In a world with such rapid change, polarization, and constant demands on our attention, leadership is no longer about checking boxes or performing a role. It’s about bringing your full self — your values, awareness, and experience — into the work of inspiring and developing others. That is what it means to be a transformational leader.

According to Nicole Brittingham Furlonge, Ph.D., executive director and Klingenstein Family Chair at the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, transformational leadership begins with awareness. It’s "leadership that sits at the intersection of a deepening of self-awareness and the desire to lead with purpose in order to make impact."

It is this relationship between internal reflection and external action that makes transformational leadership distinct. And it is also what the new online Ed.D. in Executive Leadership at TC is designed to cultivate.

Explore the Doctorate in Executive Leadership

Understanding the core of transformational leadership

Transformational leadership is rooted in presence. It shows up in small, consistent actions — building trust, asking thoughtful questions, and truly listening. As Furlonge describes it, "It’s leadership that inspires. It’s creative, it’s agile — not someone who leads in order to, but someone who leads for growth."

Importantly, that growth isn’t always about expanding an organization’s size or reach, Furlonge emphasizes. "I'm not talking about organizational growth in the way that we think about scaling up," she adds, "but more in the sense of deepening the human capacity of the organization."

This approach stands in contrast to transactional models that emphasize compliance, hierarchy, or efficiency. Instead, transformational leaders bring their full selves into their work and help others do the same.

"We bring gifts and experiences and biases and notions of vision into the leading that we do," says Furlonge. "Being aware of how we leverage and  amplify those gifts in order to be fuller leaders in the spaces that we’re in is crucial.”

Expanding your leadership skills through a doctorate in executive leadership

The online doctorate in executive leadership at TC is designed for professionals who are not just looking to advance their careers but to grow their capacity as leaders. Students come from education, nonprofits, foundations, ed tech, and other sectors that center learning, development, and social impact. They arrive with curiosity, experience, and questions, and leave with the tools to lead with thoughtfulness and adaptability.

What sets this program apart is its combination of rigor, community, and intentional design, Furlonge says.

"This is not a program that’s solely about earning a piece of paper," she says. "It puts you in a community of learners that fuels you well beyond your time in the program."

Faculty include both scholars and practitioners who bring interdisciplinary perspectives to topics like governance, finance, futures thinking, research, and strategic communication. The program also incorporates immersive experiences, mentoring from TC’s robust alumni network, and collaboration with mission-aligned organizations. 

As Furlonge puts it, "We work for purpose."

What truly sets this program apart, she adds, is not just what’s taught but how it's demonstrated.

“It’s not just what we teach. It's how we show up,” she says. “We model the kind of leadership we’re cultivating in others.”

Essential knowledge and skills for transformational leaders

What does it take to become a transformational leader? According to Furlonge, it starts with a commitment to being a learner — someone who reflects on their experience while staying open to change. Leaders in TC’s doctoral program, she explains, are expected to enter with significant experience but also with the humility and curiosity to rethink what they know, listen differently, and continue learning throughout their careers.

She traces that mindset back to her own mentors who led with openness and a willingness to question their own assumptions.

"They were testers in that way," she says of those who shaped her most. “They were people who said, ‘This is what I’m thinking, but can you help me see it from your vantage point? Can you help me notice what I’m missing? Can you help me listen for what I’m not hearing?’”

Drawing on those formative experiences, as well as her work with leaders across sectors, Furlonge points to several capacities that transformational leaders must cultivate:

• A strong sense of self-awareness: Reflecting on your ethics and experiences — and how they inform your leadership.
• An orientation toward learning and unlearning: Interrogating your own assumptions and growing through challenges.
• Systems thinking: Understanding how institutions function and making informed decisions across departments, teams, and organizational needs.
• An interdisciplinary lens: Drawing insight from research and from fields such as history, philosophy, finance, neuroscience, psychology, and the humanities to lead in nuanced ways.
• High emotional and cross-cultural intelligence: Managing emotions, engaging across differences, and building trust.
• Listening as leadership: Practicing what Furlonge calls “listening leadership,” or observing and responding through deeper modes of attention.

These skills are developed through the TC program's coursework, mentoring, inquiry-based projects, and practice-based reflection. As Furlonge explains, "Observation becomes a conversation."

And just as important as the skills are the environments transformational leaders create. “How do you help design an ecosystem in which people can thrive and stretch and reach?” asks Furlonge. “Transformational leadership is about making space for the brilliance of others and the deepening of alignment between people purpose and organizational purpose.”

Transformational leadership is also about sustainability — building inclusive cultures and systems that endure beyond any one individual’s efforts. By nurturing structures and relationships that last, leaders ensure their impact strengthens communities and organizations over time.

Learning to lead with clarity amid external noise

Furlonge says today’s leaders must navigate constant external projections, from social media to institutional expectations to public scrutiny. In that environment, internal awareness becomes essential.

"We live in a world where our attention is constantly demanded — where so much is a projection of what people think others want to see. In such a moment, it’s even more important for us to build the capacity to think and listen internally."

Nicole Brittingham Furlonge, Ph.D., Executive Director and Klingenstein Family Chair at the Klingenstein Center 

That kind of awareness allows transformational leaders to act with integrity and to create space for others to grow. Furlonge recalls early mentors who invited her into vision-setting, even as a young teacher.

"I didn’t start off in a place that prized hierarchy or where you had to earn the right to be heard. I understood very early on that I could make an impact."

That mindset of inclusion, feedback, reciprocal contribution, and growth remains central to the executive leadership Ed.D.

"We’re not leading to hold people," she says. "We’re leading so that they recognize what their opportunities are, what their deepening potential is, and we can help them move forward."

A doctorate in leadership that meets you where you are

Many prospective students wonder whether it’s truly possible to become a transformational leader through an online program. According to Furlonge, the answer is yes — when the program is intentionally designed for deep learning, reflection, and connection.

“We came out of the pandemic realizing there are powerful ways to use online learning to foster real connection,” she says. “We’re really privileged in this moment to be able to design something that draws from multiple ways to gather together.”

Students in TC’s executive leadership Ed.D. build strong bonds with their cohort through synchronous sessions, asynchronous coursework, and periodic in-person immersives that fit into their professional lives. This flexible structure supports a range of learning styles — introverted, extroverted, reflective, collaborative — and helps students stay grounded in both their learning and their work.

For professionals working to create more effective learning environments within complex organizations, this kind of adaptability is especially valuable. But structure alone isn’t what makes transformational leadership possible — it’s the relationships that form within it.

At the heart of this program is a commitment to shared growth, not just as a concept but as a way of learning, leading, and being in community with others.

“We learn in relationship. We grow in dialogue. We are changed by the people we are in conversation with,” says Furlonge.

Why choose the doctorate in executive leadership at TC?

Choosing the right doctorate in leadership is a significant decision. You may be comparing programs, evaluating course offerings, or weighing flexibility, faculty expertise, and institutional reputation. For many students — especially those looking to drive innovation in schools or strengthen workplace learning cultures — it’s also a question of how a degree will translate into real-world impact.

When asked why prospective students should choose Teachers College, Furlonge doesn’t hesitate: “Because we’re the best.” She points to the program’s ability to honor its history while remaining responsive to the needs of today’s leaders.

“This is a program that draws on a long tradition of knowledge making alongside iterative practice,” she says. “We are able to be dynamic, innovative, and future-forward. We design, facilitate, and we consider everything from a place of purpose.”

That sense of purpose also shapes how students are taught to view leadership and institutions themselves.

“We teach leaders to see that institutions are human-built,” she says, “and therefore, they can be human-rebuilt and reimagined”

Instructors include tenured faculty and experienced practitioners from a range of sectors. Organizational visits, mentoring calls, and interdisciplinary inquiry all contribute to a learning experience that equips leaders to take meaningful action in complex, evolving environments.

Interested in becoming a transformational leader? Learn more about the Online Ed.D. in Executive Leadership or start your application today.