Transformational and Transactional Leadership and Their Effects on Creativity in Groups

Abstract

This study used a 2 (transformational vs. transactional leadership) × 2 (real vs. nominal group) experiment to examine the effect of different leadership styles and brainstorming conditions on group members' divergent thinking. Participants performed a brainstorming task, and their performance was assessed using fluency and flexibility. Results clearly supported the hypotheses in that the participants in the transformational leadership condition and in the nominal group condition outperformed their counterparts in the transactional leadership condition and in the real group condition. This pattern was consistent across the 2 measures of creativity.