Application of Transformational Leadership in an Academic Library

Lynn Sutton*, Director, Z. Smith Reynolds Library, Wake Forest University, suttonls@wfu.edu

Introduction

"I've read a lot of leadership books and they're all right and they're all wrong…it depends on a match between the style and the circumstances and individual personalities" (Sheldon, 1991). So begins a compilation of articles on leadership styles among leaders in libraries. The library profession, like many others, has studied itself and measured its popular leadership philosophies against the prevailing theories of the time (Hendrickson, 1991; Mech and McCabe, 1998; Sheldon, 1991). The more one reads, the more the above saying rings true. And yet, after identifying a wide variety of models - charismatic leadership, moral leadership, transactional and transformational leadership, participative leadership, scientific-managerial leadership, and contingent leadership - the philosophy that resonates most deeply and the one that I have observed in myself in at least one leadership opportunity is that of transformational leadership. In this paper, I will examine the theoretical base of transformational leadership as described in the literature, give a rationale for this choice of leadership philosophy, and provide examples of how I have implemented this philosophy in practice.

Review Of The Literature On Transformational Leadership

"James MacGregor Burns's Pulitzer prize winning Leadership (1978) transformed our thinking about leading" (Pielstick, 1998). Burns's seminal work identified two basic kinds of leadership: transactional, with leaders and followers exchanging goods and services to realize objectives, and transforming, whereby "leaders can also shape and alter and elevate the motives and values and goals of followers through the vital teaching role of leadership" (p. 425). While Burns drew most of his examples from political leadership, Bass (1985) further developed and refined the twin theories of transactional and transformational leadership in the field of organizational management and portrayed them as complementary, rather than mutually exclusive. Bass and Avolio (1994) describe the four "I's" of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration as methods of moving from the more narrow transactional to the more expansive transformational leadership philosophy. Leithwood (1994) has done extensive work to analyze the application of transformational leadership in schools. His model conceptualizes leadership along the following dimensions: building school vision, establishing school goals, providing intellectual stimulation, offering individualized support, modeling best practices and important organizational values, demonstrating high performance expectations, creating a productive school culture, and developing structures to foster participation in school decisions.

Rationale For Transformational Leadership

The best reason for adopting transformational leadership is that it works. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), developed by Bass and Avolio (1990), has been used for over a decade to test transformational leadership theory. The instrument itself has developed and been refined over time. Analysts such as Bass (1998) and Yukl (1999) have concluded that transformational leaders receive higher ratings, are perceived as leading more effective organizations, and move followers to exceed expected performance further than transactional leaders. Leithwood (1994) led a four-year study of schools undergoing structural change and found that there is "reasonably robust support for the claim that transformational forms of leadership will be of considerable value in the context of a school-restructuring agenda" (p. 515). Albritton (1998) used the MLQ to test the transactional and transformational models in academic libraries. The results of her study confirmed her hypothesis that "transformational leadership was perceived as augmenting or having more effect on, leadership outcomes and dimensions of organizational effectiveness than did transactional leadership" (p. 78).

Why does transformational leadership work? Insight into this question may be gained by examining the components of transformational leadership. Pielstick (1998) provides a conceptual framework for transformational leadership resulting from a meta-ethnographic analysis of the literature. He identifies seven major themes that define a profile of transformational leadership:

Creating a Shared Vision

Transformational leaders paint an imaginary picture of the organization's potential future and share it with their followers, encouraging them to make it their own. When the vision is elevated to the level of the common good, both leader and led "raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality " (Burns, 1978, p. 20). Characteristics of shared vision include the ability to provide meaning, to inspire and excite, to inspire individuals to extra effort, to create a common sense of community and to view change as opportunity.

Communicating the Vision

To be effective, vision must be shared with everyone in the organization through repeated communication. The transformational leader must clearly articulate the shared vision and must do so repeatedly. The vision is clarified and driven home through stories, analogies, symbols, ceremonies, rituals and traditions. Inspirational appeals are effective in persuading people of the importance of the vision. Transformational leaders give life to the spoken word by living the vision. Their actions are examined by followers who demand consistency with the spoken or written word.

Building Relationships

Transformational leaders are approachable, friendly and informal. They are sincere in their invitation to engage in meaningful dialogue and two-way communication. These leaders frequently act as mentors, coaches and teachers to those with whom they share the vision. They emphasize recognition and reward, both formal and informal. They encourage social functions and professional development opportunities. All of these actions contribute to the development of trust between leader and follower.

Developing a Supporting Organizational Culture

In order for leadership to thrive, a supportive organizational environment must be cultivated. Transformational leaders do this by treating people of diverse backgrounds with respect, distributing justice, correcting injustice, and acting with unfailing honesty and integrity. This is accomplished with constant communication and is institutionalized when others in the organization respond in the same way.

Guiding Implementation

Transformational leaders shape the organization through their own actions and by personally guiding the implementation of the shared vision. They do this through leading strategic planning efforts, team building, innovating and setting high expectations for excellence with continuous quality improvement. They embrace the role of "servant leader" and enrich themselves by serving their own followers.

Exhibiting Character

Transformational leaders exhibit character of the highest order, demonstrating honesty, integrity and unquestioned nobility of heart and mind. They exude self-confidence, passion, commitment and native intelligence. While they have many characteristics in common with charismatic leaders, they use their leadership more to advance the shared vision than to attract followers for their own sake. These leaders have a broad perspective that they demonstrate with a high degree of tolerance for ambiguity, and a healthy respect for organizational history and cultural sensitivity.

Achieving Results

Transformational leaders are successful in achieving the shared vision. Those with whom they share the vision are moved to the highest levels of accomplishment and satisfaction. Leader and led are mutually perceived as increased in effectiveness and a higher level of performance.

Transformational Leadership In Action

The transformational leader profiled in the preceding section brings to mind larger-than-life political figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King, Jr. However, more modest transformational leaders may be found at all levels in ordinary professions such as elementary school principals or directors of academic libraries. The quote that begins this paper (Sheldon, 1991) suggests that when timing and style and circumstance meet in a unique confluence of opportunity, transformational leadership may arise.

I found myself in such a position when I had the good fortune to lead the building and development of the David Adamany Undergraduate Library on the campus of Wayne State University (WSU). WSU is an urban, research university of 30,000 students in Detroit, Michigan. Until 1997, the campus was served by four research libraries with services aimed primarily at faculty and graduate students. Under the leadership of President David Adamany, a library was envisioned that would serve the unique needs of undergraduate students. This vision was not widely shared on campus and plans for the library were met with controversy and distrust, even among library staff. I was appointed Director of the library more than a year before it opened and continued in that capacity until May, 2002. Looking back, although I didn't realize it at the time, I can recognize elements of transformational leadership in that experience.

A mission for the Undergraduate Library (UGL) had previously been written that was a paragraph long and filled with jargon. In order to provide newly hired employees with a clear sense of the library's purpose, I reduced the mission to a simple phrase, "to help our students succeed." This was readily understood by staff at all levels and made them believe they could contribute to a noble purpose that was centered on the student (Creating a Shared Vision).

The early days were difficult. Faculty ridiculed the lack of books and journals, students did not know how to behave, and staff in other libraries were resentful of the abundant technology and new furnishings. I took to bolstering the staff with regular e-mail communications, often sent late at night, reminding them that we were engaged in a noble enterprise, that we were doing the right thing for the right reason, and that if we persevered, rewards would come (Communicating the Vision).

Eighteen staff members were hired at roughly the same time to organize and implement library services. Not without some setbacks, we learned to understand and depend on each other. We went to each other's family funerals, and learned to embrace each other's customs and foods and languages. We hosted picnics and luncheons and conducted a gigantic birthday party on the first anniversary of the UGL's opening. The one thing that drew us together was the bottom-line realization that all of our actions were for the benefit of students. Slowly, relationships developed and trust formed (Building Relationships).

Just as our customer base (the undergraduate student body) was incredibly diverse, so was the composition of the library staff. Black, white, male, female, gay, straight, Muslim, or Christian, we had to develop an organizational culture that would treat all people with dignity and respect. This was accomplished with constant two-way communication and the development of common stories and myths and shared experiences. Wrongs were righted and a common tone of equality was set for all. We had the advantage of building an organizational culture from scratch, without long-standing grudges and grievances (Supportive Organizational Culture).

Building a cohesive team was not easy at first. The staff naturally sorted itself out according to three different functional groups: the librarians, the technology "guys" and the support staff who ran the access operations. I created cross-functional task forces and insisted they engage in common problem solving. I used risk as a unifying factor. Many of the policies and services that we created were unprecedented on campus and at the leading edge of national trends. We allowed food and drink in the library. We created separate zones of quiet so that much of the library was open to discussion and collaborative learning. We dared each other to be bold as long as we were confident that we were helping our students succeed (Guiding Implementation).

Being passionate about one's business and having a deep commitment to the shared vision leads to self-confidence. Even in the face of conflict and criticism, I believed we were doing the right thing and did not let the staff waver. I learned, the hard way, to gain perspective and to tolerate ambiguity. We all learned to sacrifice personal convenience for our shared vision of helping our students succeed. As one example, twice each year during final exams, librarians volunteered to work from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am so that students could study all night (Exhibiting Character).

As a result, the Undergraduate Library is an unquestioned success. More than a million visits are made to the library each year, up to 10,000 per day at the busiest times. Students say they cannot imagine life on campus without it. True, faculty and more traditional graduate students sometimes fail to understand how a library as noisy and occasionally rowdy as the UGL can accomplish its purpose. But in the eyes of its students, it does. They feel the library helps them succeed. Staff who have worked there from the beginning have an unbelievable sense of pride in being part of the invention of the UGL (Achieving Results).

Conclusion

Transformational leadership needs the right leader at the right time in the right situation. With all these variables in place, employees in an organization can become greater than they are and elevate their performance to new levels in pursuit of a common good. I am honored to have served as the leader of the David Adamany Undergraduate Library in its developmental years.

References

Albritton, R. L. (1998). A new paradigm of leader effectiveness for academic libraries: An empirical study of the Bass (1985) model of transformational leadership. In T.F. Mech & G.B. McCabe (Eds.), Leadership and academic librarians (pp. 66-82) . Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998.

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectation. New York: Free Press.

______. (1998). Transformational leadership: Industrial, military, and educational impact. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Bass, B.M. & Avolio, B.J. (1990). Manual for the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Bass, B.M. & Avolio, B.J. (Eds.). (1994). Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper Colophon Books.

Hendrickson, K. (Ed.). (1991). Creative planning for library administration: Leadership for the future. New York: Haworth Press.

Leithwood, K. (1994). Leadership for school restructuring. Educational Administration Quarterly, 30 (4), 498-518.

Mech, T.F. & McCabe, G.B. (1998). Leadership and academic librarians. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Pielstick, C.D. (1998). The transforming leader: A meta-ethnographic analysis. Community College Review, 26(3), 15-34.

Sheldon, B. E. (1991). Leaders in libraries: Styles and strategies for success. Chicago: American Library Association.

Yukl, G.A. (1999). An evaluation of conceptual weaknesses in transformational and charismatic leadership theories. Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 285-305.

Endnote

* Lynn Sutton is the former Associate Dean for Wayne State University Libraries.

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