Transformational leadership practices

Prior to 1940 there was little or no education directed toward polymer chemistry. With the contributions of Carothers and others that transformed the practice of polymers into a science, and with the leadership of Herman Mark and others (informal graduate and postgraduate), polymer education took root but rapid expansion and general acceptance by more traditionally oriented academic institutions was slowed by many barriers. Only since 1974 has there been a concerted effort to include education in the basic concepts of polymer chemistry into the undergraduate curriculum. 

One study (Figure 4-2) examined correlations between the transformational leadership style and the best practices. We found a significant positive correlation between subordinate ratings of each element of transformational leadership and each leadership best practice. As we said earlier, leadership best practices consist of a set of specific behaviors and activities that safety leaders engage in effectively, while style is about how safety leaders perform these activities. 

Hence, we expect that a successful administrative leader in a large, complex healthcare institution—especially a leader who aspires to improve patient safety—frequently faces the need to bring transformational leadership skills to the fore. Moreover, this administrator may find transformational skills all the more necessary when dealing with the medical staff, whose professional stake—except in the extreme case of malpractice—may lie more in a clinical practice partnership than within the walls of the hospital. 

The LDI measures not only the safety leader s best practices (discussed in the next chapter) but also the leader s style—the degree to which the leader aligns with these four characteristics of transformational leadership ... 

Are there traditions and systems for the detection and blame-free exploration of biases and errors, and for sharing lessons learned These cultural attributes and practices are fostered by a strong transformational leadership style (see chapters 4 and 5) and reflected in high scores on the OCDI s four organizational dimensions (procedural justice, perceived organizational support, leader-member exchange, leadership credibility). 

To help leaders understand which types of behavior represented strengths, and which represented areas for improvement, we gave each leader his or her LDI scores. (Recall from chapter 4 that the LDI provides feedback from peers, subordinates, and superiors on the leader s degree of transformational leadership and use of leadership best practices.) Leaders attended a workshop to review and discuss the results and to develop individual action plans aimed at increasing their use of leadership behaviors that supported the organization s values. 

Ernst, C., Chrobot-Mason, D. (2011). Boundary-spanning leadership Six practices for solving problems, driving innovation, and transforming organizations. New York McGraw-Hill. 

Just as the first chapters of this collection have focused on the potential for a transformation in engineering education to meet 21st century challenges, the next series of essays focus on new trends in engineering practice that are essential for corporate leadership. 

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