The relationship of transformational style of leadership to the creativity, productivity, and efficiency of creative work teams within organizations

This study investigated whether or not a transformational style of leadership (TSL) affected a creative work team's creativity, productivity, and/or efficiency in an organizational setting. This study also explored whether a manager's TSL influenced certain beliefs about work conditions (the challenge of the work, the support of the manager, the autonomy of the work, the degree of inspiration the manager provides, and the degree of influence the manager has within the work team) and assessed whether these beliefs influenced the work-team outcomes.; A cross-sectional survey design was used with items taken from or based on existing research. The listing of design managers who work for organizations in the U.S. and Canada and are members of the Design Management Institute (DMI) was used as the sampling frame. Freelance creative workers, independent consultants, and those who do not manage creative groups were excluded. The overall response rate for the study was 53% (n = 247).; Using Pearson correlational analysis, hypothesis one was confirmed: The greater the TSL of the manager, the greater the creativity, productivity, and efficiency of his or her work team. Hypothesis two was also confirmed: The greater a manager's TSL, the stronger the beliefs: of subordinates (1) that they have autonomy in their work, (2) that their work is challenging, (3) that they enjoy the support of their manager, (4) that their manager inspires them to do their best work, and of the manager (5) that he or she has influence within the team.; Hypothesis three, the stronger the beliefs (see 1--5 above) the greater the team's creativity, productivity, and efficiency, was partially confirmed. Hypothesis four was partially confirmed: The effects of TSL on creativity, productivity, and efficiency dropped when the beliefs, which were found to have an effect in hypothesis three, were controlled.; The findings of this study support a link between a transformational style of leadership and higher levels of creativity, productivity, and efficiency within creative work teams within organizations primarily through two intervening variables: challenge of work and support of manager. Important theoretical and practical implications are discussed.