Effect of Transformational Leadership and Leader's Power on Follower's Duty-Orientation and Spirituality

The relationships between leader's power, transformational leadership, and followers' duty-orientation (Karma-Yoga) and spirituality (oneness with all beings) were studied using a sample of 471 managers from two manufacturing organizations in western India. It was hypothesized that leader's power enhances transformational leadership, and transformational leadership enhances followers' duty-orientation and spirituality. A 30-item scale developed for measuring the five factors of transformational leadership–idealized influence attributed (charisma or heroism), idealized influence behavioral (ideology), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration–in the Indian context was used in this study. Results of structural equation modeling show that leader's power enhances transformational leadership, transformational leadership enhances followers' duty-orientation and spirituality, and duty-orientation enhances spirituality. The importance of being seen as influential in the daily activities in organizations, for developing change agents, is discussed. We instinctively adore those who feel their oneness with all other beings and such people are considered higher in the ladder of human evolution. The Upanishads, which comprise the foundations of Indian culture, are emphatic in claiming that spirituality or oneness with others is the ultimate goal of all beings. “To live in perfect goodness is to realize one's life in all. This ideal for which the moral nature of man cries can be attained only if the finite self transcends its narrow individuality and identifies itself with the whole” (Radhakrishnan, 1929: 209). Organizations could facilitate its members in achieving this goal. There is an increasing recognition of the importance of spirituality in the workplace. Enhancing duty-orientation among employees is also a common objective in many organizations today. Both spirituality and duty-orientation could help enhance organizational performance. ©Great Lakes Herald – October 2007 Volume 1, Issue 2 by Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai 48 In this age of rapid change, leadership is more important than ever. The increasing focus on revitalizing and transforming organizations to meet competitive challenges ahead has been accompanied by increasing interest among researchers in studying transformational leadership. Such leadership is necessary for quickly identifying new market opportunities and for developing appropriate competencies within organizations. Over the last three decades, considerable literature has accumulated on transformational leadership. There exists a relationship between transformational leadership behaviors and various outcomes measured at the individual and organizational level. Transformational leadership has been shown to have a positive effect on commitment and collective identity. This paper reports a study on analyzing how leader's power enhances transformational leadership, and how transformational leadership enhances follower's duty-orientation and spirituality. Theory and Hypotheses Spirituality results in connectedness among beings and has the potential to transform the workplace into something remarkable. In fact, it could be the ultimate competitive advantage. Spirituality implies morality, contributing to the formation of a moral framework and informing ethical deliberation for leaders (Harter, 2004).