His tears were not for the beauty of the monument but rather "for our destiny and for the burden of history we were carrying" (Yunus, 2007). On one devastating day, his teacher was robbed and brutally murdered in his sleep. Thomas (2009) believes that the loss of a loved one can bring an individual to think of a situation in a more comprehensive manner. Yunus then understood that his teacher's tears were a result of his fear for the future of the people of Bangladesh. The loss of this teacher, someone he had looked up to, had a great impact on Yunus. He wanted to ensure safety, security and growth for Bangladesh where the majority of people lived in poverty.
As a professor of economics at Chittagong University in Bangladesh, Yunus took his students for numerous trips to a poor town in Bangladesh called Jobra to learn about poverty. Within this village, they interviewed a woman who made bamboo sticks for a living. She financed this by taking small loans with interest rates as high as 10% per week. Yunus realized that if she had been able to borrow at a more advantageous rate, she would be able to raise herself above subsidence level. One day he lent about twenty seven dollars in total to forty two impoverished villagers. He was surprised to find out that they eventually paid him back (Yunus, 2007). Shamir et al. (1993) states that transformational leadership builds on initial levels of trust that is established by the leader and the follower for a common goal. Yunus realized soon that not only did the poor pay him back; they also paid back at rates much higher than 60% which was typical of most commercial banks (Yunus Centre, 2006). This goes to show that monetary status does not define a person and this small action helped develop mutual trust between Yunus and his followers. This was a defining moment for Yunus, he had figured out the practical way to help the poor. .
According to Bass (1985), transformational leadership is likely to echo social values and to come forth in times of distress.
