Application of transformational-vs-transactional leadership style

Author: Iloka Benneth Chiemelie

Published: 25th of May 2014

Yes they are and the number of circumstances they can be applied are actually numerous but I will just take a number of cases here.

Transactional auctioning – when you are selling an auction, there is no need to waste time training and motivating employees, instead the focus is to get the highest bid and get down the payment for such bids (with the bided goods delivered to the highest bidder following successful payment).

Transformational China – Hofstede made known that the Chinese are more inclined with ‘Confucianism” which is all about building long-term orientation with customers in order to ensure continuous purchase. Thus, price is not an issue here because business is on trust, instead staffs must be trained to transform the market and ensure sustainable purchase.

Transactional Americans – Hofstede also has it that Americans are very masculine and competitive, thus when you are dealing with them, you should expect a transactional view to business.

Transformational new product -  when you are new into the market, the focus is on getting the market to trust your brand, thus it is necessary that your train your staff to do so and keep them motivated to push the products even when the market seems to be less concerned with its presence..

Just like I said, there are numerous cases where either transactional or transformational leadership can be applied. All the leader needs is to understand where its products and brands are and what the purchase process is all about in order to determine which style of leadership to adopt. Bear in mind that culture can also influence leadership style as demonstrated in the case of American-vs-China above