Transactional and Transformational Leadership: A Constructive/Developmental Analysis

Abstract

The transactional and transformational theories of leadership developed by Burns (1978) and Bass (1985) are clarified and extended by using a constructive/developmental theory to explain how critical personality differences in leaders lead to either transactional or transformational leadership styles. The distinction between two levels of transactional leadership is expanded, and a three-stage developmental model of leadership is proposed.