Final answer:
Katerina's leadership style is transactional, as she is adept at setting standards, organizing work, and focusing on goals while using rewards and punishments to influence employee performance. This style is distinct from transformational leadership, which is more about inspiring and changing the organization.
Step-by-step explanation:
Katerina exemplifies a transactional leadership style. This approach is characteristic of leaders who are deeply involved in the supervision of their employees and insist on organizational goals being achieved through a strategic system. Such leaders typically rely on rewards and punishments as a means of encouraging performance among their subordinates. As a vice president who is capable of setting high standards, organizing work efficiently, and keeping employees focused on important objectives, her leadership style aligns with the principles of transactional leadership. A transactional leader focuses on maintaining the organizational status quo by ensuring that employees comply with established policies and procedures, and they usually emphasize short-term goals and task-oriented performance.
Katerina's method contrasts with transformational leadership where leaders aim to inspire and intellectually stimulate employees, fostering a more creative and collective approach to problem-solving. Transformational leaders serve as charismatic role models and are considered to be more involved in changing the organization rather than merely maintaining its current state. While Katerina's current description does not clearly align with this style, it's worth noting that some effective leaders can exhibit a combination of both transactional and transformational traits.
Moreover, it has been noted in studies by Boatwright and Forrest that despite stereotypes, a mixture of expressive and instrumental leadership is often preferred. Indeed, instrumental leadership, which Katerina seems to practice, is highly goal-oriented and focused on task accomplishment. This type of leadership is essential in large corporations where clearly defined objectives and diligent oversight can dramatically improve efficiency and productivity.