about leadership

The President of the United States occupies one of the most important positions on the globe, and he is key to both national and global events. As a result, the occupants of the Oval Office should cultivate a global mentality, as this will allow them to anticipate great opportunities and even help the nation expand economically. A leader with a global outlook is now in a position to learn more and even develop capabilities that can get the country through tough times such as financial crises and conflict. This study paper examines former President of the United States Barack Obama's leadership style during his eight years in office. Obama’s presidential term was characterized by security risks and external and internal issues but because of his leadership abilities, he was able to steer the country to greatness. The paper applies the leader's style and approach of some of the leadership theories such as contingency theory. This report notes that young leaders must develop the attributes of honesty and flexibility at an early age which are key contributors to a great leader. Honesty is an essential component as it prepares one to face obstacles in life rather than avoiding them and gives a greater perspective in terms of growth. Flexibility is critical as well because the component is quite critical and should, therefore, be adopted at a much earlier stages in life. The leadership traits applied in this analysis include the great man theory, the trait theory, the contingency theory, and situation theory. The paper also discusses the particular traits that have made Barrack Obama quite successful.



Leadership

Leadership Traits

President Barrack Obama was the 44th President of the United States and served two terms from 2009 to 2017. Previously, President Obama served as a senator and represented Illinois from 2005 to 2008. Obama was one of the leaders in a true sense, an individual who was a good example for the country’s future generation. Even before becoming the President of the USA, Obama was revered by the public and was a prolific politician. He is respected, especially by the people from Illinois where he served as the senator. His good deeds such as helping the community made him a public figure before being elected into a political position to represent the people (Allen, 2017).

In 2007, when President Obama announced that he would run for presidency, no one thought he had the expertise to lead the country from the prevailing economic crisis and initiate the change that the country needed. President Obama was elected because of his message of innovation. However, he proved beyond measure that he was indeed a transformational leader. He used the end of President Bush administration to align himself with the middle-class Americans. Obama used his superb communication skill to pass the message of ‘the audacity of hope’ to gain votes.

Leadership is the art of motivating others to achieve a certain defined goal. The effectiveness of the manager is based upon communicating to others in a manner that inspires them to act in a way that they demand. The management has a direct effect on the success of any institution. The team head determines the employee motivation, change tolerance, culture, and values. The administrators can appear at any level of an organization, and it is not entirely constrained to the management. The individuals who head a particular team will go an extra mile in influencing people around them to gain the maximum benefits from the resources of the organization.

The great man model assumes that the greatest leaders have the inherent leadership traits. This theory portrays them as destined to rise, mythic, and heroic. The theory suggests that people inherit particular attributes that give them an undue advantage over others and make them suited for the leadership positions. The theory often identifies certain behavioral and personality characteristics that are common among different leaders. The contingency theory focuses on particular factors that are associated with the environment that specifies the type of style a great lead is suited. Lastly, the situational concept states that manager’s ability to stand out is based on the situational variables. An individual requires different leadership style for them to be successful in different environments. In this essay, President Barack Obama's leadership style is analyzed.

Leadership Skills, Behavior, and Traits

Leadership Skills

One of his leadership qualities is charisma, an aspect that helped him to gain the attention of the foreigners as well as the Americans. This attribute was practical during his campaigns and made it possible to draw people to his side. Obama was also practiced global and cross-cultural leadership, unlike his predecessors who created a boundary between the US and other countries. He was also a visionary leader who made policies for the prosperity of the United States.

Leadership Behavior

He remained calm through the difficult situations and gave other people a chance to receive credit when it was due. He is a patient man, despite the continuous efforts to slander his name and block his initiatives President Obama responded with a focus on a bigger picture. He was a good listener and always took opinions from all the sides and was slow to take certain actions that were perceived to be risky.

Leadership Traits

President Obama had some of the best listening skills. He gave others a chance to speak and was willing to debate an opinion that was opposite or different from his. Whenever he felt he was right, he stood by his decision no matter the criticism that he received. It was hard for Barack Obama to waver from the course that he had chosen to take. Obama was also a great thinker. President Obama was also willing to do the right thing for the country and often he would weigh the reward and risk associated with before taking any action that affected his people. President Obama also had sense of humor that left his listeners entertained.

Leadership Behavior, Skill, and Trait That Explain the Success of This Leader

Obama was a leader who believed that other people could also become successful. He inspired other people, especially the young people to take the initiative and take risks in life. This trait came handy during his presidential campaigns, he managed to draw so many people to his side because of the things he believed in. The former president appealed to different religions and races. He handled thing rather well in the middle of Islamophobia (Austin & King, 2011). He will be remembered to be one of the best speech givers in the American history and notably one of the most inspiring leaders the world has ever seen.

Barack Obama had all the attributes of an effective leader, and that is precisely what made him a leader of the excellent reputation across the globe and a statesman. Even some of the countries that do not have very close ties with the United States still admired President Obama. He was conventional, preservative, and always had a firm belief that if something is right and you are on the right track, then it is possible to influence other people toward the achievement of that dream. For instance, when he took a firm decision on the important issues such as the United Nation resolution in the Palestine-Israel conflict, everyone believed in him. He knew the job and talked with logic well influencing other leaders and people so that his points were understood.

President Obama will remain to be one of the greatest risk-takers in history. In the world, it is common for people to be risk averse, especially when it comes to anything related to the professionalism or work. Risk-taking, even if it is a minor, is not entirely preferred by all people. It is the major reason why the most successful people are the ones who take some level of risk because they always emerge as being triumphant. In his book "Audacity of Hope", President Obama mentioned that one of his greatest gambles was running for the presidency even though some of the advisors told him otherwise. His political risks are some of the akin of risk that he took in life (Unger, 2016). In many cases, Obama urged young people to take risks, especially calculated ones in life. Despite the fact that Obama’s two terms came to an end, his legacy will continue forever. A leader is simply a person who is never satisfied with the present achievements but always aim at achieving more.

Obama was more of a collaborative leader. Instead of just being forceful in his decision making, he listened to other people first before he made his own decision. Collaboration also implied that he did thorough research so that he made the best decision. During his tenure, Obama created a leadership model that is known as contingency or the preferences and needs of other people and some level of control that he averts over his environment. When he traveled from country to country in his eight years of service, Obama remained to be reconciliatory. He humbled himself before the foreign leaders and even listened to others before he spoke out. This was contrary when he dealt with the leaders and executives of the filing American auto industry; he was steadfast because he believed in change.

Goal Path Theory

Despite the fact that President Obama came from a disadvantaged background, he rose up from that situation to become an exemplary leader that is admired all over the globe. Obama has become masterful, and his story can be used to give hope to the less fortunate in the society. As the President was recognized for his mediation skills and his foreign policy relied on a more stepping back approach thereby giving others a chance to be at the top, this is one of the greatest attributes of the leader.

President Obama was a supportive and a directive leader. During the presidential campaigns, he stood out magnificently having the ability to paint the vision for the future and give the people a chance to believe in themselves. While in his office, the President slightly changed the tactic by motivating other people to participate. Obama will always be known to be one of the greatest delegators and the one who turned the responsibility to competent and capable individuals in addition to very qualified people in different posts. Some of the people maintain the health care crisis could be avoided in case the president took a personal initiative rather than delegating the matter to Reid and Pelosi. This was a leader who believed that other people could do it and the size of the task did not matter what was important was the ability to inspire others and give them a reason to believe in themselves.

Obama believed in ‘we' and not an "I" attitude. In most of his speeches that the former president delivered he talked of plural ‘we' but not I. This was a smart way to bring many people on board and get them involved in matters that affect the country. This also served as an inspiration because everyone believed they could contribute something positive to that cause. This can be one of the most important leadership attributes because it gives those people around you a sense of ownership that is important to the achievement of a particular task. Because of the ‘we', the citizens in cities and towns ended up believing that they had contributed something to the country at general which they felt proud of.

Why His Leadership Style Was a Success

Obama was for the people. Unlike other presidents who came before him, Obama cared about what was best for the entire society. Most of his activities were inspired by a genuine aspiration to do what was right even if it meant that he would lose ground, this was actually what made him famous among the middle class. He openly advocated for the rights of the disenfranchised individuals in the society. He openly talked about some of the topics that had been previously considered to be controversial his support for gay marriage is a good example. Obama openly supported gay marriage and stated that all people had a right to choose the path they wish to take in life.

Obama stood for one race, and that was the human race. Obama used his charismatic personality to bridge a gap between different races. The United States was a more unified state under the leadership of President Obama. The racial divide that had been widening between the white and black individuals seems to be narrowing thanks to Obama administration. This president stood for peace not only in American but also across the globe. In 2009, the President was awarded a Nobel peace prize. This is one of the greatest achievements that a man or a woman could have in his lifetime (Austin & King, 2011). He was awarded for his effort to strengthen international diplomacy and corporation between nations and people. During his eight-year presidency, Obama successfully ended Iraq war, Osama bin Laden was also annihilated closing the chapter of warmongering.

The President worked tirelessly to improve the image of the United States on the global scale. President Obama adopted a different leadership strategy to bring him closer to other cultures in the world. Obama’s interests were global, and his effort in issues to do with humanity was felt all over. Nobody can deny the difficult phase when Obama took over leadership such as high levels of unemployment, internal economic problem, and global recessions. The President showed distinctive traits when dealing with this situations.

During his two terms, Obama always reminded his audience that his presidency was made possible because of the brave children, women, and men of the civil right movement. He acknowledged the use of mass action as a better method of building democracy and ensuring good governance. He did not limit his protest when talking about America only. In 2011, President Obama openly praised the protestors of the Arab spring in North Africa and America (Kloppenberg, 2017). President Obama referred to them as a powerful democratic expression of the society. Obama considered mass protest as a tool that can be used by the marginalized to fight for their rights. When Obama visited Africa as the head of state president Obama raised issues to do with good governance and transparency.

Surgency

Agreeability

Adjustment

consciousness

Openness to experience

He had authority

He respected followers

He was calm under pressure

He was self-confident

He was open and was ready to initiate change



Conclusion

Good leadership depends on the best communication skills. The best leaders are those who have the capacity to inspire other people. President Obama proved beyond doubt that he was indeed a good listener and able to influence others through excellent listening skills. It is also essential that leaders learn to remain calm during a difficult situation, this is a strategy that can make them avoid certain silly mistakes that are made through the rush decision. During the Middle East conflict the great recession, the President remained calm and composed a factor that enabled him to make some of the best decisions. Obama always treated all individuals equally irrespective of their religion and race. The policies that were implemented at this time aimed at making the United States and the world a better place. Despite the fact that he could be criticized on the numerous occasions, he remained focused. “Obama was better than we imagined, better than the body politic deserved, and far, far better than his enemies will ever concede… (Maraniss, 2012). Obama remained passionate through his presidency which that enabled him connect with people all over the world he did so many great things to the world that earned his name in the history of the world as one of the most loved presidents and a better leader that the world ever had, “there is little doubt that future historians will rank him high in this second tie” (Hutchinson & Earl Ofari, 2017).

The paper has discussed the leadership attributes of President Obama. His eight-year presidential term was characterized by the overlapping changes in external and internal levels, tension, and security problems. From the paper proves that Obama's leadership abilities were enough to lead the country through these lead times. The paper also touched on goal path theory as well as behavioral theory. It is clear from the above analysis that Obama was able to in a position to navigate his narcissism through clear identity and maturity. The self-identity and maturity enabled him a charismatic leadership style that is indeed transformational. Obama’s breadth of positive power display and experience created a global leader beyond the position of the president of USA. Barack Obama is a leader who will be revered for decades to come; he is a leader who excelled beyond measurable proportion and one of the greatest Presidents in the last century. Despite these few downfalls president, Obama will remain in the hearts of many as one of the most influential leaders the world has ever had. A great leader represents the characteristic of earnestness, proactive and honesty. Obama's skills will remain to be one of the most admired skills for decades to come. President Obama was able to uphold the behavior and aura throughout his campaigns and presidency on how leaders should behave.



References

Allen, R. L. (2017). The Legacy of the Obama Era. University of Illinois Press. doi:10.5406/illinois/9780252036453.003.0019

Austin, S. W., & King, D. (2011). President Barack Obama and Racial Politics. The Barack Obama Presidency, 47-61. doi:10.1057/9780230370456_4

Hutchinson, & Earl Ofari. (2017). The Obama Legacy. Med Sales Pro Pubns.

Kloppenberg, J. T. (2017). Barack Obama and the Traditions of Progressive Reform. Yale University Press. doi:10.12987/yale/9780300204841.003.0020

Maraniss, D. (2012). Barack Obama. New York: Simon & Schuster Audio.