1.3 Can transformational leadership be salvaged?

Transformational leadership theory and its four factors are difficult to apply directly to Black leadership because they are rooted in white assumptions of organisations and societies. However, this does not mean that certain qualities discussed within the theory are redundant. Inspiration, respecting individual needs and providing intellectual stimulation are all important, but they do not need to emanate solely from a senior leader. Instead, you can package these together with other qualities that engage people and say that they can come from anywhere within an organisation or group of people. Moreover, it’s important never to lose sight of people’s material needs. Such needs can be intimately connected to transformational qualities: securing real material gains for people marginalised by power can be deeply inspirational, takes significant collective brainpower and means taking account of the specific needs of certain people and groups.

You will now engage with an activity that draws on the experience of Paul Sesay speaking about his role model James Klass, who influenced his leadership development when he moved to Liverpool at the age of 19.

Activity 2 Who and what inspires you

Timing: Allow around 10 minutes

Watch the following video, where entrepreneur Paul Sesay talks about the importance of inspiration in leadership, and where he finds inspiration. As you watch the clip, reflect on the people who have left a mark on your life through their inspiration and leadership, and make some notes.

Download this video clip.Video player: Video 1

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Transcript: Video 1 Paul Sesay – the importance of inspiration in leadership

PAUL SESAY:

My name is Paul Sesay. I’m the founder of various diversity and inclusion initiatives. One being the National Diversity Award, which is about community organisations and people that do great stuff in the community. The Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers benchmark, which is talking about how inclusive employers are, as well as the Inclusive Awards, which we celebrate great practice within organisations.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I get my leadership inspiration from many, many different people, but one guy in particular called James Klass has given me my inspiration to go on to do what I’ve done within my leadership journey. He was a radio DJ for BBC Radio Merseyside. He used to emcee in clubs. And when I was 19 when I moved to Liverpool with £25 in my pocket and my clothes, that was it.

I was fostered. I had no parents, and he took me under his wing. He was just such an inspiration to me because he was so selfless in what he did with his leadership.

So what he did from then, he took me into BBC Radio Studios and got me to learn to present. And then, he took me to nightclubs and say, you can emcee, grab the mic, and emcee to the crowd. And I was emceeing to crowds of like thousands of people, which was phenomenal.

Even more so his inspiration is when he actually passed away with cancer, he filled out the Anglican Cathedral with well-wishers. Now, the Anglican Cathedral is the biggest cathedral in the UK, if not Europe, and there was people standing at the back. And I know that he didn’t realise what impact he’s had on that community across the board. I get my inspirational leadership from him 100%, because he epitomises what role models should be: selfless, they give back, but absolutely lead the way whenever they can.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

When I was growing up in an inner city area in Chapeltown, in Leeds, and Toxteth in Liverpool, people just have zero aspirations. I know because I’ve lived there. And they can look to the streets as their inspiration, which is totally not what they need to do.

And so, now we’ve got a conglomerate of Black leaders coming up, it’s really important that we pave the way. And we show the way forward that actually you can achieve, and you can actually do something with your life which is legitimate. You don’t have to go into crime. You don’t have to go into guns or anything like that, any gangs. You can actually achieve something really legitimately through hard work. Now, I always say you have to work twice as hard to get half as far as a Black person, and there’s still discrimination in today’s world, absolutely 100%, but that doesn’t mean that you cannot achieve.

End transcript: Video 1 Paul Sesay – the importance of inspiration in leadership

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Video 1 Paul Sesay – the importance of inspiration in leadership

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Discussion

It is important in this activity to stay grounded. Appealing and effective leaders nearly always emerge from within the communities that they lead – they are ‘organic’ leaders in this sense because they grow from the nourishment they receive in their own communities (Grint and Smolović Jones, 2022). Organic leaders are effective because they share the feelings, experiences, struggles and customs of the group they are embedded within. They understand that group at an embodied level because they are part of the organic body. Their stories are therefore authentic stories that can inspire others to action. Rather than look to great figures of history or to celebrity for inspiration, you are usually better discovering more about people within your own communities.

As this section has noted, one thing missing in many accounts of transformational leadership is the ethics of being a leader. You will now examine this topic more closely by moving on to authentic leadership.