Transformational leaders are not like every other leader. They don’t just lead an organization; they strive to change it, develop it, and transform it into something better. The transformational approach to leadership brings about change in both individuals and the entire system. In this article, you will learn some of the traits of transformational leaders.
Interestingly, anybody can become a transformational leader. All you have to do is focus more on creating valuable and positive change in your followers with the ultimate goal of developing them into leaders.
When you work with transformational leaders, they stimulate and inspire you to achieve extraordinary results. They help you become the best version of yourself.
Here are some of the traits of transformational leaders.
7 Traits of Transformational Leaders
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#1. You Must Embrace Uncertainty
The ability to embrace uncertainty is one of the essential traits of transformational leaders.
In the world of business, things will not always go as planned. Paradigms will shift, unplanned circumstances will occur, sales will drop, and revenue will be seriously affected.
Your ability to remain calm and be in charge in the face of these endless challenges makes you a transformational leader.
Let me give you a good example. In January 2020, businesses had grand plans for the year. They reeled out strategies, had financial projections, sales projections, etc.
But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the entire business world was thrown into chaotic uncertainty. Organizations with a weak leadership team couldn’t survive it.
However, businesses that transformational leaders managed were able to keep up. They immediately adapted to the change and came up with strategies to navigate the situation.
For instance, when companies were shutting down due to the Pandemic, Amazon’s profit increased by 220%.
#2. Don’t Runaway From Problems
One of the best traits of transformational leaders is never to run away from problems. There will always be a problem that requires your attention.
And you must never run away from problems; if you do, they will come back to hurt your business badly.
Whenever you are faced with problems, handle them proactively. When the situation may seem very challenging, you can brainstorm with your team members on how to handle such a problem.
Regardless of how complicated a problem seems, you will always find a solution if you brainstorm with your employees.
#3. You Must Have Vision When Building Your Team
Being visionary is one of the traits of transformational leaders. Like I mentioned earlier, transformational leaders are more concerned with creating valuable change in their followers and turn them into great leaders.
But to achieve this, a transformational leader must be visionary. They must have the patience to search for exceptional talents.
When it comes to building a team, diamonds in the rough are what you should be looking for. Try to see the true potential of whoever you are hiring. And to do this, you must look beyond what you see on their resume and LinkedIn profile.
It pays to have versatile people in your team, people with a wide range of experience in different areas. This will give them the general intelligence and willingness to try new things.
Contrary to what you may think, transformational leaders can’t do it alone. They need the help of their foot soldiers to achieve their goals.
#4. Foster a “Why Not” Environment
One of the most important traits of transformational leaders is their ability to encourage innovation.
If you want to become a transformational leader, you must be ready to do things differently. You can’t encourage innovation if you are too particular about the status quo.
Transformational leaders are curious; they are never satisfied with the way things are. They strive to establish a culture that encourages everybody to innovate.
Of course, you don’t have to prioritize quality over innovation. So set a quality standard while giving room for people to innovate. But such innovation must not go beyond the company’s standard.
#5. Skillful
Being skillful is one of the traits of transformational leaders. Every transformational leader needs to have soft skills. These skills help them to get their employees’ respect and loyalty.
It motivates your team members when you lead them by example. Whenever you give them a task, you are at the forefront to implement it.
Being a leader goes beyond being tough and demanding. Of course, this will make your employees more productive, achieve better results, and possibly get more accolades for yourself.
But this comes at a cost. It would make your employees burn out, stressed, and overwhelmed.
However, if you find time to have interesting conversations with your team about their personal life, take them out once in a while, respect their opinion, and trust them. They tend to be happier and willing to put in more effort.
In a nutshell, try to create good relationships with your employees and make them feel comfortable around you.
#6. Tech Savvy
Tech savviness is one of the traits of transformational leaders. Being tech-savvy doesn’t necessarily mean you are a technology expert. But you must understand basic tech stuff and the role they play in your company’s growth.
As a transformational leader, you must be interested in technology, learn, and understand how it works.
When you are tech-savvy, you can easily carry everybody along, embrace new subjects, and key into trends in your niche.
#7. Have a Core Trusted Team
As a transformational leader, you need to develop a core, trusted team among your employees.
These are people you have worked with in the past; you know their capability and can easily handle projects without challenges.
Your core trusted team are people who already understand your expectations and can deliver excellent results within a short time.
These are some of the traits of transformational leaders. Do Let me know in the comment below.
