Transformational leaders appeal to the ideals and values of their constituents, thereby enhancing commitment to a carefully crafted vision. Group members become more responsible because they are inspired, and they engage in more constructive behavior such as organizational citizenship behavior—or helping out even without the promise of a reward. Here we look at two empirical studies about the effects of charismatic and transformational leadership in work settings. The studies summarized here are also useful in understanding how transformational leadership affects behavior.

Laissez-faire leadership is a style that gives group members the freedom to do basically what they want with almost no direction. The three approaches to leadership were measured by questions based on subordinates’ perceptions. Interestingly, transactional leadership was also shown to produce good results, and laissez-faire leadership was associated with negative results. Transformational leadership was negatively related to laissez-faire leadership. The explanation is most likely that transformational leaders are actively involved with group members.

A group of researchers studied the impact of leadership effectiveness on organizational performance by collecting data from 134 mid-level managers from a large Brazilian energy company. The personality traits of the participants and transformational leadership were measured by questionnaires completed by subordinates, and performance was measured by both ratings from superiors and company records. The findings indicated that leadership effectiveness as measured by organizational outcomes (or business results) was a direct function of the leader’s transformational behavior.

Furthermore, intelligence and conscientiousness are the individual differences that contribute the most to being a transformational leader. A study of this nature emphasizes how trans-formational leadership can benefit organizations.