Behavioral Indicators of Transformational Leadership in the College Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify which instructor communication behaviors students believe promote transformational leadership (i.e., charisma, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation) in the college classroom. Participants were 166 undergraduate students who wrote three narratives describing behaviors their instructors engaged in that created perceptions of transformational leadership according to Bass's (1985) operationalization. Results of a content analysis (in rank order for each dimension) revealed that (a) charisma was communicated through teacher confirmation, nonverbal immediacy, humor, caring, availability, content relevance, verbal immediacy, attitude homophily, equality, and self-disclosure; (b) individualized consideration was communicated through teacher availability, individualized feedback, verbal immediacy, personalized content, conveying interest, special considerations, student history, and encouraging participation; and (c) intellectual stimulation was communicated through teaching style, challenging students, independent thought, classroom participation, humor, and content relevance.