Organizational change and development : The efficacy of transformational leadership training

Purpose – The correlation between transformational and contingent reward leadership behaviors and desired organizational outcomes is well established. The degree to which these behaviors can be taught and deployed for organizational benefit is considerably less well documented. Explored even less is the extent to which transformational leadership training impacts desired organizational outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the positive correlational relationship among transformational leadership, organizational outcomes, and productivity, extensively reported in the leadership literature, can be affirmed. Design/methodology/approach – A large manufacturing organization, which had failed to achieve expected productivity improvements following major capital expenditures, undertook a comprehensive program to increase first‐line supervisors’ contingent reward and transformational leadership behaviors. Findings – Consistent with prior studies, a significant positive relationship between the leadership behaviors of interest, affective measures, and an objective productivity metric were observed prior to the beginning of the training program. Following a year‐long training program, contingent reward and transformational leadership behaviors increased significantly, as did objectively measured productivity and job satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – Results and conclusions may be limited by the fact that the study is from a single industry. Additional studies from a variety of industries with large numbers of participants will be helpful in more fully understanding the ways in which contingent reward and transformational leadership behaviors can best be developed and deployed in organizational settings. Practical implications – The elements of the training program are discussed, along with implications and advice for the use of leadership training to increase productivity. Originality/value – An objective dependent variable and a large sample, pre‐ and post‐test design provide strong support for the impact of a transformational leadership development intervention on productivity.