Managing Against Change: Transactional Leadership and the Experienced Library Leader
A small-scale study of library leaders using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire found a positive correlation between years of administrative experience and a library leader’s use of transactional leadership (r = .532, p = .003). Library leaders self-reported on their leadership style, and those with more years of administrative experience were more likely to use transactional leadership. Transactional leadership consists of setting goals and rewarding employees when they meet those goals. Transactional leadership does not produce long-lasting, substantive change. Transformational leadership, however, does create lasting change by building relationships, emphasizing values, and creating a shared vision. The results of this study can not be extrapolated to library leaders as a whole, but they do give cause for concern. During this time of great change and an uncertain future, academic libraries must be willing to take risks and reinvent themselves, and library leaders must inspire and share their vision. Transformational leaders are much better-suited to these tasks than transactional leaders. Turning to more experienced library leaders in times of crisis may be counter-productive for the profession. In fact, experienced leaders may not have the skills needed to lead change in academic libraries. Further, current academic library leaders serve as mentors to aspiring leaders and may be modeling a transactional leadership style to these emerging leaders. (Click the images to enlarge.)
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Lead and Inspire: The Effect of Transformational Leadership on Organizational Outcomes
Transactional leadership consists of leaders and followers exchanging rewards for outputs. Managers and employees define the terms of the work to be completed and the amount and type of compensation for completing the work on time. Transactional leaders set objectives, assign tasks, and clarify expectations so that employees can achieve the desired outcomes of the organization. Transactional leadership is not a bad form of leadership, but it does not create significant change in an organization or inspire followers to greater achievements. In order to inspire followers a leader must be transformational. Transformational leadership consists of building relationships among people and creating real, significant change by emphasizing values and creating a shared vision amongst those in the organization. A transformational leader uses idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration to inspire their followers to “transcend their own immediate self-interest.” A small-scale study of library leaders in which leaders self-reported their leadership styles using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire found a positive correlation between the use of transformational leadership and extra effort (r = .767, p = .000), perceived leadership effectiveness (r = .530, p = .003), and satisfaction with leadership (r = .406, p = .008) in the organization. (Click the images to enlarge.)
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