Extended Definition Essay - "It is what our Nation needs"

 "A nation as a society forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society"(Jefferson T.) All of us are responsible for the good of the nation and it depends on the quality of leadership that we have. When it comes to leadership, it is a broad term that is open to interpretations. Anyone can give a definition and interpret what leadership is and what it means for us as productive citizens.

       Leadership is defined as the process of organizing and leading to achieve a common goal. “It is the art of influencing others to their maximum performance to accomplish any task and objective.” (Cohen, W.A. 'The art of a leader' Englewood cliffs, NJ: Apprentice Hall 1990, p. 9) And according to the handbook of leadership development, leadership means responsibility meaning we are all obliged n the leadership role that we have. It does take skill. And if all of us can learn and improve different skills, then all of us can learn leadership skills. Leadership can be expressed in different manners such as the types and styles of it. There are two types of leadership: transformational and transactional leadership and this is what our nation needs. Transactional and transformational leadership are the key factors to achieve the progress of our country.

      "Transactional leadership is referred as managerial leadership which focuses on the interaction between a leader and a follower." (Cherry, 2012) It motivates a follower to do what they are asked to do. The power of transactional leaders comes from their authority and responsibility in the organization. It involves rewards and punishment. According to a management study guide, leaders link the goal to rewards, clarify expectations, provide necessary resources, set mutually agreed upon goals, and provide various kinds of rewards for successful performance. They set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals for their subordinates. And this means that transactional leaders are concerned more on the processes of arriving at a goal than forward-thinking ideas.

       Transformational leadership on the other hand, facilitates a redefinition of a people’s mission and vision, a renewal of their commitment and the restructuring of their systems for goal accomplishment. It is a relationship of mutual stimulation and elevation that converts followers into leaders and may convert leaders into moral agents. Hence, transformational leadership must be grounded in moral foundations.(Leithwood, as cited in Cashin et al., 2000, p.1) It is a leadership that involves motivation to make the followers do more than what they are asked to do. This kind of leadership raises the achievements of the leaders as well as the follower. Transformational leaders elevate people from low levels of need, focused on survival (following Maslow’s hierarchy), to higher levels (Kelly, 2003; Yukl, 1989). Leaders bring higher commitment to their followers because of their organizational objectives.  They motivate their followers for a common vision that is clear and in appealing manner. “Transformational leaders are distinguished by their capacity to inspire and provide individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation and idealized influence to their followers” (Bass, Avolio, Jung & Berson, 2003, p. 208). And according to Leithwood, they also create opportunities for their followers and stimulate followers to solve problems.

         Transactional and transformational leadership both have clear sense of purpose, high expectations, life-long learners, risk-taking, unwilling to believe in failure, listens to all viewpoints and can deal with complexity. Transactional leadership can be defined as a managerial leadership which can help an individual or group of people to achieve satisfactions while transformational leadership can be defines as visionary leadership which can help us to value and give importance to relationships between people. Leaders under these kinds of leadership identify themselves as change agents. They have the courage to fulfill their goals and are able to attract and inspire others. Through these kinds of leadership, it can lead us to successful management that can also lead to economic stability of our country. And economic stability is a big factor for the progress of our country.

         All in all, transactional and transformational leadership are important in our country today. It will help us to be motivated in developing a vision. It will affect individual and organizations for an enormous change. And this change is what our nation needs. These ways of leading can help us individuals to fulfill a vision. But, the capacity of an individual or group of people transformation must not rely on the different types of leadership, it must be accompanied with moral responsibility for leaders to lead and organize well.