Transactional and Transformational Leadership in Action

After my second week I have been better able to understand how the positive leader/follower relationships involve a mix of both transactional and transformational leadership. On a day to day basis, it is easy to observe transactional leadership from Dr. Zimmerman as well as other doctors and therapists. While the clinical research assistants are lower down on the ladder, with less education and responsibility as the doctors, they truly are the backbone of the program. Their main responsibilities involve the intake interviews and making sure each patient has insurance coverage for each day they’re in the program, as well as giving tours and collecting data from each patient to keep the research program running. The partial program collects daily scales of each patient as well as intake and discharge forms, compiling a database of thousands of patients, which is rare to have such a strong and large sample of data. Because of the status of the doctors, and the responsibility of the clinical research assistants, it is easy to see transactional leadership in their frequent conversation. In order for the RA’s to do their job, they must know details of the patient in order to secure insurance coverage. In order for the doctors to be able to best treat the patients, they must be given a detailed report of the intake interviews to set up an effective treatment plan. A respectful relationship between employees allows this information to be passed quickly, to provide patients with the best treatment. 

Less frequently seen, but still very present is the transformational leadership shown by Dr. Zimmerman. His weekly journal clubs inspire and motivate staff to stay up to date on the research. His over 300 journal publications encourage research assistants to pursue their research interests. As an older man, I wondered whether Dr. Zimmerman would be set in his ways of how he treats patients and runs the program. Because psychiatry is such a developing field, I worried this would lead to a disconnect between him and younger staff members. Instead, Dr. Zimmerman is open minded, without allowing one new journal article to change the way he runs his program. He strongly encourages staff members to explore their questions and is willing to edit or co-author journal publications, which is a rare and amazing opportunity for young researchers.