Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko’s, was an incredibly talented entrepreneur and exceptional leader during his tenure with the giant document copying chain that still bears his nickname on the sign (FedEx Kinko’s). He knew that the secret to success was sharing opportunities for wealth and building a work culture that was entirely based on valuing people. This mindset reveals one of the most powerful keys to success: a positive work culture built through transformational leadership.

But what is transformational leadership, and how does it work? Transformational leadership is about being authentic, having the courage and optimism to let go and trust, and creating an environment in which people strive to do their very best. Babson College professor Allen R. Cohen echoed this perspective when talking about the leadership skills required in the 21st century: “More than ever, leaders need both to be authentic and to put on a brave face, to appear confident that there is a way out of difficult situations, yet not be seen as faking it. At all levels of the organization, this rather contradictory combination of toughness and tenderness will be expected.”

Orfalea was fond of asking store managers, “Who is really the boss in this building, you or the people that report to you?” This rhetorical question was based on the insight that if you treat employees like gold, they will do the same for your customers. The cultural environment means everything, and is the key to growing your business. For Kinko’s, this transformational approach to leadership was so successful, that by the time the company celebrated its 25th anniversary, the business had grown from one small store in Isla Vista, California, into a global corporation with annual sales exceeding $2 billion dollars.

You don’t have to be a large corporation to gain the benefits of a workplace culture based on mutual respect and cooperation. And, you certainly can learn from the experience of such corporate giants as the Microsoft Corporation who is reaping the rewards of transformational leadership.

Upon her arrival in 2003, Tanya Clemons, Microsoft Vice President of People and Organization Capability, launched a research project to answer the following questions:

• What kind of company do we want to be in 10 or 15 years?
• Which businesses will we want to be in?
• What type of organization will we want to be?
• What kind of culture will we want to have?
• What is the employee value proposition that will continue to make Microsoft the destination for top talent?

Based on the answers, Microsoft established core leadership skills and behaviors that now provide the basis for selecting, developing, and promoting talent at all levels of leadership and is the foundation of a corporate culture that aligns leadership ability with a long-term vision.

A small or mid-sized business also benefits from a similar self-examination and can apply the knowledge gained to create its own winning culture. In many ways, women business owners who because they generally juggle multiple life roles are more open to sharing responsibility are natural transformational leaders. So, have the courage to be tough and tender, to trust your employees and to nurture their potential. The rewards will surely follow.

References

Cohen, A. R. (Ed.). (2002). The portable MBA in management (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Gruys, M., & Sackett, P. (2003). Investigating the dimensionality of counterproductive work behavior. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 11, 30-42.

House, R. J., & Mitchell, T. R. (1974). Path-goal theory of leadership. Journal of Contemporary Leadership, 3, 81-97.

Pillai, R., Schriesheim, C., & Williams, E. (1999). Fairness perceptions and trust as mediators for transformational and transactional leadership: A two-sample study. Journal of Management, 25, 897-933.

About the Author

Robert Schaefer, vice president of Client Services at Steinbrecher And Associates, Inc., has more than 14 years of experience helping companies align learning solutions with critical company strategies that achieve desired business results. His experience in both the design and implementation facets of training management adds significant benefits to clients in the areas of needs analysis, efficiency modeling, learning retention, statistical analysis, and capture of the return on investment (ROI) of a learning program. One of Robert’s specialties in training systems design is the ability to deliver a customized, affordable, and cutting-edge solution that matches the client’s unique culture to the specific learning needs.