Lewin’s Leadership Styles vs. Transformational Leadership
By Raissa Zandra Saraswati
As social creatures, human beings cannot live on their own because they have fundamental needs to be connected to others (Baumeister & Leary, 1995 in Van den Broeck et al., 2016). Without realizing it, human beings are always part of a social group, whether it be a formal or non-formal group. For example, in a home environment, we are part of the smallest social group, that is, the family or, more formally and more broadly, the neighborhood. Therefore, it is undeniable that in everyday life, human beings frequently work together with their fellow members of the social group or with other human beings, regardless of the social group.
Other than teamwork, the existence of social groups in life cannot be separated from a leadership figure, especially in formal group such as organization. The leader is an important figure in the group because their role as a navigator, communicator, mentor and motivator for the members of the group (Patrick, 2017). Beside the leader themself, the type of leadership that is being carried out may also affect the performance of the group members (Klaic, Burtscher, & Jonas, 2020). In a journal article written by Lewin et al. (1939), they classified three types of leadership: authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-faire. Researchers have begun to develop different types of leadership based on the classification from Lewin et al. The three well-known types of leadership are transformational, transactional and situational. However, among the different types of leadership, transformational leadership is considered to be the most effective for improving the performance of the group members, since it is typically carried out by charismatic leaders.
Having a good leader in an organization is very important because the style of leadership that is carried out might have an impact on the member’s performance. Lewin et al. (1939) classified the types of leadership into three, the first type is authoritarian, which is characterized by the leader who has an absolute authority and does not involve their members in the decision-making process. However, this type often receives negative feedback because it is prone to abuse of power and considered to be an excessively conservative system. The next type is democratic leadership that is characterized by a leader-led discussion in decision-making. Leaders with this type of leadership must be able to position themselves like a regular member in the decision-making process in order to be able to assess their choices more objectively. Even so, under this type of leadership, the final decision is still decided by the leader. The last type is laissezfaire or delegative leadership. This type is the least common, because decisions are made entirely by the members of the group, and the role of the leader is to fulfill the members demands. Lewin et al. also expressed their dismay to this type of leadership because it often led to an aimless group. Thus, if there are conflicts that arise under this type of leadership, it is very likely for the members to blame each other.
After the three types of leadership have been classified, researchers have begun to develop other types of leadership. One of them is the transformational leadership that was first brought forth by James McGregor Burns. This type was later developed and defined by Bernard M. Bass as a type of leadership that could bring a positive impact on the members of the group (Cherry, 2020). Some of the characteristics of transformational leaders are they can motivate their members, encourage their members to think rationally, convey their expectation well to their members, and guide their members by paying attention to each member (Choi et al., 2016). Therefore, transformational leaders are able to gain trust, respect, admiration, and even become the ‘savior’ of the members (Ekmekcioglu et al., 2018).
Transformational leadership is considered to be the most effective type of leadership (Cherry, 2020). According to Klaic, Burtscher, & Jonas (2020), teamcentered transformational leadership could give a positive effect in the form of new insight in both group and individual-level which mediated by the quality of the teamwork. This means that a transformational leader can establish a good quality of teamwork within the group using communication. With effective communication, the members will have the ability to share ideas with each other and gain new knowledge to enrich their insights about their works or issues that are currently discussed in the group.
In the professional world, it turns out that this type of leadership often has a positive impact on employees’ satisfaction due to the employee empowerment, which is the freedom for employees to grow in accordance with company regulations (Choi et al., 2016). Transformational leaders generally have a high level of emotional intelligence and charisma that can motivate employees to become better individuals. With employee empowerment, employees are given space to make decisions, solve problems, develop and express themselves freely, so the employees feel empowered and more satisfied with their job.
Judging from an authoritarian leader who does not involve its members in decision-making, this type of leader would be very vulnerable to abuse of power. In addition, with the authoritarian type, it is possible for members to feel pressured from the leadership, or even to feel like they are not part of their own group. On the other hand, the delegative type allows its members to put demand on the leader to fulfill what they want. Lewin et al. themselves had expressed their dismay to this type of leadership because it often led to an aimless group. This might happen because each member may have different demands.
The democratic type may sound like the best way because the members of the group are involved in decision-making. However, because the ultimate decision always remains with the leader, they might only consider the suggestions of other members that would benefit them. Thus, there are still discrepancies that can lead to oppression of members who are deemed against the leader wishes. Unlike the democratic type, the transformational type gives a positive impact on its members. Under this type of leadership, members have the freedom to make their own decisions as long as they are aligned with the group’s common goals. In the meantime, the leader will serve as an inspiration, a motivator, and a mentor to their members. As a result, members will not feel pressured and when problems arise, the group will not lose direction because they still have a common goal to achieve. For the reasons mentioned above, it can be argued that the transformational leadership is better than the other three types of leadership classified by Lewin et al
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