Woodrow Wilson called for leaders who, by boldly interpreting the nation's conscience, could lift a people out of their everyday selves. That people can be lifted into their better selves is the secret of transforming leadership.

Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox
Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945 publiJames MacGregor Burnsd with Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1970 (ISBN 0-15-602757-7). in order to realize goals mutually held by both leaders and followers.

However there are cons also associated with this theory. His values are based upon the values upheld by the signers of the Declaration of Independence: life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Burns' work has influenced other transformational leadership theorists such as Bernard Bass Bruce Avolio Kenneth Leithwood and many others.