“Good Leadership!” — Or: What exactly is transformational leadership?

How to make your team more effective and happier

Leadership, management or even transformational leadership — what do these terms mean? More importantly, what can we learn about leadership to move forward? What helps in everyday office life or political work, as well as on the football pitch? In this blog post, you will learn:

  1. What is “good leadership”? — Introducing our blog series
  2. Four steps to above-average performance: the pinnacle of transformational leadership
  3. Management: technical implementation
  4. Leadership: leading with vision, communication and motivation
  5. Leadership and management: the two sides of the brain
  6. Transformational leadership in practice

What is “good leadership”? — Introducing our blog series

Our new blog series “Good Leadership!” explores the many facets of leadership. We begin by getting to the heart of things: the “what” and the “how”.

Once we understand what leadership is, we can use its benefits.

Imagine a situation like this football coach’s: he is desperate because, despite enormous effort, the team faces relegation. He tries the latest training methods and puts a lot of work into the team. Yet the women players are unmotivated and do not attend training regularly. No enthusiasm instead of full effort. What can he do? In this situation, only good leadership will help.

Leadership affects our work and can make it much more productive. We are less aware of what else it can do: good leadership strengthens commitment to the company and team, makes work more fulfilling and can improve overall quality of life. Crucially, anyone can take on leadership tasks. Even among equals, we can surpass ourselves and drive ideas forward. This is called informal leadership — a new role others freely grant us, for example in group work or planning the Christmas party.

Good leadership shows the way, like a compass

Good leadership shows us the path to success

Four steps to above-average performance:
The pinnacle: transformational leadership

Good leadership lets both leaders and followers develop as people. They grow through their tasks, commit to the company or shared cause and internalise its values. When this ambitious goal is achieved, we call it transformational leadership. It is the pinnacle of leadership because it produces above-average performance. The good news: anyone can apply its four core principles, whether motivating a small group or leading with formal authority:

  1. Be a role model! (Idealized Influence)

Ask yourself: how charismatic am I? Am I a good role model? Do others trust me? Always lead by example and keep your word:

  • If you preach digitalisation, use the new online tool yourself.
  • Be the first in the office to attend the new work–life balance course, showing that the issue truly matters to you.
  • If you are a nutrition coach, offer healthy snacks and stay physically healthy yourself. As an organisation coach, always be punctual; as a motivation coach, always be fully engaged.

  1. Motivate and inspire your team! (Inspirational Motivation)

Remind your colleagues of shared values, reinforce awareness of the goal and prepare them mentally for the working day ahead. In short, inspire enthusiasm for your project!

  • As a local politician, remind your team exactly which values you stand for together before the campaign’s intensive phase begins.
  • Give a motivating speech! Use “boring” work occasions such as awards and anniversaries to recall the deeper purpose and social significance of your shared work.
  • As a coach, be there for your coachees! Write to them between sessions and encourage them to keep going.
    Recall the goals you agreed together and make the progress already achieved clear.

  1. Stimulate with new ideas! (Intellectual Stimulation)

Make clear that your colleagues may disagree. Create an open, productive working atmosphere that reveals new perspectives and ideas. Bring in fresh ideas.

  • As a coach, teacher or professor, make it clear: despite your expertise, you also need constructive feedback to deliver good teaching or great coaching.
  • Keep up with developments in your field! For example, share interesting ideas and developments with the team once a week and discuss them.
  • Bring fresh energy to your political work! Hold an internal debate on unfamiliar topics to explore them from different angles and find new positions together.

  1. Recognise your team’s individual needs! (Individual Consideration)

Do not fear one-to-one conversations. Appreciate employees and their achievements. Ask about problems and worries, and show that you care.

  • Does an employee regularly arrive late? Ask why it happens so often. There may be important reasons or ways to solve the problem together.
  • Do you hand out many tasks and information? Turn things around: ask for suggestions! This breaks familiar patterns and encourages others to think along.
  • Show that you take colleagues‘ problems seriously and advocate for them. Outside election campaigns, even without a specific reason, ask your local party branch whether there are problems you can resolve.

These four steps of transformational leadership apply universally. Wherever people look up to you and expect directional decisions, leadership qualities are required.

Nelson Mandela — a perfect example of transformational leadership

Considered by many an example of transformational leadership: Nelson Mandela not only changed South Africa’s political conditions, but also won fellow citizens over to his values and beliefs.

Management: technical implementation

After so much about visionary leadership, some may think of diligent managers in grey suits. Many loosely related ideas float around leadership, because we use “management” almost as a synonym for “being the boss”. But did you know management and leadership are not the same? A look at their differences makes this clear.

Management basically means control and steering measures. Managers plan, draw up budgets and monitor whether and how decisions are implemented. They cover the technical side, overseeing both content and execution. Management is therefore highly rational, technical and implementation-focused.

Leadership: leading with vision, communication and motivation

The sharp contrast between management and transformational leadership quickly shows that leadership goes beyond cool rationality. Leadership means vision, communication and motivation — tasks far beyond the purely rational. Anyone wanting to lead a group, even a small team, must master these three areas in some form.

Vision: Helmut Schmidt once said, “Anyone with visions should see a doctor.” Leadership research, however, sees developing visions and goals for a company as central. As the leader at the top, you must answer: which direction should it take? Where should the team be in one, five or fifteen years? What values should it convey? This fundamental mission is the goal the company works towards.

Communication: The company’s developed vision must be communicated to employees. Through speeches, concept papers and statements, leaders show where the company is heading and how to get there. This builds trust and security.

Motivation: Communication does more than explain goals: it wins employees over to them! A motivated team feels appreciated, sees itself as part of something achieving great things and realises even ambitious plans.

Leadership and management: the two sides of the brain

Now we know the differences. But we should not look down on management: ideally, we master both. Leadership and management complement each other perfectly, like our two brain hemispheres. The leadership side develops visions, creates and motivates. The management side then works with cool logic and expertise to implement the goal.

Leadership and management are thus shaped by both emotion and strategy. In short, you need strategic empathy to lead well.

Good leadership inspires peak performance through vision, communication and motivation.

Transformational leadership in practice

Transformational leadership and management therefore repeatedly work together, even outside the office, as with our football coach. By embracing the four aspects, he too can practise transformational leadership and achieve its successes:

Be a role model! First, he questions himself: am I a role model? He realises, “With this belly, I don’t exactly look athletic.” Leading by example, he finally becomes physically active again, earning his team’s trust and respect.

Motivate your team! To motivate them, he clearly communicates: “Avoiding relegation is possible and achievable!” He highlights their strengths, recalls past successes and explains his plan for the team.

Stimulate with new ideas! He wants everyone to think along. The coach therefore establishes a new feedback culture. Instead of rigid instructions, there is lively discussion with and among players. The women themselves come up with new, effective methods to try.

Recognise your team’s individual needs! After individual conversations with his players, the coach discovers different reasons why some miss training. He helps wherever he can.

These four changes do more than turn the tide against relegation: they prepare the team for the future. You can apply exactly this in everyday work. Stronger teamwork and new methods pave the way so that, at work and on the pitch, one thing is clear: Whatever happens in the next match, we keep going!

Transformational leadership in practice

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