Transactional Leadership

Transactional leadership is more of a management style than a form of leadership. Nevertheless, it can be very effective for motivating subordinates and eliciting productivity. There are a few assumptions that go hand-in-hand with transactional leadership. Primarily, transactional leadership assumes that people are motivated by rewards, they will cede authority to their chosen leaders and fulfill goals and objectives set by their leaders. There are many benefits that come with an organization's choice to implement transactional leadership.

Advantages
Incentives and Rewards
Transactional leadership functions on a system of incentives and rewards. Under transactional leadership, people receive rewards for accomplishing the objectives and
Transactional leadership is based on the premise that employees will perform an action for a simple reward or to avoid punishment. A transactional leader does not typically recognize or praise employees who meet expectations. Because the leader views the job as a simple exchange -- work for money, for example -- he feels no obligation to provide praise simply when an employee upholds his end of the deal. Only exceptionally good performance is rewarded, and mistakes are corrected through
Transactional leadership, by its very nature, puts leadership and the employees on different sides. Constant threats of punishment for failure may inadvertently reward manipulation and game-playing by employees in an attempt to avoid punishment. As a result, employees may be likely to be devious when the leader is not present. Because of the task-focused leadership approach, employees do not feel as if they are working towards a shared goal, and they are not motivated by the overall organizational mission. This may mean that an employee does not feel obligated to work unless the leader is