The powerful and the transformational leaders

In 1978, a biographer, with the name of James McGregor Burns wrote a book titled "Leadership", in which described the lives of people who he felt were world-class leaders — Gandhi, Mao, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Stalin and Hitler. An important conclusion of the book is the distinction between two types of leaders, those who wield power and the transformational ones. The criterion used by Burns to make that distinction was the leader's concern for the wishes and needs of their followers. According to Burns, which simply wield the power impose an external control over their followers. These are leaders who see their own ends as more important than those of others. In fact, they see others as objects that are desirable because the others are instruments to help them gain what they want, or so undesirable, because they can make others’ lives or interfere with what they want. Although these leaders are able to achieve results in the short term, they do so at a high price. At best, their tactics result in followers that do not reflect, they learn to keep their heads down and do as little as possible to avoid problems. At worst, they create an atmosphere of ill-will or latent malicious compliance. At the base of a toxic environment is fear. For its part, transformational leaders are concerned about the needs and interests of their followers as well as their own. They create an environment that induces the motivation and commitment. They see people as human beings capable with their own needs, feelings and opinions. They seek mutually beneficial goals and lead their followers to higher levels of motivation, behavior and even morality. These leaders, according to Burns, judge its effectiveness not by their press clippings, but for real social change or transformation of individual attitudes and organizational behaviour.

The vulnerable leader

People, like the greater appreciation with which they face the negative aspects of life, refer more to distrust than trust, mainly because they feel betrayed or abandoned by others. Trust is like fresh air. Just realize their lack when it disappears. In fact, we need it to be healthy. On essence of trust are the fundamental human relationship values: honesty, integrity and respect for others. Then, on a scale of inference, makes sense the existence of organizational and constitutional values. It is up to leaders of organizations and political leaders implement the fundamental values, because the achievements involve more than written words. But most politicians, bankers and current leaders have failed in practice the fundamental values, creating an environment of mistrust in institutions and in the laws that regulate them. The uncertainty, vulnerability and confidence are related. Collaboration and mutual aid are required to accept the risks that characterized our current way of life. Hence the focus on restoring confidence is the biggest current challenge of people, organisations and societies/civilizations. Trust is a positive feeling, while fear and anger, negative sensations, are the sign of trust betrayed in our relations and contexts. We all need predictability and goodwill for we accept us in our vulnerability vis-à-vis others. The predictability results from the existing equilibrium in the context in which it evolved. The goodwill generates positive relationships. The acceptance of our vulnerability is a regenerating sensation of our ability to trust. In times of uncertainty, leaders have come to focus on data, economic and financial indicators, showing extreme coldness in relation to errors, to the emotions and uncertainty statements. All this because they fear losing control of the situation and also because have not learned to act in caordic contexts. Leaders have to be brave and accept their own vulnerability vis-à-vis others. The acceptance of vulnerability is the way to renew the capacities of innovation, change and creativity, because we do not diminish nor weakens, promotes the recovery of confidence and makes us happier.