Remote Transformational Leadership

Before mass media and the Internet, before the conference call leaders had very little other choices to communicate with their followers than by direct methods. Rhetorical communication in the form of journals and newspaper articles held some transformational qualities, but direct person-to-person communication was how we effected change in others.

Leaders of this forgotten world were prime-time, home run hitting, super communicators. Today, we are displaced, remote, and wide-spread. Governed by leadership that may very well be in another country, we rely heavily on electronically means of communication. Can we still be as influential via email? Can we still be masters of communication over the Internet?

A study on remote transformational leadership was conducted by Barling et al. in August, 2002. The purpose of this study was to determine if transformational and charismatic leadership could be effective in exacting desired response via email. The basis of this study was to challenge the known dynamics of transformational leadership involving a strong personal identification between leader and follower. The authors illustrated four main characteristics of transformational leadership:

• Idealized influence - participating in risks with followers, maintaining consistent behavior patterns, and being dependable.
• Inspirational motivation - bring meaning and purpose to the work being done, and introducing challenges and maintain motivation.
• Individual consideration - paying attention to individuals and providing support.
• intellectual stimulation - helping followers to develop new ideas, looking outside the box, and developing critical thinking methodologies.

(The authors defined charisma as the sum of inspirational motivation and idealized influence)

Two studies were conducted to discern if transformational leadership could transcend digital communications in much the same way as open and upfront methods. They hypothesized that recipients of emails would be able to perceive and accurately identify leadership "styles" in emails, and receiving emails with positive leadership messages (i.e. transformational) would be associated with positive outcomes. The second study sought to identify that individuals exposed to emails containing charismatic or intellectually stimulating messages would express higher levels of task motivation, thus demonstrating higher levels of performance.

The first study was conducted with a vignette approach using imbedded transformational messages. 132 undergraduate students read a hypothetical email from leader to follower and completed a questionnaire. This first part was performed to establish if transformational leadership could have an effect on interpersonal justice and job satisfaction.

The second study was performed by 105 undergrads to see if charismatic characteristics are effective and intellectual stimulation via email is possible via email.

The results showed that in the first study interpersonal justice and supervisor satisfaction were significantly and substantially correlated when the email message contained transformational tone. The second showed that charisma is of little value when communicating electronically.

While this study was conducted almost 13 years ago, and innovation has aided electronic communication immensely, it served as a valuable benchmark of the times into the effectiveness of e-communication. The overall goal is still to be effective, to motivate, and inspire through influence. We have sacrificed the art of free-hand letters for gmail, and created a whole new realm of communication tools that convey our messages as leaders. We can be just as influential in our emails as we once were in face-to-face contact, maybe even more so. Tone, inflection, word choices, and simplicity are the tools of the trade when communicating via email. Charisma plays a small part in its traditional forms. If we wish inspire and idealize to other we must be innovative in our delivery. 

Positive reinforcement of moral and ethical positions are just as valuable today as in the days of snail mail. The nuances of a hand written note can indeed be conveyed electronically if the art form is mastered. While there are still some barriers to personalization and inflection in email messages, we can learn to be masters of e-communication as this is the norm for mass communications in todays world. We must be able to interpret our meanings as though we are the recipients, we must be clear in our thoughts and words, and we must be effective in sharing our guidance to those who we lead. Leaders of today must not only be masters of e-communication. We must be masters of transformational leadership through any and all means at our disposal.

JP