A Tale of Transformational Leadership & The Impact of Company DNA

The operation and effectiveness of my internship site rely strongly on transformational leadership. As I learn more about the organization itself, I am not surprised by the highly, almost unusually, saturated number of transformational leaders in one company. This is because The Estee Lauder Companies (ELC), at its core and in its mission, strives to achieve a higher purpose. The organization wants much more than to make a profit, it wants to have a positive impact on the world, attempting to use the best, most sustainable ingredients, and the most ethical practices. Subsequently, while elements of transactional leadership are utilized at ELC, transformational leadership thrives at every level. 

The four dimensions of transformational leadership include charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Judge & Piccolo, 2004). The Senior Vice President of my department definitely excels in all of these categories, most notably in terms of charisma and inspirational motivation. When I had my first meeting with the Senior VP, right away, I sensed that she was confident, outgoing, and intelligent, yet, she still managed to be relatable, asking me questions about my life and sharing similar experiences she has had. 

Furthermore, this leader’s transformational leadership stood out to me last week during the monthly department meeting, where they review the past quarter and discuss future goals. As the Senior VP led the discussion, I realized that her ability to articulate vision and utilize inspiration to propel excellent work is unparalleled. When delegating projects for the upcoming quarter to employees, she, rather than motivating through contingent reward, reminded them of the big picture and that each task helps to further the company’s overall goals. She appealed to the department’s emotion and overall group pride, emphasizing how we, when we work all together, are serving to make consumers happy and make their lives better in simple ways. 

My supervisor also embodies several elements of transformational leadership. For example, she uses a great deal of individualized consideration when interacting with the interns. Instead of simply grouping together all the interns in the office, she has taken the time to get to know us individually and build personal relationships. At the beginning of the program, we told our supervisor what our interests are and our specific goals for this internship. Throughout the summer thus far, I have noticed that, based on what we previously told her, she actively tries to match upcoming projects with who would be the best fit. She also periodically meets with all of the interns individually to make sure that we are passionate about what we are working on at the moment. 

While I have put emphasis on the transformational leadership in the office, transactional leadership certainly still comes into play. It seems that predominantly transformational leaders use certain supplementary transactional tactics to overcome challenges in the organization and/or encourage healthy competition. For example, as mentioned previously, inspirational motivation is a major component of ELC leadership; that being said, many leaders in the company understand that, at certain times, inspiration, without any direct, tangible award can cause employees to become frustrated. Therefore, contingent rewards for exceptional work are incorporated into certain projects/tasks, like bonuses, direct praise, or employee promotions.

Overall, the application of this theory to my internship experience has allowed me to understand how the foundation of a company can strongly affect the predominant leadership styles within it. It has also furthered my understanding that a leader should not be solely transformational or transactional, but rather, should incorporate elements of both styles to have the most effective outcome.