Contents lists available at ScienceDirect The International Journal of Management Education journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijme Learning how to be a transformational leader through a skill- building, role-play exercise Maria Riaz Hamdani Department of Management, The University of Akron, College of Business Administration, 259 S Broadway St, Akron, OH 44325-4801, United States ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Transformational leadership Skill-development exercise Role-play Motivation ABSTRACT Transformational leadership is a universal ideal leadership style. Research has shown that transformational leadership is more effective across a wide range of situations compared to transactional leadership. However, in practice, managers often resort to a transactional style of leadership. Thus, it is important to provide students an opportunity to practice the transforma- tional leadership style. This article details a two-step, role-play exercise that enables students to learn and apply specific influence tactics that can be used by transformational leaders. The ex- ercise is ideal for use by instructors of both undergraduate and graduate organizational behavior and leadership classes. This exercise can also be used for executive training and coaching. 1. Introduction Transformational leaders influence their followers by instilling in them a sense of purpose, providing them a vision, and then motivating them to achieve their goals (Bass, 1990; Hoffman, Bynum, Piccolo, & Sutton, 2011). Researchers have identified the following four distinct dimensions of transformational leadership (commonly referred to as 4Is): idealized influence, inspirational appeal, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration (Judge & Piccolo, 2004). The definitions and examples of these behaviors are provided in Appendix A. Transformational leadership is often contrasted with transactional leadership, where leaders provide followers something they want in exchange for what the leader wants (Judge & Piccolo, 2004). Research has shown that across the globe, peoples’ descriptions of an ideal leader closely resemble the characteristics of a transformational leader (Bass, 1997). In addition, transformational leadership has been shown to be effective across a wide range of situations compared to other trans- actional leadership styles. (Judge & Piccolo, 2004). However, transactional leadership style is more common in organizations (Liu, Liu, & Zeng, 2011). This creates a gap between what people idealize and what they actually encounter and enact in organizations. One way to bridge this gap is by training future managers how to be transformational leaders. Transformational leadership is a skill that can be imparted. Management scholars have emphasized the role of imagery and metaphors in developing deeper understanding of transformational leadership in students (Boozer & Maddox, 1992). The pedagogical techniques of focused discussions (Sprinkle & Urick, 2016) and integrative diagrams have shown to be effective in teaching leadership theories in an actionable manner (Jackson, 1993). Building on previous work, my goal is to share a role-play exercise that provides a simple yet challenging practical scenario within which students can practice transformational leadership tactics. Behaviorally oriented concepts, such as leadership, require pedagogical techniques (e.g., experiential learning, simulations, role- plays) that can ensure emotional arousal in a psychologically safe environment (Bowen, 1987; Tompson & Dass, 2000). Role-plays are an effective experiential tool to develop managerial skills that students retain for a long time (Little, 1990). Management educators have included role-plays for teaching various topics, such as strategy (Quarstein & McAfee, 1993), business ethics (Comer & Vega, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2017.11.003 Received 30 December 2016; Received in revised form 28 July 2017; Accepted 24 November 2017 E-mail address: hamdani@uakron.edu. The International Journal of Management Education 16 (2018) 26–36 1472-8117/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T