James MacGregor Burns’ Leadership (1978) transformed our thinking about leading. Since his seminal work, a great deal has learned about the nature of leading. While the transforming leader engages in several critical processes, vision is clearly the single most commonly identified characteristic. Rouche, Baker and Rose (Shared Vision, 1989) gave that particular quality a major emphasis. While shared vision is clearly a critical element of effective leadership, critics have increasingly questioned the results of the visionary leader. Visionary leaders have been increasingly characterized as providing a glimpse into the future, but unable to move the organization to that future.

This article explores the nature of vision, examining why vision is critical, and what is required beyond vision in order to achieve results. A meta-ethnographic study of the leadership literature (Pielstick, 1996) provided a profile of the transforming leader. Seven themes emerged from the study: (1) creating a shared vision, (2) communicating the vision, (3) building relationships, (4) developing a supporting organizational culture, (5) guiding implementation, (6) exhibiting character, and (7) achieving results. These themes are not mutually exclusive. For example, creating a shared vision is dependent upon communication, building relationships and developing a supporting organizational culture. Let's begin with the touchstone, shared vision.

A vision is a descriptive picture of a potential future of the organization. That vision may have originated with the person at the head of the organization, but often is an articulation of a collection of ideas shared by the leader and numerous other employees. By synthesizing these ideas and elevating them in a way that touches on the needs and dreams of these employees, the leader begins to elevate the vision to a moral level (doing the right thing), a vision for the common good.

Over time the vision becomes a source of energy and even excitement for the group that gives meaning to their work. As the vision becomes embraced by the group, it begins to take on a life of its own. In the best cases it becomes a shared vision, elevated beyond the original concepts of either the leader or the led.

This elevated, shared vision is the touchstone theme of transformational leadership. Such a higher purpose transcends the individual. It is elevating, enduring and transforming. Both the leader and the led elevate their sense of purpose to one that is more enduring, thus transforming each other. The shared vision is related to, but distinct from, the mission of the organization, which is defined in terms that answer Peter Drucker's famous question, "What business are we in?" Whereas vision is more of a superordinate goal, a picture of the future of the organization.

The basis for shared vision derives from shared needs, values, beliefs and purpose(s) of the leader and the followers. These create meaning and become powerful forces shaping behavior in organizations. Thus, the organizational culture affects the vision and is affected by it.

Several characteristics are ascribed to shared vision. It provides meaning for the employees and other stakeholders. It is inspiring and often exciting, motivating individuals to extra effort to achieve the vision. The shared nature of the vision is unifying, creating a sense of community.

Another characteristic of this theme is change or adaptation. The shared vision provides direction and focuses attention on the proposed changes. The changes are described as opportunities, possibilities or potentialities, an adventure. The shared vision helps clarify new expectations for both leaders and followers. Individuals expect to make a difference, to create reform, to innovate.

Transforming visions are long-range, often 10 to 20 years, and may incorporate specific goals or key initiatives. Having a limited number of initiatives helps provide focus and set priorities. However, the goals or issues may also permit the organization to articulate a multi-directional, but related, vision of the future.

In addition, when participants engage each other in establishing and achieving a shared vision, the dynamic nature of the process may result in an evolution of the vision as times and circumstances change. However, the enduring nature of higher purpose and shared values provides a stable foundation to assess the need for and direction of a changing vision.

The vision is first developed through dialogue. To keep the dream alive, it must be repeatedly articulated in many forms. Communicating the vision is a key to instilling shared meaning and purpose. Communication regarding the vision is used to excite, inspire, motivate and unify both followers and leaders. The communication is a two-way sharing that facilitates the process of elevating the moral purpose of the shared vision, building relationships, and shaping the culture of the organization.

Listening is the most important component of communication for transformational leaders. The transforming leader listens so as to fully understand the perceptions of followers, their needs and concerns. This requires asking probing questions, giving and receiving feedback, as well as reflective thinking to enhance understanding. These leaders display a willingness to be influenced and to use their understanding to further shape the vision, ever increasing the shared nature and support for the vision.

An important role of the transforming leader is the ability to clearly articulate the shared vision, values, and beliefs of the college—repeatedly—in exciting and enthusiastic ways. The skilled leader inspires followers, provides encouragement and enhances motivation. Followers are mobilized to action.

Transforming leaders clarify and illustrate the vision, values and beliefs by using metaphors, analogies, stories, ceremonies, celebrations, rituals and traditions. They communicate high expectations. Emotional appeals and a sense of drama may be added to help provoke, influence and persuade others. "The world is moved by highly motivated people—people who believe very strongly or who want something very much" (Gardner, 1990, p. 183).

Clichés such as "action speaks louder than words" illustrate the power of nonverbal communication. Transforming leaders consistently walk-the-talk and lead by example. These leaders are very aware that their actions are closely watched and interpreted for consistency with the spoken word. Consistency helps build trust. Symbolic actions are frequently used to make a point. Every action (or lack thereof) by the leader is subject to symbolic interpretation by followers.

Similarly, the leader also communicates through physical presence—being seen by followers. She or he represents the group whenever attending a meeting or social function. Management by wandering around (MBWA), the Hewlett-Packard practice popularized by Peters and Waterman, is another form of communication through physical presence. It is usually used as a way to engage in informal and personal dialogue with others in the organization for continuing to listen, articulate the vision, and to build relationships.

Building relationships reflects the interactive, mutual and shared nature of transforming-leader behaviors. A web of high-quality relationships makes it possible to communicate, to effect the shared vision and to shape the culture that supports the vision. Shared values are important to the nature of the relationships and facilitate achievement of the vision.

These interactive relationships have been described as being shared, two-way, mutual, collaborative, and collegial. They cross boundaries. Transforming leaders tend to be friendly and informal. They treat subordinates as equals, give advice, help and support and encouragement. Transforming leadership clearly involves a relationship in which the leaders and followers are fully engaged with each other in achieving the shared vision of the organization.

Transforming leaders build trust through their actions. Walking-the-talk, role modeling and setting an example describe the consistency of actions critical to building trust among followers. In addition, these leaders trust followers. The trust of followers must be earned. Trusting them first builds credibility and leads to trust of the leader.

Transforming leaders are sincere, personable and caring. These leaders are responsive to the needs and interests of others. They enable, empower and challenge followers. The mutual relationship is equitable and considerate, showing genuine concern for others. Transforming leaders provide support, and they are helpful to others, including coaching and teaching. In addition, because they challenge followers to stretch and take reasonable risks, these leaders are forgiving when efforts do not succeed as expected.

Transforming leaders emphasize recognition, intrinsic rewards, and professional development opportunities. Extrinsic rewards are de-emphasized in favor of recognition and celebrations such as thank you notes, public and private acknowledgments, refreshments, parties, luncheons, and opportunities to engage in other projects. They build an organizational culture to support each other and the shared vision.

Organizational culture is the shared values and beliefs of the organization. "Edgar H. Schein has said that the only important thing leaders do may well be constructing culture" (Sashkin & Rosenbach, 1993, p. 99). Shaping culture contributes to building relationships and internalizing commitment to the shared vision. Leaders must be clear about their own values and ensure that their behavior consistently reflects those values.

Some key values identified with transforming leaders are: treating people with dignity and respect, honesty, integrity, dealing with social injustice, equality, fairness, justice, liberty, human rights, altruism, humility and service. Organizational policies and programs are directly based on its shared values and beliefs.

The primary means of shaping culture is through interactive communication, including symbolic action, described above. As followers interact with leaders and others, tell the stories and myths, and participate in the rituals and ceremonies, the values and beliefs are reinforced and institutionalized. Just as all actions of a leader are subject to symbolic interpretation by followers, all actions potentially affect the shape of the organizational culture.

Leaders conduct themselves and even communicate through their actions. These actions help build relationships and shape organizational culture. However, transforming leaders also guide implementation of the shared vision, rather than relying exclusively on the actions of empowered followers.

One common guiding action is to teach. "A great leader is usually a great teacher" (Parnell, 1988, p. 2). These leaders provide opportunities for their employees to learn and grow. They mentor or coach their followers. As noted above, the relationship is friendly and informal. The leaders treat subordinates as equals, while providing encouragement for their personal and professional development. They see their role as servant leader and seek to serve their own followers, as well as other stakeholders inside and outside of the organization. Transforming leaders also guide by engaging in moral reasoning and principled judgement, as well as teaching these ideas to their followers.

Symbolic actions also provide guidance for others, an indirect but powerful means of teaching. Transforming leaders are strong advocates of staff development activities, often using them as a reward for accomplishments. Scholarship provides a means of teaching as well. These leaders may be scholars in their own right and also promote scholarship among followers.

Decision making with transforming leaders is most likely to involve participatory processes to arrive at a consensus. However, Burns has expressed concern that consensus de-escalates the role and importance of conflict in transforming leadership. Conflict within the organization or external sources of conflict toward which efforts could be directed to help achieve the vision and purpose of the organization. A pulling together for a common purpose in times of crisis is well documented as source of unifying group motivation. In addition, the leader may use conflict to stimulate dialogue and to generate interest in the need for change. At the same time, the leader must take care to moderate the level of conflict so that it does not tear at the fabric of the organization and the relationships among leader and followers.

Transforming leaders also lead by guiding the organization through strategic planning processes, even though highly structured approaches are being widely discarded. This guidance may include scanning the environment for trends and issues that may impact the organization; designing strategies, programs, and policies to meet the needs of an array of customers and other stakeholders; adapting organizational designs for increased effectiveness and efficiency; and institutionalizing changes, such as changing the reward system to include greater intrinsic incentives.

Transforming leaders encourage taking reasonable or calculated risks, experimenting, and innovating. At the same time, transforming leaders are careful to assess the degree of risk and take steps to reduce the risk failing by providing risk takers with the necessary resources and connections to facilitate success, monitoring progress and suggesting modifications to avoid traps and pitfalls. Transforming leaders do everything they can to ensure success, yet are willing to forgive failures and to use those experiences to promote learning.

Another important means of guiding implementation used by transforming leaders is team building. Creating task forces, collaborating, coalition building, politicking, managing conflict and change, and preventing or moderating stress help to build team spirit and commitment toward the shared vision. Professional development can enhance team building and team-based activities. The transforming leader may also help make initial contacts with other professionals, thus broadening the web of connectedness.

The shared visions nearly always include high expectations for quality or excellence. Transformational leaders promote inclusion of continuous improvement, benchmarks, total quality management, and customer service. They provide a high level of visibility and active support for these efforts, the lack of which is one of the primary causes of failure of these efforts.

As with shared vision and values, these leaders are principle-centered, believing in and demonstrating honesty, integrity, trust and other qualities. They are particularly noted as being ethical, perhaps even "noble." These leaders are guided by principles of justice, equity, dignity and respect for every individual.

The single most often referenced characteristic of transforming leaders is self-confidence. These leaders are committed and motivated by a higher purpose. Furthermore, they are centered and have an internal locus of control. Transforming leaders exhibit self-understanding and are self-disciplined. They have a need for power but use it for empowering others, rather than for their own purposes. When it is used personally, power becomes a source of energy rather than a source of control over others. Yet they do not let their egos overcome them. They exhibit a sense of humility and equity, treating others with dignity and respect.

Transforming leaders also have a need for achievement, but interestingly may not have a need for affiliation. This latter finding contrasts with other findings about the nature of relationships between transforming leaders and their followers, i.e., that these leaders are personable, caring, friendly, warm and so forth.

Transforming leaders are passionate. They are focused and committed to the shared vision, a vision of the common good, a commitment to improving the quality of life of society at large. So strong is this passion that they may willingly give all of their time and energy to this cause. These leaders are disenchanted with the status quo and pursue their calling with a sense of giving. Transforming leaders view themselves as servant leaders.

One of the most frequently discussed leader characteristics is charisma. Charisma among transforming leaders is highly controversial. Some sources consider charisma to be a fundamental component of transformational leadership. Others argue that charisma is a quality only attributed to the leader by followers. There is evidence that followers of charismatic leaders focus on the leader, whereas followers of transforming leaders focus on the shared purpose or vision. While more research is needed on this phenomenon, it may be that charismatic and transforming leadership are not mutually exclusive. The transforming leader may also be charismatic . . . or not. The charismatic leader may be transforming . . . or not.

Intelligence, a quality that appears to be increasingly recognized as essential in a complex and ever changing world, is commonly attributed to transforming leaders. These leaders are known for having good judgment and have expertise in their industry, their profession, and leadership. Transforming leaders demonstrate cognitive complexity, the ability of the leader to understand and attend to complex and competing needs simultaneously, and approach challenges with a variety of perspectives and approaches.

Transforming leaders also practice and support lifelong learning. Such learning promotes personal renewal. On a larger scale, it also promotes organizational renewal. Transforming leaders use and promote the use of critical, creative and reflective thinking which supports the development of cognitive complexity. This provides a basis for multiple frames of reference, situational alternatives or other forms of requisite variety.

Transforming leaders also use lifelong learning to build their knowledge of their industry and other trends and issues. They learn about their multiple stakeholders in and out of the organization itself. In addition, such leaders learn how far various constituents are willing to go before developing resistance to change, i.e., their zone of acceptance.

These leaders have a broad perspective, including an awareness of complexities, systemic connections, patterns and situations, that helps them deal with the complexities, ambiguities, and uncertainties of the permanent whitewater in which we live. They are equally comfortable with the political, cultural and technical functions inside and outside of the organization. These leaders understand organizational history, cultural sensitivity, and global issues. They are well-rounded, open, unbiased, and flexible with a tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. Transforming leaders are altruistic, generous, and willingly sacrifice for their higher purpose.

To effect the shared vision, these leaders have energy, drive and stamina. They are dynamic. These individuals persevere toward achievement of the shared vision. They practice wellness habits and have a contagious, positive spirit that infects followers, making them want to work hard to achieve the dream. These leaders love their work, people and life itself, exhibiting unwarranted optimism and incurable idealism. They get things done.

At the beginning of this article, I noted that critics argue that visionary leaders too often do not achieve results. While shared vision is clearly an essential component of transforming leadership, the research and literature document that transforming leaders do achieve the vision, as well as several other notable results. Among them are heightened levels of commitment, self-sacrifice, motivation, and performance from followers. Transforming leadership instills a sense of pride, respect and trust. Followers exhibit significantly higher levels of satisfaction under transforming leaders. Followers become leaders.

Other identified results of transforming leadership include a positive work environment, job satisfaction, and extra effort from employees. The leaders themselves are perceived as being more effective and as giving higher performance. Workers and work units also increase in effectiveness, producing better quality and performance.

Transforming leadership goes beyond visionary leadership in several important ways. Some may argue that the difference between visionary and transforming leadership is a matter of semantics. Nevertheless, critics of visionary leadership need to recognize the importance of creating that shared vision . . . as well as the ability of transforming leaders to communicate the vision, build relationships, develop a supporting organizational culture, guide the implementation, exhibit character, and, most importantly, achieve results.