What Does It Take to Be a Transformational Leader?

Those who undertake transformative change must have a deep sense of self-worth, without becoming egoistic

- Subroto Bagchi

One of the difficulties with leadership is the urge to showcase rapid progress, visible achievements and quick wins. This is exacerbated in an increasingly polarized world of politics for elected leaders, pressures of the stock market for CEOs and the presence of social media. The cocktail that ensues gets us into a spiral of instant gratification. It is true that we need to keep our eyes on early visible success, yet large-scale, sustainable change, something we call transformative change, asks for a long view of time.

In the beginning, it may look like no progress at all. Sometimes, the wheels reverse before they move forward. This means that the leader must understand the fact that this will be long-haul; the leader must explain that to people and mentally prepare their followers. This is done when you publish the road map, show the point of departure, the point of arrival and state the time it may take as best as you can.