Influence tactics and perceptions of transformational leadership

The study examined the association between four influence tactics known to be effective in generating a target's commitment to a task and perceptions of transformational leadership. Eighty military personnel were rated by 181 peers on four influence tactics and four transformational leadership factors. The influence tactics of rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, consultation and collaboration were expected to differentially predict idealized influence (behaviour), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration. Results show that rational persuasion significantly contributed to the variance in all four transformational leadership factors. Inspirational appeals made significant contributions to the variance in idealized influence and inspirational motivation. Consultation and collaboration did not significantly contribute to explaining the variance in any of the four transformational leadership factors. These results suggest that training in rational persuasion and inspirational appeals may increase perceptions of transformational leadership style.