Guidepoint’s Transformational Leadership over Transactional

With two weeks completed at Guidepoint, and with me finally feeling more comfortable as an intern, I have gained even more insight into leadership theories rooted within the company. Far before I began work, and even during my time last week, I viewed my work and the company as a sort of transactional relationship, with me performing and Guidepoint, with its leaders, compensating me for my time. It does not get more transactional than such an exchange. However, I have realized I am wrong; the exchange between myself and the company goes far beyond reward for work. Guidepoint, its CEO Albert, my buddy, and various other employees who are leaders within their teams have shown me how far the bounds extend in an attempt at a transformational leadership style which works to raise the motivation and work level of each and every employee in the office.

Take for instance this week, when the company’s CEO, Albert Sebag, took all thirty interns out to lunch for two hours to gain more knowledge about each and every one of us. He took the time to walk around and talk to each of us individually, learning about our school, what we study, our family, and our passions. He was not required to do this, nor were we expecting it. But with such a kind and generous act, he managed to make our leader follower relation far more than an exchange. He was attempting (and succeeding) to create such a relationship which works to raise our motivation to perform well, and to make him and ourselves proud of the work we are performing. Such a seemingly simple act, which at first glance seemed nothing more than a nice gesture, created much more of a commitment to Guidepoint, its values, and motivation to succeed for me. The beneficial results align perfectly with what transformational leaders hope to bring about within their followers. What’s even more telling about my wrong initial insight is that employees beyond Albert make similar efforts to raise my motivation and morality towards helping Guidepoint succeed. My buddy Tom makes an effort to ensure I am as comfortable as need be, and reassures me every day that he is here if I am confused or need help with work. My leader Tom, the one who has been with my since I arrived, continually makes an effort to make sure I am performing my best, not simply getting compensated for the forty hours a week I spend here.

The pleasant culture shock and trasnformational leadership style I discovered this week makes me appreciate the work and leadership culture rooted within Guidepoint. Even with giant headquarters based in New York City, and with offices in eleven cities internationally, the fact that the CEO cares as much for its interns as it does with its full time employees speaks volumes to the commitment and inspiration of top executives to create a work culture aiming to make every single individual perform their best willingly, not merely for the exchange of money. Additionally, the situational context of our large company, with hundreds of employees, makes the leadership style even more impressive and effective in action. I look forward to uncovering more parallel insights and studies from Theories and Models into every day work at Guidepoint.

 

 

One thought on “Guidepoint’s Transformational Leadership over Transactional

  • Sounds like a really engaging environment with leadership that looks to interact an grow employees. If you’re going to talk about transformational leadership, would be good to acknowledge the four factors (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation) and provide examples that illustrate these. You have definitely provided examples that illustrate some of these factors, but you are not explicit in acknowledging those that they illustrate. For the fall theory paper, you need to do a deep dive into a theory of your choice, talking about all the elements and providing examples that illustrate (or do not illustrate) those elements. So if you are thinking of exploring transformational leadership for that paper, you should start thinking about the four factors and noting relevant examples.

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