Theories in Action: Transformational Leadership at WebMD/Krames

Now that I have been at my internship for a longer period of time, identifying theories that are relevant to describing the operation and effectiveness of my organization is much easier. As I have stated in my past reflections, I am working with two teams, and with this, the two leaders of these teams. Transformational leadership is something I have picked up upon with both of these leaders, so I thought the transformational leadership theory would be perfect for my first discussion of a specific leadership theory.

Transformational leadership, by definition, is a theory of leadership where a leader works with teams or followers beyond their immediate self-interests to identify needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through influence, inspiration, and executing the change in tandem with committed members of a group. First off, I have noticed that both Jaclyn and Dianna have both put their self-interests aside not to help only their teams, but myself as well. Transformational leaders hold positive expectations of their followers, believing they can do their best. As a result, they inspire and stimulate followers to exceed normal levels of experience. No matter the project, or the importance of any specific assignment, these two always let me know that they believed I could successfully finish the work, and that it would be held up to a company standard. Just hearing those words and knowing that they believed that my writing, editing, and creative work were just as good as anyone else within Krames or WebMD, made me feel much more confident in my abilities. This confidence most definitely was visible in the work I turned in, as the majority of it has been approved and/or published with little to no changes or edits.

Aside from my personal experiences as an intern, I have watched Dianna and Jaclyn act as transformational leaders with the entirety of both of their teams as well. No matter the amount of work that would have to go into a new project, idea, or plan, these two were willing to work with their followers to show their commitment to both their workers and the company as a whole. The end goal of transformational leadership is to develop followers into leaders, and there has been success with this goal in just the small amount of time I have been with WebMD/Krames. I have seen three total employees within the teams I am working with get promoted to a position with greater leadership responsibility, showcasing that the transformational leadership they had been following was successful.