The 150+ volunteers form an important function at Toronto CFA Society, leading and participating in 10 programming and six non-programming committees. This year the society has been giving back to volunteers, offering a number of highly popular training opportunities, from leadership training to public speaking.

Transformational Leadership with Dr. Julian Barling

On 1 April 2011 a large group of us had the opportunity to participate in a thought provoking one-day session on Transformational Leadership, given by Queen’s University School of Business. The keynote speaker was Dr. Julian Barling, professor of organizational behaviour and psychology in the Queen’s School of Business, and associate dean with responsibility for the Ph.D, M.Sc and Research programs in the School of Business. The day concluded with an entertaining team building session led by Dr. Shawna O’Grady, in which participants learned some key points regarding the power of team synergy.

Leadership versus management

While Dr. Barling has worked with numerous different organizations on leadership development, his current research focuses on the nature and development of transformational leadership and unethical leadership, and how leadership can enhance employee’s psychological and physical well-being.

Dr. Barling makes a strong distinction between management and leadership, noting that management relies on authority given to staff by the organization, whereas transformational leaders derive their influence from their ability to inspire others by their actions, and lead people to higher performance simply because people want to.

The challenge of leadership is that all companies seek out the top 10 percent of available talent. Consequently, companies can either chase after that 10 percent or be more creative, by building an organization that makes it possible for the remaining 90 percent to perform as if they were in the top 10 percent. Ironically, that just makes those companies more attractive to the top 10 percent.

Drawing on examples from public figures such as Nelson Mandela, Rudy Giuliani and others, Dr. Barling set out three components for transformational leadership:

• Set high standards
• Present a vision
• Understand the large effects of small behaviours
• Remain true to your values