My Views On Transformational Leadership During Times Of National Difficulty

There are many persons across various disciplines who can be considered to be great leaders. Some of these personalities are either still presently active, or have made their contribution and moved on. There are various aspects and styles of leadership that can be defined and discussed, however, I am interested to explore the value of innovative and transformational leadership.

What are the characteristic traits of a great leader? Whether it be in business, politics or sports, there is no mistaking that having the correct leader with a balanced blend of qualities to steer the business, team or country in the right direction is paramount for the upward trajectory of the institution being served.

In conversations, I often speak about transformational and innovative leadership. I am of the view that in times of great difficulty and challenge, transformational and innovative leaders can achieve good results - but it is all about positioning, the image being portrayed and the style and tone of language used.

Perception carries immense traction either way when charged with positions of leadership. A leader, who gives the perception that they are disconnected and disinterested, will surely not get much production from those that they lead. A leader, who interacts, motivates and who appears to genuinely take an interest, gains a psychological edge in persuading their charges to follow them down a particular path.

In these tough times that we are faced with, I believe that leadership's role must be one that seeks to enshrine an air of positivity and inspiration amongst those that are being led.

I will expand further. Ideas can be developed by anyone but I always believed it is how well you inspire others to buy into your idea and even more so, how well you as a leader facilitates the execution of these expressed visions. These for me are discerning qualities that set leaders apart, and shove them into a different realm of being truly transformational leaders. Visionary leadership cannot simply be a periodic expression; visionary and innovative leadership should be transparent, vocal and active.

I have always been very keen on what I term the advancement of the human condition'. This is about the development of people and their societies towards having the best possible opportunities available to them to push themselves towards success.

With this in mind, if we look towards world history, especially in times of global economic challenges or conflict, it was great inspirational leaders like Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and other such men of great character, who showed transformational leadership that helped the world to recover in times of challenge. The motivational rhetoric of these men inspired people, and by so doing, they inspired nation building, creativity and nationalism.

Leadership is sometimes often defined by what that leader has accomplished, and very often the popularity of that leader has a role to play in the way people judge their success. It is wonderful to tell people to do better and to be better but such words, I believe, have even more influence and can garner even further results if people are additionally inspired and given the tools that can help them to improve their circumstance in life.

We can all aspire to have power and authority. Our democratic values allow us to aspire towards these ideals, but I do not see the benefit of having power and authority if your influence to affect transformational and innovative change is not equally representative.

Photo Credit To Impact Factory

Jeevan Robinson is Founder & Editor-in-Chief of MNI Alive. He can be reached at