Transformational Leadership

• Library: Positive Professionals: Creating High-Performing Profitable Firms Through Engagement (ABA) (2017 Ed.)

Transformational Leadership

Think for a moment about the most effective leader you've encountered in your life. Do you have someone in mind? It might be a law firm leader or someone earlier in your life like a teacher, coach, or parent. Now think about what makes this person stand out in your memory. How did they behave? What were their special qualities? How did they make you feel? Did you want to do your best for them? Why is that?

Hopefully, you've been able to conjure up some uplifting memories of your favorite leaders. Your memories are evidence that effective leadership can truly make a difference. It's a foundational element for our positive law firms because leaders are at the center of so many strategies aimed at igniting engagement.

I should clarify the term "leader" here to be sure that you understand that I'm talking to you, no matter what your position. As I use the term "leader," it doesn't just refer to someone with high-level position authority; it also refers to anyone who is responsible for motivating others toward goals. Nearly all lawyers are leaders in some capacity—even junior lawyers who work with paralegals and secretaries. Whatever their level, most lawyers supervise and motivate others and are watched closely by staff and more junior lawyers for cues about standards and expectations. Also, we all engage in self-leadership. We guide and motivate our own development.

Because we all are leaders, this book speaks to you as a leader of others and of yourself. It invites you first to consider how you can contribute to others' Personal and Contextual Boosters that will enhance their engagement and help buffer against Stressors that can lead to burnout. We want to grow Boosters in others. We're their Booster Farmers. We're also Booster Farmers for ourselves. We should consider how we might use the book's strategies to increase our own engagement.

In addition to being leaders of ourselves and others, we all also are "followers." We potentially are inspired, motivated, and guided by others—whether or not we fit the label of "employee" or "subordinate." So, I use the words "leader" and "follower" throughout this book. Both labels should be read as possibly applying to you and everyone you work with.

Transformational Leadership: The Basics

Above, I asked you to think about the most effective leader that you've personally encountered. Chances are high that the behaviors and qualities you brought to mind fall under the umbrella of what's called transformational leadership (TFL). In fact, this exercise has been used in research studies many times, and the findings always are the same: The exemplary leaders that stand out in our minds fit the criteria for transformational leaders (Brown & May, 2012). TFL is one of the most effective leadership styles and has been the focus of more research studies than all other leadership theories combined (Kello-way et al., 2012; Kovjanic et al., 2013).

Transformational leaders are Booster Farmers—they continually cultivate all of the elements that engage followers. They don't view followers simply as cogs in the wheel that churns out billable hours in exchange for pay. They seek to transform followers into leaders (or even better leaders).

Transformational leaders' approach rests on a basic assumption that people are trustworthy, want to do well, and perform best when intrinsically motivated rather than controlled by rules, bonuses, and bossiness. They are what author Liz Wiseman (2010) has labeled "Multipliers" in her excellent book Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter. Multipliers thrive on amplifying the intelligence and talents of others and inspiring them to achieve their best. As a result, people give twice as much effort when working for Multipliers than when working for less-effective leaders.

How many law firm leaders do you know that fit this description? Not enough, in my experience. In fact, law firms' traditional command-and-control business model conflicts with this approach. Command and control management is defined by its assumption that...