Leadership Styles--The Transformational Leader
Change is the only constant and when change happens in a disruptive manner, it transforms the entire horizon which needs to be affected. In the same manner, there are some very special individuals who bring in these changes and the way they are willing to disrupt the existing systems and environment makes them "The Transformational Leader", one who takes the responsibility of an entire system and is willing to take a risk which hitherto was never taken and someone who takes ultimate responsibility of failure if at all encountered.
Transformational Leadership style is the best leadership style ever invented or followed. This is the best leadership style for business situations since the Leader expects the best out of every member of his team and that includes himself. Nothing but the best can be part of this team and that is essentially due to years and years of hard work. They are brutally honest when it comes to assessing performance and none other than the best can sustain the immense conditions of positive stress which is put across by these Leaders. They are highly motivating and success is something these teams find day in and day out.
Clive Lloyd, arguably the greatest Cricketing Leader was a Transformational leader without dispute. He was responsible for the Greatest Cricket Team ever of the West Indies from early 70s to late 80s. A leader who could lead Roy Fredricks (a maverick opener), Gordon Greenidge (one of the most technically accomplished batsman ever), Viv Richards( one of the greatest batsmen ever), Rohan Kanhai (another great leader himself), Alvin Kallicharan (another great), Lawrence Rowe (unfortunately could not play much despite being one of the greatest ever), Derryck Murray (a very classy Wicket keeper) and to top it all Four fearsome fast bowlers in Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft and Michael Holding to support one of the greatest spinners of all time Lance Gibbs. Wow! Some would argue that with such a team any leader could become a Transformational leader. These type of Leaders inspire even the best among the greatest to perform consistently without egos. They play for pride and for the pride of their Leader. This is what happened in the 70s and 80s World Cricket. One decisive thrust by the Leader to move all the greats under him (except Kallicharan) to move out of World Cricket to join the Kerry Packer Series was something which completely turned the World of Cricket upside down for 2 years. Something un-imaginable and Cricketing world was completely aghast. Only such Leaders are capable of taking such risks and still succeed. It is said that Clive Lloyd was completely distraught after the loss to the Aussies in 1975-76 when they lost 6-1 and were a completely battered team while facing the onslaught of Ian Chappel's Aussies with Lillie and Thommo wrecking them each time they went out to such an extent that even Vivian Richards had to take the help of a psychiatrist. Again when India took on the West Indies and won a great match at Port of Spain chasing 406 in the last innings, Clive Lloyd had enough of defeats when he decided that Pace and that too with 4 pace bowlers is the Key to winning Test Cricket. And that was the beginning of the Great West Indian Era in Cricket. A Leader without doubt and a complete Transformational Leader.
Sourav Ganguly, another great transformer and what he did is something we can never forget despite the winning habits of M S Dhoni. Sourav like Clive Lloyd had to contend with greats like Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and mavericks like Sehwag, Yuvraj and Harbhajjan Singh and he also had to contend with someone as suave and disciplined as Anil Kumble while moulding Zaheer Khan. Some task for any one to handle. Unless the Leader himself believes he is among the best and he himself can perform equal to the others, such situations cannot be handled easily. Sourav was second to none in batting the way only he could. He took some deadly risks during his hey day and even went to the extent of playing mind games with the best in the game, the Aussies.
Allan Border, one of the greatest among the Transformational Leaders. The Aussie team of the early 80s was reeling under severe under performance. This was post the Packer series cricket and the exit of greats like the Chappel brothers, Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillie, Jeff Thomson and others like Ian Redpath, Rick McCosker, Alan Turner & Ross Edwards all classy players and responsible for the Great Australian team of the 70s. Suddenly the Aussies under Kim Hughes were puppets and were not able to come anywhere near the great legacy which the Aussies carried every where they went. It was Allan Border, the Transformational Leader, ever so steely in discipline, demeanor and depth of understanding each and every team member, who completely took the world head on with a character not easy to replicate. He was responsible to provide the world with another great Leader in Steve Waugh, another in Mark Taylor and another in Shane Warne. Who could handle Warney better than Border? He was the person completely responsible for creating a World Beating team and one which ruled the World of Cricket for 16 series until they met their water loo in India. Allan Border's batting record is there for everyone to see, he was the leading run-getter in world cricket until Sachin over took him.
Finally, we have Greame Smith, one who was thrust the Captaincy when he was just 22 and with South Africa reeling under severe pressure for under performance and the after math of the tragedy of Hansie Cronje and the match fixing saga. Who could have imagined that such a young novice, although a quality batsman, could emerge as one of the better players in world cricket and more so one of the Best Captains ever. Incidentally, he is the longest serving Captain in the history of World Cricket and has a long way to go. To top it all, he handles some of the most difficult teams to handle since there are so many great players in SA cricket in Kallis, Steyn, Hashim Amla and a stream of youngsters who are nothing beyond utility players and despite this fact SA continues to lead in World Cricket with consistency not matched by many other teams. All due to the Leadership quality of this Transformational Leader.
Hats off to these Greats. To top it all, the four of them are Left Handers and have been great batsmen during their reign. The one fact that readers should notice is the partnership which they created with their team Coaches was exemplary. Allan Border was helped by Bob Simpson in detailing, Clive Lloyd was supported to a large extent by Clyde Walcot, Sourav Ganguly was ably supported by John Wright and Greame Smith by Mickey Arthur. It is said that for Transformation one requires detailing and that detailing cannot be without quality support and each of the four Transformational Leaders had someone who could do the detailing as in Transactional Leadership style. Hence it is to be noted that while Transformational Leadership is the best style of leadership, it requires a complimenting effect of the Transactional type too in the form of support to be effective.
With this the series of Leadership Styles comes to a close. Readers should note that no specific leadership style is superior and situations do count a lot. Hence it would serve better to assess situations and bring in the style specifically suited for the situation rather than following any one type for every situation.
Transformational Leadership style is the best leadership style ever invented or followed. This is the best leadership style for business situations since the Leader expects the best out of every member of his team and that includes himself. Nothing but the best can be part of this team and that is essentially due to years and years of hard work. They are brutally honest when it comes to assessing performance and none other than the best can sustain the immense conditions of positive stress which is put across by these Leaders. They are highly motivating and success is something these teams find day in and day out.
Clive Lloyd, arguably the greatest Cricketing Leader was a Transformational leader without dispute. He was responsible for the Greatest Cricket Team ever of the West Indies from early 70s to late 80s. A leader who could lead Roy Fredricks (a maverick opener), Gordon Greenidge (one of the most technically accomplished batsman ever), Viv Richards( one of the greatest batsmen ever), Rohan Kanhai (another great leader himself), Alvin Kallicharan (another great), Lawrence Rowe (unfortunately could not play much despite being one of the greatest ever), Derryck Murray (a very classy Wicket keeper) and to top it all Four fearsome fast bowlers in Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft and Michael Holding to support one of the greatest spinners of all time Lance Gibbs. Wow! Some would argue that with such a team any leader could become a Transformational leader. These type of Leaders inspire even the best among the greatest to perform consistently without egos. They play for pride and for the pride of their Leader. This is what happened in the 70s and 80s World Cricket. One decisive thrust by the Leader to move all the greats under him (except Kallicharan) to move out of World Cricket to join the Kerry Packer Series was something which completely turned the World of Cricket upside down for 2 years. Something un-imaginable and Cricketing world was completely aghast. Only such Leaders are capable of taking such risks and still succeed. It is said that Clive Lloyd was completely distraught after the loss to the Aussies in 1975-76 when they lost 6-1 and were a completely battered team while facing the onslaught of Ian Chappel's Aussies with Lillie and Thommo wrecking them each time they went out to such an extent that even Vivian Richards had to take the help of a psychiatrist. Again when India took on the West Indies and won a great match at Port of Spain chasing 406 in the last innings, Clive Lloyd had enough of defeats when he decided that Pace and that too with 4 pace bowlers is the Key to winning Test Cricket. And that was the beginning of the Great West Indian Era in Cricket. A Leader without doubt and a complete Transformational Leader.
Sourav Ganguly, another great transformer and what he did is something we can never forget despite the winning habits of M S Dhoni. Sourav like Clive Lloyd had to contend with greats like Sachin, Dravid, Laxman and mavericks like Sehwag, Yuvraj and Harbhajjan Singh and he also had to contend with someone as suave and disciplined as Anil Kumble while moulding Zaheer Khan. Some task for any one to handle. Unless the Leader himself believes he is among the best and he himself can perform equal to the others, such situations cannot be handled easily. Sourav was second to none in batting the way only he could. He took some deadly risks during his hey day and even went to the extent of playing mind games with the best in the game, the Aussies.
Allan Border, one of the greatest among the Transformational Leaders. The Aussie team of the early 80s was reeling under severe under performance. This was post the Packer series cricket and the exit of greats like the Chappel brothers, Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillie, Jeff Thomson and others like Ian Redpath, Rick McCosker, Alan Turner & Ross Edwards all classy players and responsible for the Great Australian team of the 70s. Suddenly the Aussies under Kim Hughes were puppets and were not able to come anywhere near the great legacy which the Aussies carried every where they went. It was Allan Border, the Transformational Leader, ever so steely in discipline, demeanor and depth of understanding each and every team member, who completely took the world head on with a character not easy to replicate. He was responsible to provide the world with another great Leader in Steve Waugh, another in Mark Taylor and another in Shane Warne. Who could handle Warney better than Border? He was the person completely responsible for creating a World Beating team and one which ruled the World of Cricket for 16 series until they met their water loo in India. Allan Border's batting record is there for everyone to see, he was the leading run-getter in world cricket until Sachin over took him.
Finally, we have Greame Smith, one who was thrust the Captaincy when he was just 22 and with South Africa reeling under severe pressure for under performance and the after math of the tragedy of Hansie Cronje and the match fixing saga. Who could have imagined that such a young novice, although a quality batsman, could emerge as one of the better players in world cricket and more so one of the Best Captains ever. Incidentally, he is the longest serving Captain in the history of World Cricket and has a long way to go. To top it all, he handles some of the most difficult teams to handle since there are so many great players in SA cricket in Kallis, Steyn, Hashim Amla and a stream of youngsters who are nothing beyond utility players and despite this fact SA continues to lead in World Cricket with consistency not matched by many other teams. All due to the Leadership quality of this Transformational Leader.
Hats off to these Greats. To top it all, the four of them are Left Handers and have been great batsmen during their reign. The one fact that readers should notice is the partnership which they created with their team Coaches was exemplary. Allan Border was helped by Bob Simpson in detailing, Clive Lloyd was supported to a large extent by Clyde Walcot, Sourav Ganguly was ably supported by John Wright and Greame Smith by Mickey Arthur. It is said that for Transformation one requires detailing and that detailing cannot be without quality support and each of the four Transformational Leaders had someone who could do the detailing as in Transactional Leadership style. Hence it is to be noted that while Transformational Leadership is the best style of leadership, it requires a complimenting effect of the Transactional type too in the form of support to be effective.
With this the series of Leadership Styles comes to a close. Readers should note that no specific leadership style is superior and situations do count a lot. Hence it would serve better to assess situations and bring in the style specifically suited for the situation rather than following any one type for every situation.
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