Transformational Leadership: A Contextual Evaluation Of Gender And Perception

Abstract

The issue of leadership has attracted a considerable attention for many centuries and still continues to intrigue the researchers today. The success or failure of an organization is often attributed to the prevalent organizational leadership. Leaders have the potential to influence and drive a group of individuals towards the accomplishment of goals. An interesting question that challenges the researchers is this: do the women leaders behave differently than men. In a number of studies it was found that there are hardly any gender differences in the leadership behavior as perceived by their followers. One of the most comprehensive leadership theories of organizational transformation is considered to be the theory of transformational leadership. Transformational leaders motivate followers with the vision of what can be accomplished through extra personal effort, thus inspiring individual followers to achieve more than they thought they would achieve. Past studies suggest transformational leadership behaviour is not related to gender roles. The present paper is an attempt to understand the perceived leadership style of a woman and a male executive working in a department under the Central Government of India. An effort has also been made to assess the probable influence of their upbringing years on the adult behaviour based on in-depth interviews. Extensive interviews were also taken of the subordinates to identify the exhibited leadership style of the executives. It was found from the interview data of the executives that the significant figures in their early life had left a strong impact on their personality and later leadership styles. The interview data of the subordinates suggests there is no perceived gender difference in the leadership style of the executives. More specifically, the interview data of the subordinates seems to suggest both the executives demonstrates transformational leadership behaviour. This seems to have enhanced the overall job performance level of the subordinates. Note: This paper was presented at the National Conference On Emerging Business Practices held on 7th-8th April, 2018, organized by the Institute Of Management Studies (Faculty Of Management Studies), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.