“Helen Clark’s recent interview for the United Nations Secretary-General candidates’ debate was an exceptional example of a transformational leader. ”

Transactional leaders leverage the most left-brain action of planning, organisation and efficiency while transformational leaders are best versed to visualise and articulate the strategy.

Both types of leadership must go hand-in-hand and there is a constant balancing act for us to be able to provide the right ingredients for growth, innovation and opportunity.

There are arguably many different approaches to the ‘why and wherefore’ of the differences between both.

Here’s a summary describing each style and an interesting comparison from Boundless.com recently. Transact ional leadership Transactional leadership promotes compliance with existing organisational goals and performance expectations through supervision and the use of rewards and punishments. Transactional leaders are task and outcome oriented. Especially effective under strict time and resource constraints and in highlyspecified projects, this approach adheres to the status quo and employs a form of management that pays close attention to how employees perform their tasks. Transformational leadership Transformational leadership focuses on increasing employee motivation and engagement and attempts to link employees’ sense of self with organisational values.

This leadership style emphasises leading by example, so followers can identify with the leader’s vision and values. A transformational approach focuses on individual strengths and weaknesses of employees and on enhancing their capabilities and their commitment to organisational goals, often by seeking their buy-in for decisions. Comparing leadership types Transactional and transformational leadership exhibit five key differences: 1. Transactional leadership reacts to problems as they arise, whereas transformational leadership is more likely to address issues before they become problematic. 2. Transactional leaders work within an existing organisational culture, while transformational leaders emphasise new ideas and thereby “transform” organisational culture.

“Transactional leaders leverage the most left-brain action of planning, organisation and efficiency while transformational leaders are best versed to visualise and articulate the strategy. ”

3. Transactional leaders reward and punish in traditional ways according to organisational standards; transformational leaders attempt to achieve positive results from employees by keeping them invested in projects, leading to an internal, high-order reward system. 4. Transactional leaders appeal to the self-interest of employees who seek out rewards for themselves, in contrast to transformational leaders, who appeal to group interests and notions of organisational success. 5. Transactional leadership is more akin to the common notions of management, whereas transformational leadership adheres more closely to what is colloquially referred to as leadership. Source: Boundless. Transactional Versus Transformational Leaders. Boundless Management.

Helen Clark’s recent interview for the United Nations secretary-general candidates’ debate was an exceptional example of a transformational leader. Helen clearly articulated her vision for the UN, her strengths that complement the values of the organisation and rational, pragmatic approaches to the challenges the UN faces.

Her organisation might be the UN, but her stakeholders are every man, woman and child – she took us all on the journey of inspiration that would drive her success, should she be appointed.

Here at IMNZ we wish Helen every success and are so proud that our nation is being represented so articulately on a global stage.

“As New Zealanders, we’ve been in on the United Nations from the very beginning, played a role in the drafting of the charter – it means a lot to us that those processes are followed.” – Helen Clark.