Being a transformational leader is more than impacting your immediate circle of influence; it’s about affecting change within the entire organization.
“The value of transformational leadership goes well beyond safety,” said Dr. Rick Fulwiler during his keynote address at EHS Today’s Safety Leadership Conference.
Fulwiler, who is president of the Technology Leadership Associates and a Procter & Gamble retiree, highlighted the need for those who understand the value of transformational leadership to spread that message through the ranks.
Doing so, he said, will help “move the needle” in leadership from predominantly transactional to more transformational. Even small shifts, he said, will create change in an organization.
“Transactional leadership is not bad,” Fulwiler said. “The problem with these organizations is there’s a lack of balance.”
Transactional leaders are work-focused, task-oriented and maintain quid pro quo relationships, whereas transformational leaders focus on both the work and the worker, empower workers to engage in the work and are personally engaged with the worker.
“Transformational leadership is the key to engagement,” Fulwiler said. “If we truly want to be excellent, we’re going to require that engagement.”
Fulwiler pinpointed five key characteristics of a transformational leader: listening, communicating, caring, being collegial and being engaging.
“Becoming more transformational will not just make you a better professional, it will make you a better person,” Fulwiler said.
He identified Scott Buttz, general manager at Cincinnati-based Cintas, as an example of the success a transformational leader can bring to an organization.
Under the leadership of Buttz, Cintas in three years reported a 191% increase in profit, a 93% decrease in TIR (traumatic incident reduction) and a 76% decrease in turnover.
And Buttz did it by sending a clear message to employees: “I care.”
He hung pictures in his office that employees’ children had drawn, he embraced workers on the shop floor. He was engaged.
Fulwiler challenged attendees to help their organizations have more transformational leaders like Buttz.
"Transformational leadership is not new. The fact is, it's not broadly practiced," he said. "You may have to teach up in your organization."