Transformational leadership and Senge’s learning organization disciplines: developing the integrable but not the integrator

Purpose Organizations must continuously learn and transform to survive, and transformational leadership (TL) is, in principle, a main driver of such change. Drawing on Bass’s (1985, 1990) TL model and Senge’s (1990) learning organization (LO) framework, this study aims to explore whether TL can develop Senge’s LO disciplines. Design/methodology/approach This inductive qualitative multiple-case study examines five Jordanian organizations exhibiting Senge’s LO disciplines, selected through purposive sampling, drawing mainly on 44 semi-structured interviews. Findings TL positively affects three of Senge’s five disciplines: personal mastery (PM), mental models (MMs) and shared vision (SV). However, it fails to develop the integrative discipline, systems thinking (ST). TL, therefore, cultivates key building blocks but not the integrator and cannot alone develop Senge’s. Practical implications Leaders can use individualized consideration (IC) to develop PM, intellectual stimulation (IS) to challenge MMs and idealized influence (II) to foster SV. They can also explore developing ST through IS. Originality/value This study offers a pathway toward developing LO disciplines through three contributions. First, this paper provides novel empirical evidence for three specific TL component–LO discipline linkages: II–SV, IS–MM and IC–PM. Second, this study identifies TL’s limited capacity to foster ST, while suggesting that IS may conditionally foster it under environmental dynamism, a proposition for future research. Third, its inductive design offers granular, evidence-based analysis of which TL components relate to which LO disciplines, strengthening foundations for future theory-building.