In recent years, the concept of
transformational leadership has gained
important support as well as some criticisms.
The basic caveat to transformational
leadership has been called the ``Hitler
problem'' (Ciulla, 1995). Is Hitler a leader?
Can he belong to the same category as
Gandhi? Bass and Steidlmeier (1999)
summarize some of these problems and
propose a distinction between pseudotransformational
leaders and authentic
transformational leaders. Pseudotransformational
leaders are ethically
questioned because they appeal to emotions
rather than to reason, and may manipulate
followers' ignorance in order to push their
own interests. Hitler or Saddam Hussein
could be situated in such a category. On the
other hand, authentic transformational
leaders are engaged in the moral uplifting of
their followers, share mutually rewarding
visions of success, and empower them to
transform those visions into realities. Nelson
Mandela and Mother Theresa are proposed as
examples of this category.