Transactional vs. Transformational

Relationship Development

Transactional vs. Transformational leadership. Nowadays, this seems to be the hot topic in society. People demandingly state, “We need more transformational coaches!” or “Coaches need to stop being transactional!” And, of course, I agree with these statements. But it is a LOT easier said than done. There are many different beliefs regarding transformational leadership. What is it? How do we become transformational? These are both incredibly valid questions. Here is how I define transformational leadership:

Transformational leadership is about relationships. 

Humans are social creatures. We are built to have connections. People need to feel valued and supported. If humans do not understand their purpose or have community, they won’t be able to maximize their potential. 

Transformational leadership allows individuals to explore the unleashing of their full potential. Through social interactions, leaders can promote a culture that grows from interpersonal relationships. Coaches, managers, supervisors, teachers, parents, etc. all have the opportunity to shape an environment that lays the foundation for developing relationships. Environments focused on developing relationships can take many different forms. However, the blueprint must include the intentional effort by the leaders to get to know the people they lead on a personal level. This will create an inclusive environment where individuals feel valued, which empowers them to reach their full potential.  

And, ultimately, don’t both transactional and transformational leaders want the people they lead to perform at their best?

The Disagreements

Some people may disagree with my belief that leadership is about relationships. And, that’s ok! Reasons for disagreements may include:

1. Leadership looks different between genders.  

2. There is not enough time to develop relationships when you’re trying to win. 

Great. Let’s talk about each of these components and discuss WHY I think relationships still set the foundation for a successful environment. 

Leadership Across Genders 

Males and females respond differently to criticism. This generalized statement has been made clear to me in sports. As a female athlete, I understand the importance of feeling valued and deeply cared for by my coaches. This doesn’t mean that my coach needs to make allowances for me, use a calm voice or polite language. In fact, some of the coaches that yelled the most and held me to the highest standards were the most transformational leaders I’ve experienced in my life. 

Why? Because those leaders showed me, through their actions, that they cared about me as a whole person — not just an athlete. Feeling supported as a human being allowed me to understand the intentions of my coaches even when their words were not necessarily the most supportive. And, it allowed me to attack each of my opportunities with passion because I did not want to just succeed for myself — I wanted to succeed for my coaches and for my teammates. 

So, how is this different for males? I have a lot of guy friends that play sports and I have even coached some male teams. If I ask the guys if leadership is different between males and females, they may say that their environment is more strict, more regimented, and more demanding. That may be true. But that is just the shape of the environment. A team performing at their maximum potential will have the same foundation whether male or female. It will have a coach that places emphasis on forming relationships as the foundation the team is built on.  

The development of relationships may look different between genders. From my personal experience, when I had coaches that made an intentional effort to understand my life outside of my sport, their investment made me feel that I was cared about as a person, not just an athlete. For men, the process may look different. It may come through a shared connection in outside activities or lightheartedness and humor. There’s not a prescribed formula. It’s simply about taking time and opportunity to create relationships that help people feel that they are valued, important and supported. The byproduct is an environment where people feel safe to take risks and grow to maximize their potential.

Sure, players might be able to still perform at a high level even when lacking a relationship with their coach, but they will NOT reach their full potential. If there is not something worth fighting for beyond individual desires, people will not perform to the best of their abilities. And, by default, the team as a whole will not reach their peak potential either. 

Transformational leadership is about making relationships the foundation upon which hard work is built.

Prioritizing Time for Relationships

A lot of people say that they do not have time to prioritize relationships. But the reality is that if you do not take the time to prioritize your relationships, then your relationships will not take the time to prioritize you. 

Many leaders make the mistake of demanding endless time and energy from their team members while failing to put in equivalent time and energy. Leaders must lead by example. They must invest the most time. It is through the selflessness and commitment from the leaders that others will feel inspired to match their commitment. In a team setting, if a leader wants their team to invest their heart and soul into a program, then the leader must invest their time into each individual team member, as human beings.

Transformational leadership is about building relationships through investment of time. 

Modern Day Leadership

So, do you believe that relationships are the foundation for transformational leadership? Not sold, yet? That’s ok.

At times, it’s hard for me to remain focused on this belief — especially in a society that thrives off winning. One of the many things that I found interesting about John Wooden was that it took years for him to create his desired, transformational culture. In fact, he didn’t win a national championship with the UCLA Men’s Basketball team until his 16th season. He was so intent on being transformational that he forfeited being transactional.

But, in today’s society, will leaders be given that same chance to be transformational at a highly competitive athletic institution? What if you are transformational but you aren’t winning? Doesn’t seem very likely that you will stay employed, huh? Let’s be brutally honest. Many environments are transactional. If you win a lot, you remain hired. If you lose a lot, you get fired. The reality is that many environments, if not all, are transactional at their core. It takes unique leaders to incorporate transformational elements into a transactional environment. And, this all begins with relationships. 

To be clear, I’m not advocating for leaders to be deeply involved in the lives of those they lead. But it’s critical to get to know what’s important to the individual players or staff. Leaders can help them discover how their athletic or work life connects to their personal life. This connection of lives will have a positive impact on their overall performance. Forming this connection takes a concerted effort by the leader to develop a relationship with those they are leading.

It starts from the top down. If athletic organizations or corporations want transformational leaders, then they need to have transformation as the foundation of their leadership philosophy— not transaction. A valued and engaged teammate is a committed teammate. Those three components spread across a team create a long-term successful environment. Now, I’m not saying that that this means leaders must be EITHER transformational or transactional. No. But the reality is that successful leadership philosophies, although may vary on the implementation, must have a transformational component. And, this component must be part of the core values that are consistent throughout the organization.

I believe that if leaders lead with transformation, then transaction will come as a byproduct.

How are you a transformational leader? What is your transformational leadership belief? Let me know! You can email me at: Bella@bellabaia.co  

Thanks for reading! :)