth and change.

That means that leadership training that works will be designed to fit the specific and particular needs of your organisation, not taken off the peg or shelf. Beware the pre-prepared salad mix with the short shelf life!



Thanks to Jerry for contributing this article to our Leadership Development blog:

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