Transformational Leadership v Transactional Leadership

Transformational Leadership v Transactional Leadership

What is Transformational Leadership? (Transformative leadership)

What is Transactional Leadership?

A quick and easy guide to the difference between Transformational Leadership and Transactional Leadership.

Transformational Leadership v Transactional Leadership, what is the difference? Below is a handy chart that explains the difference between Transformational Leadership and Transactional Leadership. Note Transformational Leadership is also known as Transformative Leadership:

 

Transactional Leadership

Transformational Leadership

Transactional leadership also known as managerial leadership, tend to focus on supervision, organisation, and driving performance. This a style of leadership usually promotes compliance through both rewards and punishments. The idea is that work is a direct transaction for money and reward and therefore performance can be manipulated through increasing the transactions (rewards) and discouraging low performance behaviours through punishments such as withdrawing support, a bad appraisal, a lower or no bonus for example.

Transformational leadership is where a leader works with people across the organisation and with external stakeholders to help identify what change is needed, creating a vision to guide change and creating commitment to the organisation, its values and any changes needed. It is more of a facilitative style of leadership that aims to build trust, involvement and commitment to the aims of the organisation.

 

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