DQ 6-2

DQ 6- 2 responses

Describe an example of great leadership you have witnessed in your life. Analyze that leader and leadership situation(s). What made that leader effective?

1.

Three years ago, two officers were killed within three days of one another.  This was devastating to the organization and greatly impacted everyone throughout the organization and community. In addition, we had a new police chief who had only been with the organization for nine months. From the beginning, the police chief showed great leadership skills and effectively managed this tragic and highly emotional situation. When an officer dies in the line of duty there are a lot of arrangements and decisions that need to be made. The police chief made decisions and delegated responsibilities for handling specific arrangements. In addition, there was constant communication throughout the organization that updated all employees on what was occurring.  As well as, meetings and daily updates for those who were responsible for specific arrangements. The police chief personally visited every department within the organization, talked with employees and offered support. The amount of support, ongoing communication, and decisiveness in how things were handled made a positive and strong impression on the employees. According to Badoni (2011), when managing a difficult situation, it’s important for effective leaders to figure out what’s needed, act promptly, manage expectations, and demonstrate control. Our police chief did a great job managing all of these things.  I can’t begin to imagine how difficult this must have been to manage especially for someone who was so new to the organization.

 

References:

Baldoni, J. (2011). How a good leader reacts to a crisis. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/01/how-a-good-leader-reacts-to-a

2. At the core of any leadership study is the influence process because influence is an important component in the act of leading others. Charismatic leadership theory can be used to understand how a leader influences follower. Charismatic leadership as a theory has a reciprocal quality.

According to the theory of charismatic leadership, a charismatic leader is a leader who displays certain behaviors and expertise when certain situations exist, and this combination causes followers to attribute charisma back to the leader. Charisma is a trait that is ‘felt’ and then attributed to a leader by followers. This makes charisma rare but easily observed when in existence.

Ronald Reagan was an exemplar of charismatic leadership because he brought effective communication, vision, integrity, humor, and delegation to the leadership task at a time when there were social, economic, and foreign policy crises facing the nation.

· Reagan appealed to a sense of understanding through this use of symbolism and metaphors that went well beyond the actual words. Sheehan and Sheehan (2006) properly note that Ronald Reagan is remembered historically as “The Great Communicator” (p. 10). Two memorable examples of this include when Reagan called the U.S.S.R. the “Evil Empire” and later when he beckoned Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall” (Meese, 1999). The evil empire was more than just a comment on the U.S.S.R. Followers felt that it metaphorically described an existing moral superiority over the communist regime.

· In foreign affairs, Reagan’s vision was described as romantically utopian (Garrison, 2008). Reagan’s vision was that America was a morally just nation, and freedom was deserved by every person in every nation.

· Reagan was able to capture the trust and admiration of his followers. Followers believed in him and expressed admiration for his candid honesty. Reagan displayed courageous convictions and was willing to sacrifice his own political career in order to pursue what he perceived (and his followers likewise) as right and true.

· President Reagan displayed expertise in managing his administration by utilizing delegation. Reagan was not interested in increasing his personal power base but felt strong personal conviction for his vision and subsequent policies. Therefore, it was often said that Reagan’s approach to managing his White House staff and other administration officials was deemed as a very positive approach (Cohen & Krause, 2000). Reagan was an expert delegator of tasks.

· The situational context certainly played a significant role in Reagan’s charismatic leadership style. As Reagan campaigned for president in the late 1970s, the nation was suffering through a severe economic downturn where unemployment, gasoline prices, and interest rates were soaring (Meese, 1999). Domestic conditions aside, President Carter was seen as a capitulator and a weak foreign policy president. The citizenry was very dissatisfied and eager for change. Reagan, no doubt, perceived this and articulated his visionary platform well by appealing directly to people’s core convictions. Reagan promised a new vision that included a small federal government, strong military, and a booming economy (Meese, 1999). He understood the timing of his political rise and used the country’s eagerness for change to help him gain the presidency. Situational realities that contributed to Reagan’s charismatic attributes did not assuage upon his election as president. By the time Reagan was elected, America had spent the better part of the previous three decades resisting communism both ideologically and militarily in different parts of the world. The situation had dissolved into what was referred to as a “cold war” primarily between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. Additionally, the nuclear arms race was increasing rapidly between the two nation states. This culmination of events created a sense of fear and urgency for the American people. Reagan again used this crisis to appeal to followers by showing strength and resolve. Americans felt confident that their leader would stand strong against the Soviet nation. Therefore, it is understandable that followers of Reagan in these critical times attributed charisma to his leadership style.

Bell, M. (2013). Charismatic Leadership Case Study with Ronald Reagan as Exemplar, Emerging Leadership Journeys, Vol.65 Iss. 1, pp. 83- 91

https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/elj/vol6iss1/4elj_vol6iss1_bell.pdf

3.

The example of a great leadership I have witnessed in my life was the time I spent with the chamber of commerce. When I first started I was told that the chamber was in a good place financially, member wise, and a plan for future growth. However, this was untrue and within 3 month the CEO at the time was caught for fraud and Embezzling money from the chamber. After that the remaining members got together and we tried to figure out what was going on and where do go from here. We maintain for a few months and figure out it was time to look for a new CEO. We conducted interviews and low and behold we found this amazing lady.  She took the chamber that had 150 active member and a negative balance to currently a 500 member chamber and over 500,000 thousand dollars in the back in less than 2 years.  Her leadership is the sole reason that the chamber is in a better place today and in the future. She put committees in place that matter, she put workshops together that mattered, and more important she made the chamber relevant again. What made her effective was that she was passionate about it and when she talked about the chamber and what were about and where we wanted to go people wanted to be a part of whatever she was a part of.  According to the article CEO Explains Why Passion Is The Key To Success “The people I have seen achieve the greatest success in their professional and personal lives are passionate people that lead, support, and mentor others with that 'zeal and zest' for the work and people” (Smith,2014).  

 

Reference

 

CEO Explains Why Passion Is The Key To Success Jacquelyn Smith May. 13, 2014 retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/ceo-explains-why-passion-is-key-to-success-2014-5