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Charismatic and
Transformational
Leadership
Abstract Former President Barrack Hussein Obama who was the 44 th^ president of the United States of America can be considered to be among the many contemporary leaders who have shown great leadership and brought about change throughout time. He is the perfect example for the research paper considering that he was born after 1950 meaning that he has given a recent example of contemporary leadership in the twenty-first century. Throughout his journey from a child living with his grandparents to becoming the first African American President of the United States, Obama has shown growth and transformation within himself which enabled him to be a great leader of all times. This paper shows the struggles he went through transforming into a charismatic and transformational leader. Obama is mostly known for his good speeches during his campaign period and also presidency which was mainly the reason for him being considered a charismatic leader as they mostly emphasized hope and change for a new America which made him gain a lot of followers and change the perceptions of most people regarding the change. He is mostly
famous for the phrase 'yes we can' which he used to use mostly during his speeches and campaigns encouraging residents of America that there is hope for a better and greater country. This paper continues to argue how during his term as a member of the senate in both Illinois and also for the United States he incorporated different legislations and sponsored different programs inclusive of health, public relations, homeland security, and also labor. President Obama was seen to be loved by many American residents due to his charismatic qualities and characteristics. He was humble and implemented a variety of changes such as allowing same-sex marriage which was a movement that had been requested for a long
focus on allowing their followers to be free in terms of thought and also give them a space to be creative and come up with new ideas which will be able to have a positive impact on the nation at large. Over time there have been different contemporary leaders who have been seen to have a great influence in their societies and have been recognized globally including Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Ronald Reagan who was the 40th^ president of the United States, Winston Churchill, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, John F Kennedy who was the 35th^ President of the US, Mahatma Gandhi, Angela Merkel of Germany and Barrack Obama (Ţîrlea, 2016). This paper will therefore focus on Barrack Obama who was the 44th^ President of the USA as the contemporary leader to show how he demonstrated a charismatic and transformational leadership model throughout his service while in the office as the President. Charismatic Leadership and Transformational Leadership These two models of leadership often go hand in hand as both models portray similar characteristics based on the behavior of an individual or the leader. A charismatic leader is also a transformational leader (Sy, Horton & Riggio, 2018). A leader portraying both of the leadership models can motivate individuals or those around them to be more productive for the success and greater good of society. A leader also rallies his followers and those that he influences in service and achievement of a common objective. Charismatic Leadership Charismatic leadership is evaluated based on the impact that a leader has on their followers mainly based on the relationship. This model is mainly based on the view of Max Weber which explains charisma as a form of influence based on the insight of the followers that a leader has some kind of supernatural qualities. According to Weber, a charismatic leader is God-
sent and can visualize a course of action attractive to the followers and can drive them to act on the actions since they see their leader be extraordinary. This leadership hence focuses on the interpersonal connection, charm, and communication that leaders use to motivate their followers. Such leaders are shown to be confident, determined, empathetic, humble, mature, passionate, and creative, have excellent communication skills, and are vision oriented. Charismatic leaders focus on making the followers feel at ease to be able to express themselves and focus on people working together rather than being commanding and controlling. These leaders affect their followers such that they influence their way of doing things and help them develop a strong sense of bonding and trust. A charismatic leader is seen to be positive in his/her thinking hence having a positive influence upon his followers. The followers of a charismatic leader are loyal and great risk-takers such that they are willing to suffer for any consequences for them as they believe the leader mostly fights for a change in the status quo of the country (Sy, Horton & Riggio, 2018). People believe in the cause of charismatic leaders. For example, Gandhi who was an Indian political activist who led people in campaigns for human rights, led to a global change and revolution hence his followers were seen to be loyal to him as he had a great cause for uniting humanity. Martin Luther King also had a great following of people who were loyal to him as he was for the civil rights movement which was based on judging all residents of America based on their personal qualities rather than by the color of their skin. Charismatic leaders do not just exist but they acquire their qualities from different attributes such as education, training, and practice and through leadership development. Although all leaders are required to have gone to certain educational levels, charismatic leaders often go to extra and higher levels of studying to be able to develop themselves mentally and
transformational and charismatic leader and the things he did that brought about changes in the United States that left an impact on people till today. History Barrack Hussein Obama was the 44 th^ president of the United States starting from the year 2009 to the year 2017. He was born in 1961 in Hawaii to his parents Barrack Obama Senior a senior governmental economist whose origin was Kenya and American anthropologist Ann Dunham. Throughout his childhood, Obama moved to different countries such as Indonesia following the separation of his parents his mother getting married to Lolo Soetoro in 1965. Obama moved to Indonesia aged six and attended schools while there which made him fluent in speaking the Indonesian language. He however returned to the USA in 1970 where he lived with his maternal grandparents ever since (Lindsay, 2011). When he attended college, Obama majored in political science with international relations which was a start to his political career. Barrack was the first-ever African American president in the history of the United States which was considered to be a great revolution for the United States as a country and also for the African American community. Obama’s career began at Harvard Law School which he joined in 1988 and where he was elected as the editor of Harvard law review during his first year, the journal's president in the second year, and the assistant of research in the third year. Following his election as the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review, he gained national media attention. After graduating from Harvard Obama became a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to the year 2004.
Portraying the signs of a charismatic and transformational leader, Obama was the director of a voter registration campaign known as the Project Vote which had seven hundred volunteers of voter registration hence achieving at least 150,000 African American individuals out of the four hundred thousand who were unregistered at the time. This was an action that led him to attract even more attention as he was put up on Chicago's list of forty under forty. Starting 1993 through to 1996, Obama joined a law firm as an associate whose specialties were economic development of the neighborhood and litigation of civil rights working with Davis, Galland, Barnhill, and Miner among others. He was listed among lawyers representing a high-class lawsuit that ended up winning in the year 1994. Senator of Illinois Leadership In the year 1996, Barrack was elected as the senator for Illinois the seat that was preceded by Alice Palmer of the Democratic State. After becoming Illinois Senator, that’s the time that Obama acquired dual party support for legislation that adjusted the laws of ethics and health care. He showed his transformational leadership when he funded a low that was supposed to increase the tax credits for workers that received low income; it negotiated the reform of welfare and also increased the allowances for childcare (Morlock, 2019. This showed that he focused more on getting accomplishments and results to get change in society. As a member and also the co-chairperson of the bipartisan Joint Committee specifically on the Administrative Rules, he was in support of Governor Ryan's, who was of the Republican party, regulations for payday loan and also those of acquisitive mortgage lending with the end result of preventing foreclosures of homes. This shows the interpersonal connection between Obama and his followers as most of his actions were for the good of the people.
war which had been a big issue for the United States through an anti-war rally he again held in the year 2003. This portrays him to be a transformational leader as he focuses on the well-being of the country and he is result-oriented such that he wants to sell himself through the accomplishments. Obama won the Senate race with countless votes which led him to be famous throughout the entire United States and a star in the Democratic Party. His fame led to speculations about him being a potential candidate for the future presidential elections. He delivered his speech in the July of 2004 gaining nine million views sowing that he had a great number of followers who were part of raising his status within the Democratic Party. Considering that a speech plays a significant role in the political sector, Obama outshined himself during the speech which made some people even treat him like a rock star and made him gain a lot of attention (Ţîrlea, 2016). He was treated as special and rare and was compared to the likes of John F. Kennedy who were not afraid to speak out. Charisma in a leader is also associated with how a leader conducts himself in front o of his/her followers considering factors such as body language. Obama during his speech smiled all through and the fact that his wife Michelle regarded him as being a simple man brought out a humble character which impacted his followers to love him more. After gaining a huge amount of recognition, Jack Ryan who was in the opponent party, Republican Party quit from the race leaving Alan Keyes as the new opponent leader but Obama won with 92 states out of the 102 present which was by 70% vote. According to statistics, it shows that he won even in some counties where the Democratic Party was not considered to do very well showing the beginning of transformational leadership as people had trust in changes through the new leadership.
Leadership in the United States Senate After getting into office as a senator in January of 2005 hence became the first and only member of the Black Caucus to be a senator. During his first years, he introduced several legislations alongside other Senators such as Tom Carper, John McCain, and Tom Coburn. In 2006, Obama was a primary sponsor of the DRC relief, security, and Democracy promotion Act law signed in by President George Bush which was the first enactment for Obama. During his senate term, Obama sponsored a lot of activities that were mainly for the good of American residents and also fought heavily to reduce the war between America and countries like Iraq (Lindsay, 2011). He focused on health insurance programs, labor, homeland security, and governmental affairs through holding different assignments to better learn about the programs and check into them showing the traits of both a transformational and charismatic leadership. In 2008 Obama resigned from his Senate seat to focus mainly on the upcoming period through which he would transition into presidency. Obama announced his candidacy for the President of the United States in February of 2007. He chose to make his announcement in front of the building Old State Capitol which was the same place that Abraham Lincoln delivered his speech in the year 1958. Obama showed great wisdom by this choice hence qualities of a charismatic leader as he was seen to follow the footsteps of a charismatic leader (Obama, 2007). Abraham Lincoln was an iconic figure in American history considering that he was assassinated while still in the presidency as he believed in speaking for the truth and that he delivered the house divided speech in the same spot in Springfield Illinois. During his speech, Obama was consistent in emphasizing issues that could end the war in Iraq and also spoke about bringing independence of energy and ways to reform
States. This portrays the character of a charismatic leader as he focuses more on his followers by inspiring them towards the cause for change in the country. Through his famous phrase “Yes we can” he was able to influence a great number of followers into believing in his cause for making America a better place. John McCain was the opposing member of the Republican Party with Sarah Palin as his running mate. During the campaigns, the two took part in presidential debates where they were supposed to deliver their speeches and answer questions regarding what kinds of leadership they were to offer the country. Obama, therefore, became the President with a win with 365 votes while McCain had 173 electoral votes. Transformational leadership was portrayed as he moved directly from the Senate of the United States just like John F Kennedy and Warren G Harding. Throughout his presidential term, Obama presented himself as a transformational and charismatic leader based on how he conducted the country and the environment he created for Americans during the term (Budur, 2020). Firstly he was an African American meaning that getting into the presidency was a transformation itself considering there has not been another African American in the office before him. Before he came into office, George Walker Bush who had been portrayed to be a wartime president in the aftermath of the airborne terrorist attacks preceded him meaning that he had to create a better image for himself as an American president and also for the country. Former President Barrack Obama through his political career defined his rise to the presidency considering that he was passionate for the progressive development of the government and also for societal justice. Considering that he has moved to different places during his childhood and experienced poverty he believed that there is affirmative action that can
be done especially in the South Side of Chicago where he grew up. Growing in a very diverse mixed-race family was a major contribution to Obama's fight against discrimination as he often felt different while growing up as he neither looked like his mother nor father. According to statistics, Obama has been considered to be a productive narcissist who is considered to be gifted and a very creative strategist who focuses on attaining or reaching the bigger picture. Productive narcissists believe in going through risks to change the world and believe in working to leave behind a legacy which is the case of President Barrack Obama hence portraying his charismatic leadership (Bligh & Kohles, 2009). These individuals are mainly looked upon during a time of great transition in a state considering that they are known to be confident enough to push through a great transformation. Narcissism also appears in his leadership such that he is seen to relate to three major points including preoccupation with success, requiring admiration in excess, and also many fantasies about the position of the president. He started aspiring for success in his school years where he not only craved to be successful academically but also in co- curricular activities. According to Remnick in the year 2011, Obama was bored by the position of being a Senator for Illinois State and yearned for more hence e challenged Bobby Rush who was sitting at the time for the seat which he won. Using the end of the Bush administration, Obama was able to align himself perfectly with the attitudes of middle-class Americans who constitute the largest population in the United States. Considering that the administration of former President George Bush had caused anger and anxiety in politics such that people were no longer interested in matters of politics, Obama's message concerning the audacity of hope allowed him to take his beliefs and convert them to transformational leadership.
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