This study used meta-analysis to explore the relationship between charismatic leadership and satisfaction with the leader, perceived leader's effectiveness, and performance. To maintain construct consistency Bass' 1985 conceptualization of charisma was used. Results indicate potential moderating effects for two moderators of research design (objective/subjective performance and percept-percept/multisource study design) and for two theoretically predicted moderators (organizational level of focal leader and organizational context). The results are discussed in relation to implicit leadership theory and cognitive classification theory.

A Quantitative Review of Research on Charismatic Leadership

Transformational leadership is a term which has appeared with increasing frequency in writings about education since the late 1980’s. Sometimes it has been used to signify an appropriate type of leadership for schools taking up the challenges of restructuring now well underway in most developed countries throughout the world (Leithwood, 1992). In this context, a common-sense, non-technical meaning of the term is often assumed. For example, the dictionary definition of transform is ‘to change completely or essentially in composition or structure’ (Webster, 1971). So any leadership with this effect may be labelled transformational, no matter the specific practices it entails or even whether the changes wrought are desirable.

Transformational School Leadership

Relationships between military academy leaders' personal attributes (e.g., traits, thinking styles) and others' ratings of transformational and transactional leadership were assessed in this study. Regression analyses indicated that personal attributes significantly predicted leadership ratings. Consistent with implicit leadership theories, however, the relevant predictors differed as a function of the positions of the individuals who rated leadership (i.e., superiors vs. subordinates of focal leaders). For example, leader intelligence and athletic experience were related to subordinate ratings of leadership while the leader's degree of conformity was associated with superiors' ratings of leadership. Implications for organizations and for understanding the leadership rating process are discussed.

Personal Attributes as Predictors of Superiors' and Subordinates' Perceptions of Military Academy Leadership

The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Bass, 1985) was administered to police officers in New Zealand (Study 1) and to employees of three companies in Taiwan (Study 2). Results showed that siruational constraints affected actual leader behavior, as well as leadership preference scores. The results indicated that mechanistic organizations such as the police force do not necessarily foster transactional leadership. Leadership in the Taiwanese companies was equally transformational and transactional. Preferences for the transformational leadership style were evident in both samples, although Taiwanese employees had a greater liking for transactional leaders. Finally, discrepancy scores between actual and preferred leader ratings may have less efficacy in predicting subordinate satisfaction than scores of actual leader behavior alone.

Situational Constraints on Transformational versus Transactional Leadership Behavior, Subordinates' Leadership Preference, and Satisfaction

The authors investigated the effects of cultural values on reported levels of transformational leadership. The authors used dimensions of cultural variability developed by Schwartz and Hofstede to predict that higher cultural mastery and higher egalitarianism would be associated with greater transformational leadership. Hypotheses were tested using mixed-effects meta-analysis of articles published between 1985 and 2006 using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, based on 40 articles and 54 independent samples from 18 nations. Supporting the hypotheses, there was significant variability between countries in reported transformational leadership. Schwartz’s dimensions of cultural values performed slightly better in the analyses. Implications for cross-cultural leadership research are discussed.

Is Transformational Leadership Universal? A Meta-Analytical Investigation of Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Means Across Cultures

The present study was designed to explore the possible links between subordinates' personality traits and their preference for transformational vs transactional leadership style. 87 undergraduate men were required to imagine an “ideal leader” in a work situation and then go through Bass' (1984) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Form 4, to describe the behavior of this ideal leader. Subjects also completed the Affiliation, Achievement, and Succorance subscales of the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule as well as a conformity rating scale. Affiliation correlated significantly with charisma, individualised consideration, and the over-all transformational leadership measure. The personality trait of conformity also correlated significantly with intellectual stimulation, indicating that “nonconformers” prefer leaders who provide intellectual stimulation. There was also a tendency for high achievers to favor such leaders. None of the other ratings of subordinates' personality traits correlated significant...

M. S. Singer

Papers

Relation between Transformational vs Transactional Leadership Preference and Subordinates' Personality: An Exploratory Study