The leadership style sets the tone for a recreational agency. Some lead by example, others lead with an iron fist. Let’s examine the two leadership styles to determine which is best for your leadership role.

transformational leadership creates a learning environment for staff members. It builds trust and inspires employees to work towards a collective vision through the intrinsic motivation of the process. Transformational leaders are effective communicators, share information, and have strong vision. The style enhances the aspirations of the employees and focuses them on the goal. The leader serves more as a coach than as a supervisor. There is less absenteeism, as people want to be at work, because they feel valued.

Transformational leadership has four key components:

idealized influence – serves as a role model, encouraging staff to do what he/she does;

inspirational motivation – motivates staff through a shared vision and enthusiasm;

individualized consideration – expresses genuine concern for the well-being of the employee and is attentive to personal needs;

intellectual stimulation – challenges fans to be innovative and pioneers, always questioning the status quo.

There is a common misconception that transformational leaders are weak, but these managers constantly challenge employees to achieve more and creatively push boundaries.

At the other end of the spectrum, transactional leadership It focuses on a punishment and reward system. The chain of command within the organization is clear. Obeying the leader’s instructions is the main goal, and subordinates must be carefully monitored.

This form of leadership is common in business, especially for hourly employees who are replaceable and have little personal investment in their work. Leaders use reward and punishment systems and try to correct undesirable performance as it occurs. Dissatisfied employees don’t come to work, feeling undervalued and replaceable.

Transactional managers fulfill a management role by taking a short-term perspective, accepting the status quo, and copying processes year after year. The manager does not inspire a vision, communicate goals effectively, or encourage collaboration. They typically stay in middle management roles and are unable to advance to senior executives as they fail to see the big picture.

Case study:

A director of a youth dance studio hires instructors as independent contractors to teach dance basics and create routines for a holiday recital. The leader has established many rules for the teaching staff, mostly as a result of incidents that have occurred in recent years.

For example, instructors must submit their substitute requests in August for the September-December session of classes. Last minute teacher substitutes are not allowed except with a doctor’s note and are cause for immediate dismissal of the teacher. All instructors must contribute time, outside of class time, to prepare for the holiday dance recital. This usually means extra practice, answering parent questions, sending out blast emails, and homework on the day of the show. This time you don’t pay; however, if an instructor wants to keep a job, she must donate the extra time.

The program director has a clear vision of what the final product of the recital should look like. The director chooses the music, the costumes, the execution order and writes the final script. Although the recital is a creative endeavor, the creative role of the instructors is only through choreography. Because instructors are not invited to participate in the creative process, the environment is non-developmental, and staff feel expendable. For this reason, there is a high turnover rate, which is what has led to the large number of rules and restrictions in the contract. Talented instructors don’t want to stick around for the long haul, as instructors feel undervalued and unappreciated. The recreation agency has a transaction leader at the helm.

IN progressive approach that combines transformational and transactional leadership styles would achieve a more positive result in the recreational forum. For example, although the director may have an idea of ​​the format of the recital, a brainstorming meeting should be held in the summer to involve the staff in the creative process. Ideas and suggestions must be expressed, discussed and examined. Even if not all ideas are put into practice, instructors should feel valued and included in the process. Along the way, the director must keep the instructors informed as to why decisions were made to proceed in a particular direction. Communicating will require more effort on the part of the leader, but will ultimately lead to greater participation and a learning organization. Many recreation directors are exhausted by lack of resources and increasing customer demand and budget requirements, and they don’t have the energy to be a transformational leader. However, in order to foster a positive learning environment, inspiration and encouragement must come from the leader as a role model.

Some leaders may become frustrated by the give-and-take process of brainstorming and creativity, believing you have all the answers. However, a leader cannot see himself as the authority on a subject. Instead, one must be a coach in the process, guiding the team towards its own decisions and results. When ownership of the final product, such as the dance recital, rests with the team, not just the leader, a learning organization is achieved.

Regarding hourly staff, the manager can mix the two leadership styles, as hourly staff needs a more concrete structure to track break/lunch times, to-do list, and extrinsic rewards. The manager can still lead by positive example with hourly staff and provide team building sessions when appropriate. Hourly staff should feel like part of the overall team, even if the staff are not part of the creative process. Effective leaders make all staff members feel valued.