Is Training What <i>Made</i> and <i>Nurtured</i> Transformational Leaders?

Abstract

This quantitative and cross-sectional study examines the relationship between training and acquiring transformational leadership skills to discuss the assumption that transformational leadership skills can be acquired through training and that leadership is not a trait, personality, or character. James Kouzes and Barry Posner introduced a transformational leadership model named the Exemplary Leader. The authors claimed that leadership is not a trait, but a function and a skill available for everyone to acquire, and those who are willing to put the effort to apply and master the five practices of an exemplary leader can become great leaders and make extraordinary things happen in their organizations. For this study, a sample of 249 middle managers working in insurance companies in the UAE completed the LPI questionnaire and responded to questions regarding training history, training functions within their organizations, and their knowledge of transformational leadership. The study’s mean values indicated that participants exhibited high leadership practice levels. Further, Pearson’s correlation was deployed to examine the strength and direction of the relationship between training, knowledge of transformational leadership models, and exhibiting the five practices of an exemplary leader. Results revealed a weak positive correlation. In addition, an independent sample t-test was conducted to examine any difference between groups in relation to training functions within the participants’ organizations; the results showed no significant difference. This concludes that no relationship existed between training and exhibiting transformational leadership, unlike Kouzes and Posner’s assumption that leadership practices are not innate characteristics, but can be acquired by training.