Transformative leadership: an ethical stewardship model for healthcare

The need for effective leadership is a compelling priority for those who would choose to govern in public, private, and nonprofit organizations, and applies as much to the healthcare profession as it does to other sectors of the economy (Moody, Horton-Deutsch, & Pesut, 2007). Transformative Leadership, an approach to leadership and governance that incorporates the best characteristics of six other highly respected leadership models, is an integrative theory of ethical stewardship that can help healthcare professionals to more effectively achieve organizational efficiencies, build stakeholder commitment and trust, and create valuable synergies to transform and enrich today's healthcare systems (cf. Caldwell, LeJeune, & Dixon, 2007). The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of Transformative Leadership and to explain how this model applies within a healthcare context. We define Transformative Leadership and identify its relationship to Transformational, Charismatic, Level 5, Principle-Centered, Servant, and Covenantal Leadership--providing examples of each of these elements of Transformative Leadership within a healthcare leadership context. We conclude by identifying contributions of this article to the healthcare leadership literature.