Think about your leaders from the past and reflect on their leadership qualities. Did any of them exhibit the qualities of a transformational leader? Did the leader exhibit certain elements that made you want to work harder? In what ways were you transformed by the leader you are describing?
“Transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms people. It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals. It includes assessing followers’ motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as full human beings. Transformational leadership involves an exceptional form of influence that moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them. It is a process that often incorporates charismatic and visionary leadership” (Northouse, 2018, p. 163).
I’ve had the privilege of being led by a transformational leader and I was guided by her vision for my future. When I first met her, she noticed the way I had a notebook organized with colored tabs dividing the pages. She commented on the notebook and me being very organized. She expressed that she valued organized people and was always looking for them to work with her. I didn’t think much of it, but I believe she made a decision in that moment to lead me in a transforming way. She was the type of leader that held high standards and expected others to strive for them as well.
This transformational leader entered my life at a time that I needed transformation. I had just broken free from an abusive relationship and returned to college to pursue a new career path. It would have been easy for her to pity me, but instead she placed those high standards and expectations in front of me. She knew that I needed to be challenged, helped to stand again, and to become the best version of myself that I could be.
She knew I had it in me.
She was a journalist, an advisor for the campus newspaper, and she was also my Mass Communications and Journalism professor. As a former writer for Rolling Stone magazine, she recognized my ability to write and recruited me for the campus newspaper. I wanted to take photos, but she said, “No, you’re a writer and I need writers.” She gave me a few beginning stories to cover and I figured out that if I brought my camera to events, and while conducting interviews, I could also take photos. Soon she had me building a portfolio of work: news articles, photos. videos, poetry, and published writing and art. She guided me to be a copy editor and managing editor. As managing editor, I covered the college’s Board of Trustees meetings. When I had completed some of my digital arts classes, she decided I should have the title of multimedia editor, and she challenged me to create video content with man-in-the-street interviews. And in my senior year, I served as editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, which prepared me for my first job in journalism as a news reporter. She recommended me for a job and I was hired.
“Transformational leadership motivates followers to do more than expecteD.” — Northouse (2018)
When I think back on everything, I know she determined where she was leading me and who she was transforming me to become from the moment we met with that notebook on my desk. She transformed me from a frightened, new student with not a clue what the future held, to become a professional journalist. Her influence in my life is immeasurable and her leadership was a process that changed me. I would describe her as charismatic, in that she was “dominant, having a strong desire to influence others, being self-confident, and having a strong sense of one’s own moral values” (Northouse, 2018, p.166). She was also a charismatic leader by communicating her high expectations to me and having confidence that I could meet them (Northouse, 2018). I respected her and trusted her. She used transformational leadership to inspire creativity and innovation in my work, and she challenged me to think about my thoughts and how they applied to journalism and storytelling. Because she had high expectations, I was also challenged to meet deadlines, accomplish goals, and try new things that seemed outside of my reach.
I was not the only student that she chose to transform. She invited former students to come to her classes and speak about what they were doing post-graduation. She would beam pride as they told how they were working in various fields related to journalism, broadcast, or communications. Transformational leadership seemed to be something innate for her, a way of life in which she selected people to develop and pushed them to become what she saw in them. Northouse (2018) points out that, “transformational leadership results in people feeling better about themselves and their contributions to the greater good” (p. 178). I think this went both ways, as she felt pride in developing those she made to feel better about themselves.
Cynde Puckett | MSLD 511 | Dr. Douglas | May 1, 2021 | Reflection Blog Assignment
Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice 8th ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publishing.
Cynde Puckett-Valenti 