My working title for this post was, “A Tale of Two Theories.” However, while discussing my recent posts with a colleague over lunch she asked, “Who really cares about the theories though?” It was a fair point. Theory can be esoteric and difficult to apply directly for the practicing leader. The popularity of “five things” posts on the web speaks to the interest in practical approaches to leadership. That said, the popular dialogue on the web also leans heavily on leadership theory as well. This brings me back to my tale of two theories, namely transformational and transactional leadership.
Transformational leadership, an inspirational, supportive, and individual approach has been identified as one of the most promising theories of leadership. It has been positively associated in numerous studies with exceptional performance, engagement, and retention in teams. It is almost always presented in relationship with transactional leadership, or a style based on exchanges of rewards and punishment based on performance. The two modes of leadership have an interdependent relationship. At the most basic level transformational leadership requires trusting relationships. Transactional leadership can help build that trust. It also reinforces the changes wrought by transformational leadership. Scholarship on these theories has increased significantly since the 2006 peak I previous identified. On the web there was a peak of interest in 2010. Since then popular discussion of these two theories has declined significantly.
A random sample of the popular discussion on these two theories revealed a problem. While many of the postings captured the nuanced relationship, some described an opposing relationship. Transformational leadership is good. Transactional leadership is bad. Misunderstandings such as these and the difference in the intensity in the popular and scholarly discussions highlights Harry Collins’ argument on expertise, namely that in order to be an expert you need to be engaged in the evolving dialogue of the discipline. Without the insight this provides it can be very challenging to discriminate between opinions and ideas in the popular dialogue.
So who should care about leadership scholarship? I believe as leaders we need to care. It allows us to make better decisions regarding how we will act and grow as leaders. Engineers, project managers, doctors, business analysts, and lawyers must keep their skills and knowledge current. Given that our decisions and actions as leaders affect so many should we expect anything different from ourselves?
What do you think?
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