Bernard M. Bass, a leadership researcher offers in this case that 4 "I" s are paramount

1. Individualized consideration
2. Intellectual stimulation
3. Inspirational motivation
4. Idealized inuence.

For each of these 4 considerations, describe1) how you apply this consideration differently than Ron did in the case and 2) what you expect the outcome to be. Address each of the 4 "I's".

Case study on transformational leadership

Ron was a young leadership consultant and researcher who received a call from the Chairman of the Board of Directors of a private business college. Ron had done some consultancy work for him earlier, so the Chairman had a lot of trust and confidence in him. During the meeting, the Chairman narrated the problems faced by the college.

The chairman had received many complaints about the principal, Professor James, and a senior faculty member, Professor Susan. The principal was perceived as weak and took a long time making decisions or actions, even on important issues. Professor Susan realized this and started influencing and controlling the decisions and actions of the principal. Due to this, there were a lot of interpersonal problems between the faculty members. The final result was that teaching and academic work suffered. Slowly, the research grants from the industry started to reduce and also the number of companies coming to the college for campus recruitment. The number of students applying for admission also started to fall. The chairman feared that if no remedial action was taken immediately, the college may have to be closed.

Ron listened patiently to the problems and decided to take up the assignment. He promised to come up with a solution within a week.

After a week, Ron came back with his recommendations. He said that he had found the situation at the college to be terrible. The teaching work had come to a standstill. If no action was taken, the college would have to be closed right away. He proposed that both Professor James and Professor Susan should be removed from their positions immediately. Since there was no time available to look for a new principal, he offered his services on a three year contract. But his remuneration would be high - almost twice the amount currently being paid.

The board of directors deliberated over the proposal for a long time. The scenario built by Ron was scary. They had allowed the situation to deteriorate by not taking action earlier. Now

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they had no option but to accept Ron's proposal. The fact that he was known to the chairman was also taken into consideration. So the services of Professor James and Professor Susan were terminated and Ron was appointed as the new principal.

Solution

As expected, Ron was received with hostility as he was installed by the board directly, without taking the opinion of the faculty members or any other stakeholders. Some senior professors felt that they could have been given the opportunity, especially in view of their long association with the college. However, Ron was unperturbed and moved ahead. He met every faculty member and non-teaching staff individually and noted their concerns. He prepared a list of all the concerns and apprehensions and prioritized them according to their severity and importance. He made a time-bound action plan to resolve each one of them. When he announced this plan, everyone was amazed. They had not seen things moving at such a fast pace earlier.

The academic activities were already delayed by three weeks. There were no teachers for three subjects and the time table had to be prepared. Ron called a meeting of the entire faculty and asked for volunteers to teach the three subjects. Fortunately, Jack, who was a dedicated and committed professor, came forward and offered to shoulder the responsibility of handling one of the subjects. The other teachers were reluctant to take any extra load. Finally, by offering some monetary incentives, Ron could get a teacher to agree to teach the second subject. Since the situation was at a dead end, Ron decided to teach the third subject himself - he wanted to lead by example.

Ron realized that there was a lack of transparent and open communication between the management and the academic staff. Besides, there was no coordination between the marketing team that marketed the courses and the teachers. So he started a monthly meeting of the management team with the teachers and the marketing team. Everyone was allowed to raise the issues that concerned them for an immediate resolution.

During these meetings, Ron encouraged the team members to think creatively about the problems and their solutions. Often, the issues could be resolved by the team members themselves, without the intervention of the management.

Many good ideas and suggestions for improvement of the working of the college also emerged from these meetings. This started to develop a team spirit among all the members. They were motivated to look upon themselves as a single team where each member would help others to achieve their goals and objectives. This also contributed to making the working environment more positive.

While the above actions were underway, Ron gave a lot of attention to meeting the commitments he had given in the time bound action plan earlier. He referred to the list several times a day to ensure that even the smallest action was not left out. He knew that a leader has to deliver on his promises.

Ron infused confidence among the employees by replacing the prevailing pressure with pleasure, distrust with trust, and miscommunication with prompt and open communication.

During the transformation of the college, Ron took initiatives in all areas. He identified the areas where there were gaps and addressed them. He did not shirk responsibility. He announced that the primary responsibility and accountability on any matter was his.

Ron also realized that the previous principal, Professor James, had encouraged petty politics by favoring a few people and alienating the rest. He had been surrounded by sycophants. Ron changed all this. He ensured that everyone who had a stake in a decision was involved in the decision making process.

Ron made sure that the faculty members were always kept informed of all developments. He persuaded the administration department to take quick actions on all feedback. Gradually, a climate of trust and confidence was built up. Thus, Ron built bridges and removed the barriers.

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''. . .leaders have to act according to the situation, with more emphasis on transformational leadership, for motivating their people and organizations to achieve their goals and objectives.''

During this time, two dissatisfied faculty members were found to be spreading rumours and negative stories. He quickly made a decision to fire them immediately before the poison spread further. He made sure that everyone was informed of the real reason for the departure of these two persons to serve as a warning to others, and also to ensure that no one could cause any misunderstandings.

Ron introduced several training and development programs to enhance the skills of the faculty and the administrative staff. People felt valued and cared for with this gesture. This infused faith and confidence in them, opening the doors to better performance and growth.

Ron also arranged regular get togethers of the students and teachers. The informal atmosphere promoted better building of relationships. He explained to the faculty that the students were essential to their existence - if there were no students, there would be no teachers either!

Whenever feedback emerged during these interactions, Ron ensured that action was taken. When a few students talked of problems with a particular faculty member, he investigated the matter immediately. He found that the faculty member was short tempered and would shout whenever he was asked questions in the class. Ron called the faculty member to his room and provided sandwich feedback to improve his behaviour. This had the desired result and the faculty member's relationship with the students improved substantially. Ron's success in handling this case tactfully further enhanced the respect he commanded in the college.

Three years passed by quickly. When the chairman reviewed the situation, he found that things had improved dramatically in the college. Industry grants had increased to record levels, a large number of students were applying to the college for admission, and the college had an enviable record of placing all its graduating students several months before their course ended. The number of research papers published by the faculty was at a record high. The atmosphere in the college was great. The faculty, administrative staff and the students had very good relationship with one another.

But there was a problem. The college was still losing money. The main reason was the high remuneration paid to Ron. So the chairman was wondering what he should recommend to the Board - an extension to Ron or appoint another, less expensive person, maybe a senior faculty member of the college.

Bernard M. Bass's 4 I's

Ron effectively adopted the 4 I's of Bernard M. Bass, the leadership researcher - individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and idealized influence.

He cared for his people. He empathized with their problems and solved them immediately. He recognized their motivational needs and acted accordingly. He stimulated his people intellectually by encouraging them to be creative and think out of the box in solving the challenges. He gave them freedom to do things in their own way, and counselled them only when they were not able to resolve the issues themselves. He clearly articulated the vision of the institution and challenged the people by setting high standards. He demonstrated

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confidence and optimism. He displayed energy and enthusiasm throughout. He motivated his people continuously and constantly. Finally, he set an example by his own performance and became a role model for others.

Ron demonstrated his integrity, set an example, set the goals and objectives clearly, communicated clearly from time to time, connected with various stakeholders by building bridges, breaking barriers, and removing bottlenecks. He encouraged, supported and inspired his people to transform the educational institution, which was on the verge of collapse to greater heights of success. Hence, Ron was indeed a transformational leader.

From this case study, it becomes clear that the right leadership is needed to lead the organization to success. This particular situation called for transformational leadership for saving the college from closing down, protecting the jobs of the employees and providing quality education to the students.

To conclude, leaders have to act according to the situation, with more emphasis on transformational leadership, for motivating their people and organizations to achieve their goals and objectives.