How To Be A Transformational Leader: Humanising The Workplace For Extra-Ordinary Results with Juliet Corbett
In the latest episode of Extra-Ordinary Leaders, I sat down with Juliet Corbett, executive coach and strategy adviser, founder and CEO of Juliet Corbett Coaching, and host of The Independent School podcast.
We could describe a business as a group of people working towards a shared goal.
But how can we direct people towards our shared goal – our vision – in the most human, effective and extraordinary way? How can we motivate and inspire people, rather than relying on extrinsic motivators – ‘bargaining tools’ like bonuses and promotions?
Let’s find out.
The full episode with Juliet is available here.
Two types of leadership
Juliet Corbett guides us through an exploration of transformational leadership, which in her 20 plus years’ experience in leading, consulting and coaching, stands out as one of the most effective, productive models of leadership we can embody.
Let’s take a look at some definitions:
Transactional Leadership
Based on (often inflexible) processes, concerned with getting things done, uses reinforcement and exchange, requires stricter management structure.
Transformational Leadership
Based on relationships and motivation, aims to inspire people to get things done, focused on the people, not just the task.
Juliet: “Doing anything [in a] transactional [way], we’re talking about providing an extrinsic motivation for people – people do it because they’re being told to do it. Whereas when we’re talking about transformational or inspiring leadership, we’re talking about intrinsic motivation. We inspire people to do it because they care. It’s all about balancing the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to try and get people to feel we’re all moving in the same direction and heading towards the same strategic vision.”
What is transformational leadership?
If I had to distil it into one word, I would offer that being a transformational leader is simply allowing yourself to be human.
It means showing up as ourselves and allowing others to see us for who we are beyond our title. It could be bringing our sense of humour, sharing anecdotes about our family – whatever it is, it’s about bringing humanness into corporate conversations.
Juliet: “It’s actually a really exciting time to be a leader because I think, generally speaking, there's more recognition that this is an impactful way to lead... We respond to the humanness in those around us.”
When we do this, we inspire and encourage those around us. We show them that it’s OK for them to show up as themselves. And the benefit of this? Not only a better company culture, but we allow people to showcase their unique native genius. When we get to know people on a more personal level, we uncover the innate talents and qualities that can benefit our shared goal.
Juliet: “At the core, we’re the same person whether we’re with our family or friends, or leading in our work environment. I’ve learned through my career that the times I’ve got the best results are when I’ve allowed some of me to be in the room.”
In my own experience I know this to be true. During some of the years I used to work in film production, I had the most fantastic manager – truly an extraordinary leader. She didn’t stick rigidly to traditional leadership models, she didn’t claim to know everything and, crucially, she encouraged me to be myself.
In my career now as a coach, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how we can all be extraordinary leaders and have this sort of lasting impact, and it seems to come back to our ability to recognise the human in all of us.
Juliet shares her own example of one such leader who had a profound impact on her:
Juliet: “He had such a combination of professional and human that it actually inspired everybody around him to uplift their game and try hard, but also to know that if it didn't go to plan, it was going to be OK because the conversation with him was going to be around ‘OK, what did we learn? What are we going to do differently next time?’ Rather than ‘you got it wrong’.”
How can we be transformational leaders?
Transformational leadership was first coined by an American historian and political scientist named James MacGregor Burns in his book titled Leadership, published in 1978. This concept was then expanded upon in the 80’s by leadership and organisational behaviour scholar Bernard M. Bass.
Bernard added four elements that make up transformational leadership, otherwise known as ‘The Four Is’:
Idealised Influence
This is all to do with who the role models are in your organisation. Are those that are in positions of leadership inspiring people? Are they able to get the best out of those that follow them?
These leaders are:
Trusted to make good decisions.
Respected by their team.
Able to provide a clear vision.
Adept at fostering a sense of belonging, encouraging people to buy into the long-term goals of the organisation.
Intellectual Stimulation
Leaders should encourage their teams to display innovation and creativity by involving them in the decision-making process and creating a diverse ‘open mic’ environment.
This type of leader pushes their team to challenge their own beliefs and values, as well as those of the business. They promote critical thinking, problem solving and autonomy, all of which play a central role in strategy planning.
Inspirational Motivation
Transformational leaders pay attention to team morale and motivation. When combined with Individual Influence, these leaders can inspire their team to take action. They are charismatic, encouraging and positive.
Learning how to motivate our team is key in our quest to be extraordinary leaders. We can do this by:
Focusing on shared goals
Recognising and rewarding great performance
Encouraging confidence in the abilities and native genius of each and every individual.
Motivated employees are encouraged to work harder to reach the organisational and personal goals they are committed to.
Individual Consideration
Some weeks ago I was joined by David Heron on the podcast, where we discussed the power of purpose. Employees simply are not motivated by the idea of making their CEO more money. To be truly transformational leaders, we need to be considering goals that help both the wider business and the individuals that make it up to reach their goals.
We need to be creating diverse environments where individuals are celebrated and respected for the unique superpowers they have. We need to know our team as individuals – what motivates them? What are they working towards? What are their talents?
We need to be available to act as coaches and mentors, sharing our experience and offering support to develop and empower our team for ongoing success.
Don’t be afraid to ask
As with everything, it’s not just about us going inward and taking a reflective approach – we need to look outward and be open to outward input too.
We need to ask our team!
Some feedback might be difficult to hear, but the more we can be open minded and thank people for being brave enough to share their honest opinions with us, the more of our human side we’re showing. This creates almost a virtuous circle: the more we can do this, the more we encourage other people to show up as themselves, and the more we can benefit from their unique talents.
Being a transformational (or inspiring / human) leader can only begin with being comfortable within ourselves. From this point, we can build comfort in our team.
Juliet: “The pattern that I have noticed for myself and for those that I've coached has been a level of comfort. A level of ‘I don't need to be somebody else when I'm in the workplace, I can be myself’.”
Being comfortable doesn’t mean staying within our comfort zone. Actually, it’s when we feel the most comfortable that we’re able to display the growth mindset so necessary in transformational leadership.
**
The full conversation with Juliet is available here.
For more information on Juliet, head over to LinkedIn, visit her website, and check out The Independent School podcast.
Extra-Ordinary Leaders releases new episodes every week. Follow along on LinkedIn to be kept up to date or contact me directly at info@dollywaddell.com.
