Development of a Transformational Personal Leadership Model for Effective Leadership Practice

Abstract

This paper explores the development of a transformational personal leadership model for effective leadership practice. The study addresses gaps in leadership scholarship and practice, where existing theories often emphasize external behaviors, follower dynamics, and situational contingencies while overlooking the critical role of personal growth, values, and character. Anchored in authentic leadership theory, transformational leadership theory, social cognitive theory, and self-determination theory, the study employed a qualitative case study approach. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with ten recognised leaders drawn from business, political, and religious sectors, complemented by questionnaires with a further ten leaders from diverse backgrounds. NVivo-assisted thematic analysis revealed three central pillars of transformational personal leadership: vision, character, and personal growth. Attributes including empathy, humility, integrity, and spiritual conviction reinforced these. Collectively, these elements were found to strengthen leadership effectiveness, promote organisational growth, and empower followers. The resulting transformational personal leadership model positions self-leadership as the foundation for organisational leadership, self-mastery as a core of community mastery, underscoring the premise that leaders cannot sustainably give what they do not possess internally. The study concludes that investing in leaders’ personal development yields significant organisational benefits and cultivates resilient, ethical, and visionary leadership. It reveals that when both individuals and organisations invest in developing the person of the leader, it becomes the well of deposit from which organisations and followers draw from. It recommends that organisations integrate personal leadership development into leadership training and succession planning while encouraging leaders to pursue continuous self-reflection and growth. Future research should test the applicability of this model across cultural contexts and sectors to refine its relevance and impact.

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