In both theories, there is a keen focus on developing a culture which uses motivation/supportiveness to increase productivity and efficiency by squeezing out every ounce of potential from their subordinates — ultimately resulting in the highest level of success possible. One glaring difference is that path-goal theory shows the direct relationship that appointed supervisors have on subordinates motivation and overall work morale, while on the other hand, transformational leadership entails that a leaders’ motivation can have a direct effect on not just subordinates, but other levels of the organization as well.
Transactional leadership is fairly straightforward — a leader/supervisor presents subordinates with objectives that must be obeyed. One similarity between path-goal theory and transactional leadership is that leaders create comprehensible, achievable goals for their subordinates that result in rewards upon completion of the task.