ABSTRACT

Several models of leadership popular in the 1970s included two, purportedly independent, underlying dimensions which needed to be held in tension: 'initiating structure' and 'consideration'. The distinction between Transactional and Transforming (sic) leadership was first articulated in the late 1970s. Essentially, transactional leadership focuses on the relationship between the leader and follower whilst transformational leadership focuses on the beliefs, needs and values of followers. A review of leadership models aligned transactional leadership with the labels 'traditional' and, of particular interest to us, 'management', adding that these forms of leadership 'provide valuable information as to how to plan, organize, create order and structure, at times of relative stability. One of the UK leading psychometric test developers/distributors, SHL, developed a 'Corporate Leadership' model involving the performance of four universal functions of any leader: Developing the Vision: the strategy domain, Sharing the Goals: the communication domain, Gaining Support: the people domain, Delivering Success: the operational domain.