Select one transformational attribute of your chosen leader that positively affected the leader's organization. How did your leader illustrate this attribute? Use material found in the text and your own research to explain how the transformational leader's performance and behaviors impact his or her organizational roles and functions. Respond to at least two of your classmates' posts, reflecting on the importance of transformational attributes. Here are some suggested topics for discussion:

• Do you think these attributes are critical for successful leadership? Why or why not?
• Can anyone learn these behaviors, or are they innate aspects of one's personality?
• What attribute did you particularly identify with or rate as more important than the others? Why?

MY CHOSEN LEADER FOR THIS DISCUSSION IS THE FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON

Material text is from DuBrin, A. (2015). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. chapter 3 and 4

Some of the text material is as below

... In Module Three, we identify charismatic and transformational leadership and leadership behaviors, attitudes, and styles, including gender differences. We also explore the career track of current and successful business leaders. We will identify particular transformational leadership attributes, characteristics, skills, and roles to improve organizational structure and communication. Module Three has the following assignments: Read Chapters 3 and 4 of the text and respond to the Discussion: Transformational Leadership prompt. Please see the Discussion Topic Rubric for more information on this activity. Complete the Final Project Part I short paper/presentation on your self-assessment and analysis of your chosen leader. Refer to the Final Project Part I Guidelines and Rubric for detailed information on this task. Chapter 3 of the text identifies the meanings and effects of charisma, types and characteristics of charismatic leaders, and transformational leadership. Chapter 4 reviews task-related attitudes and behaviors, relationship-oriented attitudes and behaviors, leadership styles, and gender differences in styles. As you review this material, reflect on the knowledge gained from your self-assessment of leadership skills and consider the leadership styles and career path of your chosen leader for the milestone project. Charismatic Leadership Style Research and theory work on charisma focus on the relationships among the leader, his or her team members, and other stakeholders in the organization. The theory work discusses the effects of charisma on the organization, the types of charismatic leaders, and the characteristics of charismatic leaders. Our text defines charisma as "a special quality of leaders whose purposes, powers, and extraordinary determination differentiate them from others. In general use, the term charismatic means to have a charming and colorful personality" (DuBrin, 2015, p. 74). Charisma is a personal quality viewed through the lens of the perception of others and the "attributions" made by various group members about the characteristics of leaders and their achievements and results. Our text uses an example of Apple's former leader Steve Jobs. While Jobs's public personality was as a dynamic visionary and his achievements changed technology use for millions of consumers, Jobs was known to be extremely harsh and insulting to close team members at Apple. Charisma attributes are viewed through who is on the receiving end of the leader's words and actions. Charismatic theory work is important to our understanding of leaders, as: If people perceive a leader to have a certain characteristic, such as being visionary, the leader will more likely be perceived as charismatic. Attributions of charisma are important because they lead to other behavioral outcomes, such as commitment to leaders, self-sacrifice, and high performance. (DuBrin, 2015, p. 74) A charismatic leader generally exhibits the following characteristics (Robbins & Judge, 2015, p. 343): Vision and articulation - "sees" the vision of the future for the organization and clarifies the vision to key followers in an understandable fashion Personal risk - willing and able to take on risk and personal sacrifice to achieve the vision and goals of the organization Sensitivity to follower needs - perceptive to others' abilities and needs and responds appropriately to these needs and feelings Unconventional behavior - engages in behavior and strategy perceived as a novel and has an unconventional approach to achieving the vision In summary, charismatic leaders are visionary risk-takers and high achievers who remain sensitive to the needs of others while accomplishing goals. They influence their followers by communicating an appealing and sometimes revolutionary vision of the future. They are colorful, excellent communicators and storytellers who evoke a positive emotional response to the vision of the organization. They lead; they communicate; they move others to follow their lead. Transformational Leadership Effectiveness Transformation leaders have similar personality qualities to charismatic leaders, but their focus is transforming others and the organization to higher quality, productivity, and effectiveness. Transformational leadership is focused on personal characteristics of the leader while also focusing on relationships with group members. The transformational leader helps bring about major, positive changes by moving group members beyond their self-interests and toward the good of the group, organization, or society. The essence of transformational leadership is developing and transforming people. As a result, the organization is transformed. (DuBrin, 2015, p. 89) Transformational leadership focuses on the leader, his or her relationship with others in the organization, and how that relationship transforms organizational performance. The transformational leadership style is not perfect, but studies prove that this approach is effective. A transformational leadership style tends to result in "lower turnover rates, higher productivity, lower employee stress and burnout, and higher employee satisfaction" (Robbins & Judge, 2015, p. 349). Additionally, our text tells us: "Transformational leadership showed the highest overall relationships on six criteria: (a) follower job satisfaction, (b) follower leader satisfaction, (c) follower motivation, (d) leader job performance, (e) group or organization performance, and (f) rated leader effectiveness" (DuBrin, 2015, p. 96). The transforming of organizational performance in the transformational leadership style takes place through action items outlined in the text. The leader accomplishes transformation through the 10 steps displayed in the table below (DuBrin, 2015, p. 91): TRANSFORMATIONS 1. Raises people's awareness 2. Helps people look beyond self-interest 3. Helps people search for self-fulfillment 4. Helps people understand need for change 5. Invests managers with a sense of urgency 6. Commits to greatness 7. Adopts long-range broad perspective 8. Builds trust 9. Facilitates proactive behavior 10. Concentrates resources where most needed Table 3.1: Transformational Leadership Steps Finally, four "I" statements may identify transformational leadership characteristics (Robbins & Judge, 2015, p. 346): Idealized influence - provides vision and sense of mission, instills pride in others and the organization, gains respect and trust of followers Inspirational motivation - communicates high expectation, uses symbols to focus efforts, expresses important purpose in simple fashion Intellectual stimulation - promotes intelligence, rationality, and problem-solving Individualized consideration - gives personal attention, treats employees as individuals, coaches and advises Transformational leadership is successful where leaders empower followers to achieve goals and assist followers with self-efficacy while providing the right blend of coaching and advice. References DuBrin, A. (2015). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Robbins, S., & Judge, T. (2015). Organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.