What Do Transformational Leadership, Servant Leadership, and Mentoring Have in Common?

My previous post reviewed various leadership styles, and it also commented on the synergies that are shared between leadership and mentoring. Indeed, transformational leadership and mentoring share many of the same attributes. Let’s add to the equation the notion of servant leadership—as these three are closely aligned. 

Defining transformational leadership 

Transformational leadership is paradigm that transforms our very notion of leadership. First conceptualized by James McGregor Burns (1978), it has yet to be fully realized except in the rarest of organizations with the most visionary of leaders. Transformational leadership, in contrast to transactional leadership, emphasizes intrinsic motivation and the development of its followers. In so doing, it offers a whole new world of possibilities to elevate performance and fulfill individual, organizational, and community potential. 

Transformational leaders align the objectives and goals of the individual followers, the leader, the group, and the larger organization. They stimulate their followers’ efforts toward innovation and creativity, and they inspire others to commit to a shared vision and shared goals for an organization. 

Defining servant leadership 

Leadership has two parts: vision and implementation. In the visionary role, leaders define the direction. It’s their responsibility to communicate what the organization stands for and wants to accomplish. The responsibility for this visionary role falls to the hierarchical leadership. The visionary role is the leadership aspect of servant leadership. 

Servant leaders feel their role is to help people achieve their goals. They try to find out what their people need to be successful. They want to make a difference in the lives of their people and, in the process, impact the organization. 

Defining mentoring 

Mentors are like informal teachers to a “mentee” or protégé. They are typically more concerned with awakening the person’s inner potential for learning and action, as opposed to helping them achieve specific results. 

In my more imaginative thinking, a mentor is like a wizard. Think of Merlin or Professor Dumbledore. They don’t give up all the answers or tell you what to do. Instead, they guide you to the answers with problem solving, metaphors, and storytelling. 

The role of a mentor is all about effectively passing on knowledge and experience. Mentorship can be formal (business mentoring) or informal. However, the relationship between mentor and protégé is almost always long-term. 

Bottom line 

By definition alone, we can see that there are similarities between all three—each approach is focused on relationships, communication, and working with people to help them be the best they can be. This is a marked change from the traditional style of leadership, which was focused on “directing” or “telling” approach. And it should come as no surprise that traditional leadership has fallen out of favor with younger workers who want to be challenged rather than told specifically how to perform. 

To be sure, there is no one style of leadership that fits every workplace challenge. However, when I look through my leadership toolbox, there are three main instruments I continually use: mentoring, servant leadership, and transformational leadership. What resources do you always have in your leadership toolbox?

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