Experience of transformative leadership: subordinate’s perspective
Abstract
Despite the growing popularity of transformational leadership (TL) in organization studies, there is a lack of studies trying to reveal subordinate’s perspective on experience of TL. The present study examined how subordinates employed in customer service experience TL during organizational change. The participants were people working in two international organizations operating in Lithuania. The data were collected through semi-structured interview. Phenomenological procedures were used to analyze the data. The conducted phenomenological analysis of TL from the subordinate’s perspective reveals that subordinates under TL feel secure and empowered, have extensive data about the ongoing change, receive full manager’s support and individual attention, share acquired knowledge in performing delegated duties and collectively aspire for a common generally accepted goal set by the manager and consequently are more positive about organizational change. The results of the present study contribute to the better understanding of the inner experiences of TL by subordinates working as customer service specialists in the context of organizational changes.
Keyword : transformational leadership, subordinate, experience, manager, qualitative study, phenomenological analysis
How to Cite
Sondaitė, J., & Keidonaitė, G. (2020). Experience of transformative leadership: subordinate’s perspective. Business: Theory and Practice, 21(1), 373-378. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2020.11113
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Ahmad, F., Abbas, T., Latif, S., & Rasheed, A. (2014). Impact of transformational leadership on employee motivation in telecommunication sector. Journal of Management Policies and Practices 2(2), 11–24. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ace7/fa04bb99a701b43c079c0a35cd91253e67fc.pdf
Andersen, L. B., Bjørnholt, B., Bro, L. L., & Holm-Petersen, C. (2018). Achieving high quality through transformational leadership: a qualitative multilevel analysis of transformational leadership and perceived professional quality. Public Personnel Management, 47(1), 51–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026017747270
Aksin, Z., Armony, M., & Mehrota, V. (2007). The modern call center: a milti-disciplinary perspective on operations management research. Production and Operations Management, 16(6), 665–688. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1937-5956.2007.tb00288.x
Bass, B. M., & Bass, R. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: theory, research, and managerial applications. Free Press.
Boerner, S., Eisenbeiss, S. A., & Griesser, D. (2007). Follower behavior and organizational performance: the impact of transformational leaders. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 13(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/10717919070130030201
Braduţanu, D. (2012). Identifying and reducing resistance to change phase in an organizational change model. Acta Universitatis Danubius: Oeconomica, 8(2), 18–26. http://journals.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/oeconomica/article/view/2896/html
Brown, E., & Arendt, S. (2011). Perceptions of transformational leadership behaviors and subordinates’ performance in hotels. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 10(1), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332845.2010.500205
Carter, M. Z., Armenakis, A. A., Field, H. S., & Mossholder, K. W. (2012). Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuos incremental organizational changes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(7), 942–968. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1824
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage.
George, J. M. (2000). Emotions and leadership: the role of emotional intelligence. Human Relations, 53(8), 1027–1055. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726700538001
Ghasabeh, M. S., Soosay, C., & Reaiche, C. (2015). The emerging role of transformational leadership. The Journal of Developing Areas, 49(6), 458–467. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/88c9/d4dd049a7e4750390de3e79d3b186d94320e.pdf
Giorgi, A., & Giorgi, B. (2002). Phenomenology. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 26–53). Sage publications.
Giorgi, A. (2005). The phenomenological movement and research in the human sciences. Nursing Science Quarterly, 18(1), 75–82. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.600.1315&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Griffith, J. A., Connelly, S., & Thiel, C. E. (2011). Leader deception influences on leader-member exchange and subordinate organizational commitment. Journal of Leadership andOrganizational Studies, 18(4), 508–521. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051811403765
Khoo, H. S., & Burch, G. S. J. (2008). The “dark side” of leadership personality and transformational leadership: an exploratory study. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 86–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.07.018
Martin, J. (2015). Transformational and transactional leadership: an exploration of gender, experience, and institution type. Libraries and the Academy, 15(2), 331–351. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2015.0015
Malik, W. U., Javed, M., & Hassan, S. T. (2017). Influence of transformational leadership components on job satisfaction and organization commitment. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 11(1), 146–165. http://search.ebscohost.com.skaitykla.mruni.eu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=123025051&site=ehost-live
McCann, J. A. J., Langford, P. H., & Rawlings, R. M. (2006). Testing Behling and McFillen’s syncretical model of charismatic transformational leadership. Group Organizational Management, 31(2), 237–262. https://www.voiceproject.com/system/files/2006%20McCann%2C%20Langford%20%26%20Rawlings%20%20-%20Testing%20model%20of%20charismat-ic%20transformational%20leadership.pdf
McDermott, A. M., Conway, E., Rousseau, D. M., & Flood, P. C. (2013). Promoting effective psychological contracts through leadersip: the missing link between HR strategy and performance. Human Resource Management, 52(2), 289–310. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21529
Nerdinger, F. W., & Pundt, A. (2018). Leadership of service employees – a narrative review. Journal of Service Management Research (SMR), 2(1), 3–15. http://search.ebscohost.com.skaitykla.mruni.eu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=137789449&site=ehost-live
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Sage.
Poster, W. R. (2007). Who’s on the line? Indian call center agents pose as Americans for U. S. – outsourced firms. Industrial Relations, 46(2), 271–304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-232X.2007.00468.x
Robert, C., Dunne, T. C., & Iun, J. (2016). The impact of leader humor on subordinate job satisfaction: the crucial role of leader-subordinate relationship quality. Group and Organizational Management, 41(3), 375–406. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115598719
Ruggieri, S., & Abbate, C. S. (2013). Leadership style, self-sacrifive, and team identification. Social Behavior and Personality, 41(7), 1171–1178. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2013.41.7.1171
Salanova, M., Lorente, L., Chambel, M. J., & Martinez, I. M. (2011). Linking transformational leadership to nurses’ extra-role performance: the mediating role of self-efficacy and work engagement. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 5, 2256–2266. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05652.x
Stelmokienė, A., & Endriulaitienė, A. (2009). Bendrosios transformacinio vadovavimo skalės lietuviškosios versijos psichometriniai rodikliai. Psichologija, 40, 88–102. http://www.zurnalai.vu.lt/psichologija/article/view/2584
Tanner, G., & Otto, K. (2016). Superior–subordinate communication during organizational change: under which conditions does high-quality communication become important? International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(19), 2183–2201. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2015.1090470
Tiu, C. A. (2016.) Qualitative study into the inner leadership of transformative California School Principals (PhD Thesis). Pepperdine University, ProQuest LLc. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqm&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:10027828
Tripiana, J., & Llorens, S. (2015). Fostering engaged employee: the role of leadership and self-efficacy. Anales de Psicologia, 31(2), 636–644. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.31.2.179561
Valencic-Miller, O. V. (2017). Leaders and change: leadership behaviors and influence on subordinates’ reaction to organizational change (PhD Thesis). Indiana Wesleyan University, ProQuest LLC. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqm&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:10642884
Zhang, Z., & Peterson, S. J. (2011). Advice network in team: the role of transformational leadership and members’ core self-evaluations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(5), 1004–1017. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023254
Andersen, L. B., Bjørnholt, B., Bro, L. L., & Holm-Petersen, C. (2018). Achieving high quality through transformational leadership: a qualitative multilevel analysis of transformational leadership and perceived professional quality. Public Personnel Management, 47(1), 51–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026017747270
Aksin, Z., Armony, M., & Mehrota, V. (2007). The modern call center: a milti-disciplinary perspective on operations management research. Production and Operations Management, 16(6), 665–688. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1937-5956.2007.tb00288.x
Bass, B. M., & Bass, R. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: theory, research, and managerial applications. Free Press.
Boerner, S., Eisenbeiss, S. A., & Griesser, D. (2007). Follower behavior and organizational performance: the impact of transformational leaders. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 13(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/10717919070130030201
Braduţanu, D. (2012). Identifying and reducing resistance to change phase in an organizational change model. Acta Universitatis Danubius: Oeconomica, 8(2), 18–26. http://journals.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/oeconomica/article/view/2896/html
Brown, E., & Arendt, S. (2011). Perceptions of transformational leadership behaviors and subordinates’ performance in hotels. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 10(1), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332845.2010.500205
Carter, M. Z., Armenakis, A. A., Field, H. S., & Mossholder, K. W. (2012). Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuos incremental organizational changes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(7), 942–968. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1824
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage.
George, J. M. (2000). Emotions and leadership: the role of emotional intelligence. Human Relations, 53(8), 1027–1055. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726700538001
Ghasabeh, M. S., Soosay, C., & Reaiche, C. (2015). The emerging role of transformational leadership. The Journal of Developing Areas, 49(6), 458–467. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/88c9/d4dd049a7e4750390de3e79d3b186d94320e.pdf
Giorgi, A., & Giorgi, B. (2002). Phenomenology. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 26–53). Sage publications.
Giorgi, A. (2005). The phenomenological movement and research in the human sciences. Nursing Science Quarterly, 18(1), 75–82. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.600.1315&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Griffith, J. A., Connelly, S., & Thiel, C. E. (2011). Leader deception influences on leader-member exchange and subordinate organizational commitment. Journal of Leadership andOrganizational Studies, 18(4), 508–521. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051811403765
Khoo, H. S., & Burch, G. S. J. (2008). The “dark side” of leadership personality and transformational leadership: an exploratory study. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 86–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.07.018
Martin, J. (2015). Transformational and transactional leadership: an exploration of gender, experience, and institution type. Libraries and the Academy, 15(2), 331–351. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2015.0015
Malik, W. U., Javed, M., & Hassan, S. T. (2017). Influence of transformational leadership components on job satisfaction and organization commitment. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 11(1), 146–165. http://search.ebscohost.com.skaitykla.mruni.eu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=123025051&site=ehost-live
McCann, J. A. J., Langford, P. H., & Rawlings, R. M. (2006). Testing Behling and McFillen’s syncretical model of charismatic transformational leadership. Group Organizational Management, 31(2), 237–262. https://www.voiceproject.com/system/files/2006%20McCann%2C%20Langford%20%26%20Rawlings%20%20-%20Testing%20model%20of%20charismat-ic%20transformational%20leadership.pdf
McDermott, A. M., Conway, E., Rousseau, D. M., & Flood, P. C. (2013). Promoting effective psychological contracts through leadersip: the missing link between HR strategy and performance. Human Resource Management, 52(2), 289–310. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21529
Nerdinger, F. W., & Pundt, A. (2018). Leadership of service employees – a narrative review. Journal of Service Management Research (SMR), 2(1), 3–15. http://search.ebscohost.com.skaitykla.mruni.eu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=137789449&site=ehost-live
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Sage.
Poster, W. R. (2007). Who’s on the line? Indian call center agents pose as Americans for U. S. – outsourced firms. Industrial Relations, 46(2), 271–304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-232X.2007.00468.x
Robert, C., Dunne, T. C., & Iun, J. (2016). The impact of leader humor on subordinate job satisfaction: the crucial role of leader-subordinate relationship quality. Group and Organizational Management, 41(3), 375–406. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115598719
Ruggieri, S., & Abbate, C. S. (2013). Leadership style, self-sacrifive, and team identification. Social Behavior and Personality, 41(7), 1171–1178. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2013.41.7.1171
Salanova, M., Lorente, L., Chambel, M. J., & Martinez, I. M. (2011). Linking transformational leadership to nurses’ extra-role performance: the mediating role of self-efficacy and work engagement. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 5, 2256–2266. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05652.x
Stelmokienė, A., & Endriulaitienė, A. (2009). Bendrosios transformacinio vadovavimo skalės lietuviškosios versijos psichometriniai rodikliai. Psichologija, 40, 88–102. http://www.zurnalai.vu.lt/psichologija/article/view/2584
Tanner, G., & Otto, K. (2016). Superior–subordinate communication during organizational change: under which conditions does high-quality communication become important? International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(19), 2183–2201. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2015.1090470
Tiu, C. A. (2016.) Qualitative study into the inner leadership of transformative California School Principals (PhD Thesis). Pepperdine University, ProQuest LLc. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqm&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:10027828
Tripiana, J., & Llorens, S. (2015). Fostering engaged employee: the role of leadership and self-efficacy. Anales de Psicologia, 31(2), 636–644. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.31.2.179561
Valencic-Miller, O. V. (2017). Leaders and change: leadership behaviors and influence on subordinates’ reaction to organizational change (PhD Thesis). Indiana Wesleyan University, ProQuest LLC. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqm&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:10642884
Zhang, Z., & Peterson, S. J. (2011). Advice network in team: the role of transformational leadership and members’ core self-evaluations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(5), 1004–1017. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023254