In my time at UMFS thus far I have observed transformational leadership in action. From the interactions I have witnessed at UMFS, leaders and team members are consistently looking for potential motives, seeking to satisfy higher needs and engaging with individuals as full people, not just worker bees. Each member of the UMFS team, and I say team because they truely are a team, has weekly supervision meetings with another UMFS member where they touch base. In each supervision meeting they touch base on “celebrations”, what they are working on, and any “stucks” they might have. The term “celebration” is personal or professional positive events or accomplishments one has experienced and wants to share and “stucks” are what they sound like, something that one is stuck on or needs additional support or guidance with to move forward. Having a time to share openly about both the good and the bad gives both leaders and followers time to relate and progress together- far more than they would alone.
It is through these behaviors that all members of the UMFS team have such an uplifting relationship with each other that is mutually stimulating and elevates the potential of everyone involved. Burns discusses how in situations where leaders are transformational the uplifting nature of each interaction can convert followers into leaders and leaders into moral agents. This elevation is definitely the case at UMFS and is a big part of why each member of the UMFS team becomes a leader and advocate for family justice and child health in their communities and life.I believe that having leaders that are so consistently invested in the success, support and growth of their colleagues is vital to the effectiveness and productive operation of the UMFS organization as a whole. This is because UMFS is a humanitarian organization that is dependent on its employees’ personal drive and commitment to uplifting and looking out for others. The transformational leadership approach has definitely flowed down to how they treat me as an intern. At the start of my internship it was clearly expressed to me that while they would benefit greatly from the use of my skills, time, and dedication to their mission, they also wanted to make sure that I also gained and grew from the experience.
