Introducing a Model of Transformational Prosocial Leadership

Abstract

Transformational leadership is one of the most dominant and debated leadership theories in the last three decades. The current article introduces the concept of prosocial transformational leadership and distinguishes it from charismatic‐transformational leadership and transactional leadership. A review of the literature is made examining the three leadership styles (transactional, charismatic‐transformational, and prosocial transformational), and relating them to some organizational constructs such as motivation, followership, communication, decision‐making style, job satisfaction, emotional intelligence, and organizational culture. As a result of the analysis, theoretical models presenting the relationships of the different leadership styles with the organizational constructs are built. The models show that, depending on the style of leadership, organizational culture is developed differently, and it seems that the prosocial transformational model can contribute to building more individual and collective capacity. Prosocial transformational leadership develops a new insight of transformational leadership and, at the same time, has a lot in common with other kinds of leadership (e.g., positive leadership, authentic leadership, or transcendent leadership) and can contribute to the integration of similar leadership theories.