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Julia Weeks

Professor Martinez

Communication and Leadership

24 April. 2012

Mother Teresa

Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we

have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work (Mother Teresa of

Calcutta). These are words spoken from a woman who came from nothing, but from her work,

dedication, and vigor for life came everything. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, commonly known as

Mother Teresa, is a true example of a leader that exemplifies every characteristic of a

transformational/charismatic and servant type leader. Transformational leadership, according to

Peter G. Northouse, author of the bookLeadership Theory and Practice is defined as a process

that changes and transforms people. It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and

long-term goals. It includes assessing followers motives, satisfying their needs, and treating

them as full human beings (171). Servant leadership is directly related to transformational

leadership and both styles are intertwined; however, there are a few differences. Sunita Mehta,

author of the articleRevisiting Servant Leadership: An Empirical Study in Indian Contextsheds

light on servant leadership:

Servant leadership is all about putting ones ego, needs, desires, and status aside to

initiate a change process that will transform the followers into individuals who are

willing to serve others and the organization in turn. Very few people are able to walk the

talk to serve others before leading, which is the very crux of servant leadership (25).

Mother Teresas ability to bring about change from within each person, touch the lives of

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millions of people, and acquire a following of individuals that strive to emulate her love, care,

and compassion in order to better others, provides direct evidence of her ability to lead

effectively. Through various examples of the way in which Mother Teresa applies leadership,

numerous good-works, and the use of scholarly resources, the reader is able to view Mother

Teresa as a servant and transformational type leader.

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born on August 26th 1910, in Skopje Macedonia and is of

Albanian decent. At the young age of 12, Agnes felt Gods presence in her life and a strong

calling do His will. Due to this calling, Agnes left home at the age of 18 and joined the Sisters

of Loreto. Sisters of Loreto is an Irish community of nuns with missions in India, which

therefore, set the stage for her mission work in India and around the world. On May 24th, 1931,

Mother Teresa took her final vows as a nun and began to teach school at St. Marys High School

and live in Calcutta, India. Though Mother Teresa received great satisfaction from teaching, she

felt as though she was called to do more. The suffering and poverty she glimpsed outside the

convent walls made such a deep impression on her that in 1948 she received permission from her

superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the

poor in the slums of Calcutta (http://www.nobelprize.org).

Mother Teresas desire to do more for those in need is intrinsic and comes deep from

within. Many individuals have the want to help others, however, not all individuals are willing to

drop everything and put their all into creating change. Though she did not have monetary means,

she relied on Divine Providence and created an opened air school for poor children. Soon after,

Mother Teresa gained a great amount of volunteers and funds began to make their way. With this

help, she was able to expand the scope of her work/charity. Finally on October 7th, 1950, Mother

Teresa gained permission to start her own order, The Missionaries of Charity. The

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http://www.nobelprize.org/http://www.nobelprize.org/

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Missionaries of Charity focused on providing care and love to those who had no one to look

after them. In 1965, The Missionaries of Charity became an International Religious Family,

which was granted by Pope Paul VI. This is what separates Mother Teresa from others; she puts

her thoughts, cares, and concerns into action. Although she did not have the monetary means to

create speedy change, she utilized what she could in order to give all that she had. Mother

Teresas story sheds light on the ways in which she exemplifies transformational and servant

type leadership style. John Valk, author of the articleLeadership For Transformation: The

Impact Of a Christian Worldview provides the reader with the basis of transformational

leadership from a Christian persepective:

Leadership for transformation links humans becoming to the divine purpose by giving

artful expression to the divine and the human; by creatively unfolding human potential;

by striving for peace, justice, security, and right relationships; by acting locally, thinking

globally, and by being steward of the earth and resources contained in it (84).

This quote is a direct representation of Mother Teresa. Early in her life she felt a divine calling

to give more, a calling to give more to God and humanity, which Valk says is one of the key

components of a transformational leader. Moreover, Mother Teresas main goal as a leader was

to ensure that peace, stewardship, and mainly relationships were built between all people. The

change she wanted to create began on a local level; however, through her ministry she touched

the lives of many. The people that Mother Teresa came into contact with spread her message of

love and charity, and therefore strove to emulate her. However, in order to be a leader in which

others truly strive to follow, it takes a certain kind person to achieve this. Not all individuals are

capable of the type of transformational leadership that Valk discusses in his article. Moreover,

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not all transformational leaders care for the well being of others.

There are many leaders, known and unknown throughout history, however not all of

these individuals have been able to obtain their goals throughout the course of their leadership.

Moreover, there are leaders that were considered to be transformational but these leaders had no

regard for humanity, i.e. Adolf Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. These leaders, though evil and cruel

as they are, are transformational leaders. Northouse, provides evidence of this: Because of the

conceptualization of transformational leadership set forth by Burns (1987) includes raising the

level of morality in others, it is difficult to use this term when describing leaders such as Adolf

Hitler and Sadam Hussein, who were transforming in a negative way (173). Though these men

were transformational in their leadership, they had no morals or regard for human life or dignity.

In order to solve this issue, the term pseudotransformational leadership was created, and

therefore Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and Hussein hold merit in this category.

Pseudotransformational leadership is referred to as a leader that is self obsessed, power-

hungry, unethical, and having a warped sense of morals. Leaders that fall under the

pseudotransformational category focus on their own self-interest and gain, as opposed to the

interest and well being of others. Because of this, many individuals do not strive to emulate

these leaders, due to their immoral/unethical nature. Mother Teresas ability to lead with

compassion and a genuine heart is the sole reason why she had so much power, which led to

many followers. Not all leaders are able to achieve the worldwide recognition as Mother Teresa

did. Since Mother Teresa cared about humanity and the bond that ties individuals together, she

became a true example, an example in which many wanted to emulate and follow. She is a direct

representation of a transformational leader. Valk sheds further light on the idea of a

transformational leader, by discussing a leaders duty to humanity:

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Humans are not individuals socially isolated from one another. They form communities

large and small that bind people together. Membership in a community comes with

benefits and securities, but also with recognition and obligations. It entails not only

taking, but also giving back, and as such leadership that is transformative recognizes

citizen responsibilities and obligations at a variety of levels (84).

Mother Teresa viewed each individual as interconnected with one another and therefore, those

that sought to help with her with her mission and charities had to realize that they were all one in

the same. Moreover, in regard to what Valk has said, transformational leaders require a lot out of

those that strive help. For example, many are asked to take a vow of poverty in order to relate to

those they are helping, many leave their families, their homes, and livelihoods to fully be

immersed in helping others. Mother Teresa truly rid herself of all materialistic goods and

received many benefits from helping others. All that she gave up, she received back by helping

others. Mother Teresa put much responsibility on others; she expected a lot from those that had

much to give. Through this example, the reader is able to view Mother Teresa as a truly

transformational leader. Valk continues to shed light on the way in which Mother Teresa

exemplifies transformational style leadership, by relating leadership for transformation to the

Serenity Prayer, the serenity to accept the things that cannot be changed, the courage to change

the things that can be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference (Reinhold Niebuhr).

Mother Teresa knew that there were some goals she would be unable to change or accomplish,

but with the courage and vigor for life that she possessed she was able to achieve all that was

achievable through God and his endless love and mercy.

In relation to Valks article and his perspective on transformational leadership, is

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transformational leadership and charisma. Those that are charismatic leaders behave in

distinctive ways that have exact charismatic effects on their devotees. Northouse sheds light on

characteristics of transformational charismatic leader behavior, charismatic leaders also

demonstrate specific types of behaviors. First they are strong role models for the beliefs and

values they want their followers to adopt (174). Mother Teresa is a direct example of a leader

that encourages and shares beliefs and values with others. Sharing their beliefs and values to the

point that their followers adopt their beliefs, provides further evidence of her transformational

charismatic leadership style. Northouse goes on to say that those that are charismatic leaders

have great confidence in the abilities of their followers to meet their goals and expectations.

Robert House, a scholar in the communication field sheds further light on Northouses

explanation, by introducing charismatic theory; the basis behind transformational leadership and

charisma. House suggests that several effects are the result of charismatic leadership:

They include follower trust in the leaders ideology, similarity between the followers

beliefs and the leaders beliefs, unquestioning acceptance of the leader, expression of

affection toward the leader, follower obedience, identification with the leader, emotional

involvement with the leaders goals (175).

It is no question that Mother Teresas ideologies matched up with those of her followers. Mother

Teresa gained followers from all walks of life, backgrounds, and beliefs. Many of her followers

were of the Christian faith and particularly the Catholic denomination. Catholics adore Mother

Teresa, her devotion to God, her works, and her kindness. Even those that are not of the

Christian faith or of no faith at all respect and admire her humanitarian works and goal for peace

and unity. Not only is there a deep affection for her, but there is also a sense of willingness to

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please her. The main reasoning behind Mother Teresas success as a leader is her ability to relate

to those she helps. Mother Teresa came from nothing and the little she had she gave away. She

may have been poor material wise, but she was rich spiritually. Another way in which Mother

Teresa was able to relate to her followers was through her struggle with her faith. Though a

devout Catholic, she often felt very far away from God. It said that she often doubted Gods

existence and many times she felt unworthy of Gods love and mercy. Though she struggled with

her faith, she continued to pray and never stopped believing. Many people endure the same trials

with their faith, as she did. Mother Teresas faith provided hope for those encountering the same

kind of doubt. There is much to say when a leader is able to gain a diverse number of followers.

In most cases, there are individuals that do not agree with the leader, and therefore harsh

judgment and critique is placed on the leader, i.e. Martin Luther King, who was an amazing

transformational and charismatic leader, but there were those that did not agree. When

conducting research on Mother Teresa, however, there were close to zero negative opinions of

her. Through her ability to relate to those she serves, the extreme devotion she gained, Mother

Teresa truly transformed others.

Sangeeta Parameshwar, author of the articleInventing Higher Purpose through suffering:

The transformation of the transformational leaderprovides further insight into Mother Teresa as

a transformational leader by linking transformational style leadership to a higher phenomenon.

Parameshwar goes on to explain:

the development of their higher purpose is elucidated by four propositions that

demonstrate how the leaders awakened from entranced consciousness by (a) reframing

personal suffering in the light of perceived eternal truths (b) referencing inspiring

standards of others in reflecting upon suffering (c) reinforcing their identification with

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others in suffering (d) reorienting themselves toward serving others (455).

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