Benefits
[Link] Public Trust and Confidence
According to (Vial,2019), transformational leadership can improve public
trust and confidence by enhancing ethical behaviour, integrity,
transparency and accountability within public institutions.
Transformational leadership principles inspire public officials to perform
their duties honestly and ethically, thus restoring the public’s trust and
confidence in the government (Northouse, 2022).Transformational leaders
motivate their subjects through honest leadership, integrity, and
commitment to serving the public in the best interest. As a result, the
public gains confidence and trust in government agencies and becomes
committed to participating in government programs and initiatives(Al-
Husseini, Beltagi & Moizer, 2019; 670–693).
According to Mahameed,Riaz,Aldoob & Halari(2023;1161–1185), leaders
who demonstrate transformational leadership are likely to foster a positive
attitude among their employees while encouraging them to enhance their
leadership skills. Transformational leaders have a high emotional quotient
which enables them to relate well with their employees. Transformational
leaders encourage a friendly working relationship with their employees.
Leaders with transformational leadership skills can influence their
employees through motivation and persuasion to accomplish the set
objectives. They also engage in activities such as consulting their
employees, co-socialization, sharing information, and communicating with
their employees to boost teamwork and collaboration. The leader has
charisma and inspiration to influence and motivate his subjects. Such
leaders gain the admiration and trust of his subjects by encouraging and
influencing them to achieve the set objectives.
Transformational leadership principles will help the South African public
service to restore public trust and confidence through ethical leadership,
integrity, and accountability.
2. Better Service Delivery Outcomes
Van Wart (2013;553-565) asserts that transformational leadership can
improve service delivery by inspiring employees, promoting innovation
while also encouraging a citizen-cantered approach. Transformational
leaders are likely to promote organizational change within the ranks by
encouraging employees to innovate and adopt new ideas and
technologies to improve service delivery to citizens. Netolicky (2020)
explains that transformational leadership is most appropriate when an
organization needs to persuade or encourage employees to undertake
specific actions and achieve desired results. Transformational leaders
persuade employees to accept the changes and help them see how the
changes will benefit them and the organization. The leaders also
encourage employees to embrace digital technologies to improve
business processes and achieve organizational goals. Netolicky (2020)
reveals that Transformational leadership will also promote the
development of new products and ideas that can benefit society while also
improving organizational performance.
Klus and Müller (2021) reveal that transformational leadership supports
the development and implementation of e-governance projects.
Transformational leaders can encourage and persuade their subjects to
adopt new ideas, such as those used in the Smart City Johannesburg
program. Leaders can promote creativity and use technology to improve
service delivery while also encouraging employees to be innovative and
introduce new approaches and methods.
Van Wart (2013;553-565) reveals that transformational leadership
encourages cooperation, employee training, and commitment to attaining
shared vision and organizational goals. Leaders with transformational
leadership style inspire their employees to accomplish goals while
encouraging organizational change. This way, transformational leadership
encourages organizational change while promoting teamwork,
collaboration, and cooperation among employees. Public institutions led
by transformational leaders are likely to be more responsive to the needs
of the people they exist to serve while also being accountable for their
actions.
Khan & Nawaz(2016;1-7) observes that transformational leaders can
motivate employees to deliver quality services to the public. The leaders
can encourage and persuade employees to meet performance
expectations to improve service delivery. Employees motivated to deliver
quality services are more likely to be productive and efficient hence
meeting the service delivery goals.
Some South African government departments have utilized
transformational leadership in combination with innovation to improve
service delivery to citizens. For instance, the Department of Home Affairs
has adopted online booking systems and Smart ID cards to facilitate
easier and faster access to Home Affairs services. The department has
partnered with commercial banks to provide a wide range of services to
citizens. Similarly, the South African Social Security Agency has revealed
its intentions to improve service delivery by adopting electronic payments
and improving the granting system. These departments are utilizing
transformational leadership to encourage innovation which has improved
the overall service delivery.
3. Sustainable organisational development
According to Afzal & Tumpa (2024; 971), transformational leadership plays
a significant role in promoting sustainable organisational development by
establishing a working environment that encourages innovation,
organizational justice, employee commitment, and improved
organisational performance. Ogbu Edeh and Ugwu (2019) reveal that
transformational leadership is an effective strategy for promoting
organizational justice and employee commitment while also boosting
performance and creating a positive working environment.
Transformational leadership encourages sustainable organisational
development by inspiring employees to raise expectations while also
promoting innovative ideas and organisational change. Transformational
leaders motivate employees by encouraging organisational justice,
improving employee engagement, and committing to organisational goals,
thus enhancing sustainable organisational development.
Pirola, Cimini & Pinto(2019), observes that transformational leadership
encourages sustainable organisational development by fostering
organisational innovation. Yi et al. (2019; 1–18) reveal that
transformational leaders encourage employees to come up with new ideas
and concepts, improve existing ideas and products, and develop
innovative solutions to problems facing the organization. This way,
transformational leadership encourages continuous learning and
organisational change, which are vital for organisational sustainability and
development. Transformational leadership also promotes sustainable
organisational development by boosting employee commitment and
organizational justice.
Engelbrecht and Samuel (2019;1-8) found that transformational leaders
motivate employees by providing individual consideration, thus reducing
sick leave and turnover intentions. In the same way, Hendrikz and
Engelbrecht (2019) reveal that organisational justice encourages a
positive organisational environment, which motivates employees to
maintain their commitment to the organization. . Transformational
leadership is appropriate for organizations that need to increase staff
motivation, commitment, and willingness to take risks to achieve the set
objectives.
According to (Osman, Sulaiman, Aziz, Bakar, & Fadil 2023),
transformational leadership can promote organisational sustainability and
development by creating a positive organisational culture in which
employees collaborate to achieve the organization’s mission and vision.
Leaders with transformational leadership skills motivate employees to
accomplish the set goals and objectives, thus improving organisational
performance while also creating value for employees and other
stakeholders. In educational institutions, transformational leadership can
increase research productivity, improve teaching and learning, and
enhance graduate employment rates.
Demirtas and Karaca (2020) reveal that Transformational leadership
encourages employees to achieve organizational goals by making them
understand that they must commit their personal interests to achieve the
organizational goals. In South Africa, transformational leaders such as
Cortellazzo, Bruni and Zampieri (2019) encourage government officials to
put the organization’s interests before personal interests to achieve the
set objectives. Govender et al. (2018) reveal that transformational
leadership develops competencies in public officials, enabling them to
transform public administration by encouraging organisational change and
improvement. Transformational leadership encourages sustainable
organisational development by promoting organisational learning,
empowering employees, encouraging innovation, and creating a positive
organisational culture.
Government departments have improved their service delivery through
transformational leadership and innovation. For instance, many
municipalities have invested in digital government to improve service
delivery to citizens. Municipalities encourage continuous organisational
learning to update their knowledge and skills, thus promoting
organisational change and improvement. The Government Communication
and Information System (GCIS) promote organisational development by
encouraging improved communication practices, which improves
stakeholder management and strengthens organizational performance.
Transformational leadership promotes sustainable organisational
development by building organisational capacity through the acquisition
of knowledge and skills, enhancing organisational justice, boosting
employee commitment and organisational performance while also
encouraging continuous organisational improvement.
References
Yi L., Uddin M., Das A.K., Mahmood M., & Sohel S.M. (2019). "Do transformational leaders engage
employees in sustainable innovative work behaviour? Perspective from a developing
country" . Sustainability, 11(9), 1–18. [Link]
Engelbrecht A., & Samuel O.M. (2019). "The effect of transformational leadership on intention to
quit through perceived organisational support, organisational justice and trust" . South African
Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 22(1), 1–
8. [Link]
Klus M.F.Müller J.2021 "The digital leader: What one needs to master today’s organisational
challenges" Journal of Business Economics 91110122SpringerBerlin
Heidelberg10.1007/s11573-021-01040-1
Netolicky D.M.2020 "School leadership during a pandemic: Navigating tensions" Journal of
Professional Capital and Community 53391395Available at: DOI: [Link]
05-2020-0017
Cortellazzo [Link] E. Zampieri R.2019 "The role of leadership in a digitized world: A
review" Frontiers in Psychology 10112110.3389/fpsyg.2019.01938
Northouse, P.G., 2022. Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th ed. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage
Govender [Link] G. C. [Link] A.2018 "Examining leadership as a strategy to enhance health
care service delivery in regional hospitals in South Africa" Journal of Multidisciplinary
Healthcare201815716
Khan Z.A., Nawaz A. & Khan I., 2016, ‘ "Leadership theories and styles: A literature
review" ’, Journal of Resources Development and Management 16, 1–7.
Van Wart, M., 2013. Lessons from Leadership Theory and the
Contemporary Challenges of Leaders. Public Administration Review, 73(4),
pp.553-565.
Demirtas [Link] M.2020A Handbook of Leadership StylesNewcastleCambridge Scholars
Ogbu Edeh, F. & Ugwu, F. O. 2019. "Transformational leadership and
employee outcomes." (Useful for discussing commitment, innovation, and
organizational performance.)
Al-Husseini S., Beltagi I. E., & Moizer J.2019. "Transformational leadership and innovation: the
mediating role of knowledge sharing amongst higher education faculty" . International Journal of
Leadership in Education, 24(5): 670–693. DOI: [Link]
Osman Z., Sulaiman T. F. T., Aziz R. C., Bakar R. A., and Fadil N. A.2023. "Accelerating the adoption
of sustainable development practices among online distance learning higher education institutions
in Malaysia" . International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and
Management Sciences, 13(3). DOI: [Link]
Afzal F. and Tumpa R. J.2024. "Exploring leadership styles to foster sustainability in construction
projects: a systematic literature review" . Sustainability, 16(3):
971. DOI: [Link]
Mahameed M. A., Riaz U., Aldoob M. S., & Halari A.2023. "The implementation of sustainability
practices in Arab higher education institutions" . Journal of Financial Reporting and
Accounting, 23(3): 1161–1185. DOI: [Link]
Khan Z.A., Nawaz A. & Khan I., 2016, ‘ "Leadership theories and styles: A literature
review" ’, Journal of Resources Development and Management 16, 1–7.
Pirola [Link] [Link] R.2019 "Digital readiness assessment of Italian SMEs: A case-study
research" Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management 31510451083
Vial G.2019 "Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda" Journal of
Strategic Information Systems 282118144Available
at: DOI: [Link]