Competencies of a Transformational Leader
Everything changes. Nothing remains without change. Gautama Buddha
Our world is ever-changing: always has been, and always will be. In essence, evolution has taught us that it is not the strongest, biggest, or fastest who endure and survive. Rather, it is the one who best adapts to change. This is true for all things in life and we can find evidence of this in business — even companies who provide services or products that have not changed much since their inception need to adapt and modify their offerings.
There are two opposite ways of facilitating transformational change: top-down and bottom-up. Both are equally important and often come hand in hand. More often than not, this requires a leader who can recognize the needs and capabilities of an organization to adapt to the changing business environment. Therefore, we can argue that every leader has to be a transformational leader who always looks for ways to improve the organization and its offerings.
What, then, makes a good transformational leader?
Naturally, we cannot generalize all characteristics of a leading persona since companies have different sizes, products, services, goals, values, culture, etc. We can, however, find common aspects that transformational leaders share, despite location or nature of business transactions.
1. Deep understanding of the organization’s offerings
A leader has to know exactly what the company provides and how it satisfies the needs of the market. This does not necessarily mean “we sell X that helps Y do Z”. Rather, a leader should know that “we help Z become easier for Y by selling X”. It might seem the same but this is a completely different perspective of a business approach to satisfy a need. Focusing on the “why” instead of the “what” is essential in understanding why your organization exists and puts into perspective all company efforts. It gives the leader (and, through them, everyone in the company) a purpose to focus on and a goal to hold onto in the long term. Only then can a transformational leader identify what, if anything, needs to be changed, improved or discontinued.
Check out the video below for a more in-depth overview of how leaders inspire action.
2. Extensive knowledge of the market
No matter what industry your organization is operating in, it is essential to understand the needs of the market. Many businesses nowadays focus on improving pain points of our society — think of all the app platform startups (Airbnb, Uber, Alibaba, etc.). Even though a lot of these started because of the “why” philosophy previously discussed, it is critical to understand what drives the market, what vendors provide, what customers want, and what competitors are doing about it.
Furthermore, leaders need to stay on top of innovations in their sphere, as well as advancements in unrelated fields that can indirectly affect their business. Finally, changes in governmental policies can potentially affect a whole industry’s way of doing business (data privacy act) and being updated on the direction a country has chosen is crucial in making sure the offering your company delivers stays relevant.
3. Promoting a transformational culture
Many of us neglect one simple truth about life: be the change you want to see. As such, good leaders promote a culture that facilitates openness to change and collaboration. For instance, if your organization is lacking in creativity, simply asking colleagues to “be more creative” and “think out of the box” will not work. If you, as a leader, show them how to be creative (experiment with informal clothing, surprise company teambuilding, initiate a company-wide project, etc.) or enable them to have freedom in their ideas (brainstorm sessions, out-of-the office days, nature trips, “CEO for a day”-kind of campaign, etc.), then you create a place free of judgement and fear of failure in which creativity can thrive.
Acknowledging their contributions and recognizing their efforts helps boost confidence and commitment to the organization. At the end of the day everyone is creative — people just need the right environment to show it. And regardless of whether your issue is creativity, lack of sales, motivation or outdated technology, creating a healthy environment that recognizes and addresses the issue works wonders.
In conclusion, businesses have always faced challenges in adapting to the ever-changing environment. The fact that in today’s world innovation happens at an unprecedented rate enhances the exposure of organizations to transformational activities. This, in turn, increases the need for people who recognize the evolving needs of the market, as well as the new ways to satisfy those needs. While they might be labeled as “transformational” leaders, the truth is all leaders in the 21st century need to be transformational — or risk being left behind and surpassed by the competition.
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About the author:
Anton Bonev — a Bulgarian expatriate — is a marketing professional with a Master’s degree in Marketing Management from one of the top research universities in the Netherlands. Currently working as a Digital Marketing Consultant at John Clements Consultants, he is assisting the company in becoming the leading digital recruitment solutions provider in the Philippines.
