World leaders and their leadership styles. How did they affect the world - Research Paper Example

? World leaders and their leadership styles – How did they affect the world today? Introduction There have been different leaders in history and through each one of the leaders; there have been many attributes, skills and characteristics learned by those that have followed the leader. This paper discusses a number of world leaders and their affect on the world today. Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler was a powerful and relentless leader who was considered to be an inspiring leader during his early years of leadership as he demonstrated his intellectual capabilities during phase one of World War II by directing the Blitzkrieg tactics. The strategic capability of Adolf Hitler assisted the army in handling the unforeseen shock attacks against airfields, military installations and communication centers. Hitler amused his followers by winning the May 1940 Battle of France and May 1942 Battle of Kharkov. As he faced all the challenges with confidence and courage, he was successful in defeating the Nazi Germany (Megargee, 14). This defeat became famous globally and many remember Adolf Hitler via defeating the Nazi. Adolf Hitler governed the NSDP autocratically by establishing the Fuhrerprinzip style of leadership; the principle behind it is that all subordinates have to remain obedient to their superiors and government has a pyramid like structure. Hitler viewed himself as the perfect leader at the apex of the pyramid. In the party, all the positions were filled by people who had high ranks and ensured that they will be obedient to the leader’s will without asking any questions which showed that people having strong powers were given a place in the party (Popper, 64). Compulsion of following the rules of the leaders impacted the followers in making them powerless and also no freedom to speak or protest. Hitler used to give contradictory orders to his subordinates so that the strongest one was able to do the job; as a result, he fostered competition, distrust and power struggle among the subordinates so that he could strengthen his legitimate power. Contrary orders are difficult to abide by as all subordinates are not of the same level and hence there would be many that cannot fulfill the requirements of the order. Before 1941, Adolf Hitler was regarded as an excellent leader who inspired many people but afterwards he became sclerotic and started punishing people for their wrong doings. This started impacting the image of Hitler in a negative way and now in many places he is remembered as a harsh ruler. However, Hitler had strong power in making all operational decisions in Germany and it was under his leadership that Europe and Germany had to face the supreme calamity in his ruling period. The ability of making operational decision timely and accurately allowed him to face success in Germany. Mahatma Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi was the paramount leader of the Indian nationalism during the period when the British were ruling India. The leader introduced the concept of fighting with a tactic known as ‘non-violent civil disobedience’ by stirring innumerable movements of civil rights, non-violence and freedom worldwide (Barnabas and Paul, 135). This tactic proved to be highly successful for Gandhi and via this strategy he was able to achieve his goals. Gandhi initiated his first fight for the protection of civil rights of Hindu and Muslim Indians in South Africa by implementing a fresh technique of non-violent public defiance. After years of sincere efforts and determination, the government of South Africa accepted their mistake and decided to compromise with Gandhi on treating everyone equally in the country. This was a huge success achieved by Gandhi and from hereon he became quite successful in fostering other movements. After his return to India in 1915, he joined the Indian National Congress to raise his voice against unacceptable policies and rules of the British government that were depriving people of their rights. One of his famous protests was Salt March against the British policy of taxing the salt used by Indians; he organized a 388 km march to the sea at Dandhi, Gujarat and started making salt on his own. The campaign was a huge success that upset the British and the government decided to negotiate with the leader. He was also an opponent of communalism (religion based policies) known as the caste system and he reached out to every religious group to unite them into one unit. The people of India appraised him highly as his efforts in the movements were proving to be beneficial for the Indian citizens. From 1921 onwards, Gandhi initiated campaigns on the national level for eradicating poverty, protecting the rights of women, developing friendship amongst the people of different religions and ethnical backgrounds, enhanced the economic self-sufficiency and achieved Swaraj i.e. independence of India from the British rule (Nojeim, 30). Hence, Gandhi was truly a servant leader who worked for his country’s people so that everyone was treated uniformly and peace and harmony prevailed in the country. Under his leadership strategy, the level of violence had no place and he implemented all strategies in a tactful way. Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was a servant leader who was always concerned about the people of his country and it was this love for his people that developed the strength and courage in him to fight for their privileges against the powerful opponents. The leader was provided the opportunity of demonstrating his leadership traits during the American Civil War in which he emphasized on preserving the Union (Polelle, 40). He had to undergo various unexpected pressures during the war such as unwillingness of generals to fight, threats for assassination, severe argument among the members of Cabinet, high amount of loss of life in the battlefields and intense resistance from groups like Copperheads. Although all types of pressure were hovering Lincoln, he still did not lose hope or become de-motivated. He was determined to attain success for his people. Therefore, Lincoln continued with his efforts and successfully attained his goal of preserving the Union. He even initiated the process of Emancipation Proclamation that eventually led to the end of slavery in the U.S. The distinctive aspect of Lincoln was that he used story telling technique to convey his point which helped him in influencing others to follow his lead (Hubbard, 21). This was a creative and innovative strategy used by Lincoln in getting his message across to the audience. The major action that the leader took was the verdict of fighting for prohibiting the dissolution of the Union and his decision helped in keeping USA as one single nation rather than getting split into two different countries. Although he has been criticized for moving over the traditional bounds of executive power but he focused his aim on protecting the Union from getting disintegrated. Lincoln played a leading role in the freedom for slaves by commencing the Emancipation Proclamation process. The unions worldwide in the current era have a strong example to follow that is set by Abraham Lincoln. Alexander the Great At the age of twenty, Alexander became the king and during his journey of eleven years he conquered all battles and became the best vanquisher. Alexander the Great followed visionary leadership as he shared the vision with his people to motivate them and inspire them in achieving the well-set goals (Polelle, 23). For a leader, it is challenging to make his followers believe in their capabilities. It is believed that Alexander the Great also had connective style of leadership because he always shared his plans and thoughts with his troops so that all of them were aware of the core values. This again gives a strong message to leaders that all plans should be discussed before implementation as feedback from the members may allow the plans to be improved further. Before going to the battle, Alexander would ride up and down in front of his troop during its formation process. Alexander ensured that he remembered the names of his soldiers so that he can call out their names and praise them for their bravery and courage in the preceding battles. Giving recognition to the soldiers would allow them to feel motivated and appreciated. As a result of this act, his people felt privileged and fought the battles with more courage and higher level of motivation. Alexander inspired and developed confidence in his troop members by training and fighting alongside them so that their morale was never down (Cartledge, 14). When soldiers see that their leader is on the ground with them, they realize the honesty and sincerity of the leader towards the battle and towards his people in making them successful. Alexander taught the commanders that they should connect with their troops so that their soldiers can perform extraordinarily in the battlefields. Hence, he was a visionary leader who believed in raising the spirits of his troops by appraising them and inspiring them to fight the battle with courage and fortitude. Alexander had an inspirational leadership style which instigated his followers to give in their best performance. Julius Caesar Julius Caesar was an exceptional general and one of the important leaders in ancient Rome. In his position as a leader, he played an important role in the formation of the Roman Empire (Freeman, 32). In 60 B.C., Pompey, Crassus and Caesar decided to form a political alliance with the aim of dominating the politics in Rome; they attempted to accumulate power by using the populist tactics that was resisted by the conservative approach followers within the Roman Senate. After accomplishing the Gaul invasion in 51 B.C., Rome’s territory was extended to the Rhine and the English Channel; he became the first Roman general who led the first invasion of Britain. After the end of Gallic Wars, Caesar was ordered by the Senate to return to Rome after laying down the command of his military. He refused and showed his resistance by crossing the Rubican with a crowd to march on Rome that initiated the Civil War; from there he emerged as the Rome’s unsurpassed leader. This had been a turning point for Julius Caesar and he became a very prominent and powerful leader of his era. After conquering the Rome, he became the master and started ruling the place like a dictator. Caesar used his power for carrying out the desired reforms, relieved huge amount of debt, revised the calendar and enlarged the Senate. He was assassinated by his enemies in 44 B.C. (Popper, 70). After his death, a fresh series of the civil wars started and the Republic’s constitutional government was never restored. Caesar was a dictator who preferred to have full authority and he was deemed to be an autocrat and people disliked him for the activities that he did during his tenure as a leader. Napoleon Napoleon or Napoleon Bonaparte was a leader who believed in ruling like an autocratic leader but he was the man who brought revolution in France. The leader is considered to have strong military and political status as he took vital decisions during the later stages of the French Revolution and also in the wars in Europe. He was the Emperor of the French during the regime of 1804-1815. The Napoleonic Code with his legal form has been the major source of influence of various civil law related jurisdictions globally (Blaufarb, 42). He even established his authority over most of the continental Europe with the aim of dispersion of French Revolution’s ideals so that the imperial kingdom is consolidated. He is considered as a tyrant because when his army was withdrawing from Russia as people were suffering from cold and plague, he poisoned them to avoid their fall in the hands of Russians (Polelle, 62). This was a very brutal act and this act impacted his leadership ability in a negative way. However, he is popular for the strategies and tactics that he adopted to win the wars; his leadership tactics are studied in the military schools to teach the key skills to the prospective militants for guiding them to be a successful leader in future. Napoleon is still considered to be the best conqueror and commander in the world as he was the man with extraordinary leadership and intellectual power. Intellect is extremely important for becoming a successful leader as without intellect the decisions cannot be made timely and accurately. Genghis Khan Genghis Khan is well-known as the founder and emperor (Great Khan) of the Mongol Empire which became the largest adjoining nearby empire in history after his demise. The noteworthy work of Genghis Khan is that he achieved the powerful position by uniting majority of the northeast Asia’s nomadic tribes. When he successfully founded the Mongol Empire and was proclaimed Genghis Khan, he implemented his plan of the Mongol invasions and it resulted in the capturing of majority of Eurasia (Man, 51). These invasions comprised of raids of the Caucasusm Khwarezmid Empire, Kara-Khitan Khanate, Jin dynasties and Western Xia. Most of these campaigns usually accompanied the mass execution of the complete civilian population especially in the Khwarezmid Empire. His style of leadership is classified as a combination of autocratic leadership and participative leadership. Genghis Khan was considered a dictator because whenever he conquered any of the regions he would give only two options i.e. either surrender or get killed (Ratchnevsky, 26). George Washington George Washington was the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the period of the American Revolutionary War i.e. 1775-1783. He even served as the U.S. President for two terms i.e. from 1789 to 1797. During the period of American Revolution, he was the leader of the colonial forces for getting victory over the British and he then became famous as the national hero of U.S. Washington had strength in binding the colonial army as one unit which showed his dominance as a military strategist. Military leaders need to possess a dominant personality so that they can have the required impact on their followers. The troops were not trained properly and had shortage of food, ammunition and various other supplies; he boosted their morale by providing them guidance, courage motivation to move ahead in the field (Northouse, 72). When Washington became the President, U.S. was a small country that comprised of only eleven states and he realized that there were no precedents on how the future president should carry on both domestic and foreign businesses. In order to set an example on how the new presidents should approach this position, Washington handed down a heritage of integrity, fairness and honesty. In foreign affairs, Washington supported the idea of developing cordial relations with other countries and maintained a neutral position in the foreign conflicts. Hence, Washington laid down the principles for the U.S. president so that the person could carry on outstanding tasks for the benefits of the country (Bongilla, 35) and he brought significant long lasting changes in the country for ensuring that the prospective development will prove to be beneficial for the citizens. Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt is recognized for helping U.S. to get out of the miseries during the 1930s by helping the people in rebuilding their self-confidence. When a nation has lost its self confidence, it becomes difficult to lead them in the right direction. His leadership style is a combination of charismatic leadership and transformational leadership as he helped people out of despair by rousing their self-esteem and provided adequate guidance for taking all bold steps to counter the daunting challenge (Greenstein, 45). This is one of the remarkable achievements of Roosevelt as this task had been quite a challenging one for him. During his term as President of U.S., he started two valiant moves for fighting against the largest threats faced by U.S. and the whole world i.e. Great World War II and Great Depression. On becoming the President, he called the Congress to organize a special session and declare a bank holiday of four days. Roosevelt’s first “Hundred Days” were marked by the passage of the fifteen major laws under the New Deal Program. Some of the legislative acts in the program comprised of Civilian Conservation Corps, Works Progress Administration, National Industrial Recovery Act, Tennessee Valley Authority, Securities and Exchange Commission, Social Security Act and etc. Hence, Roosevelt was a man with charismatic personality who knew how to motivate the people and assisted them in confronting the issues in a strategic way. Winston Churchill Winston Churchill leadership style is classified as transformational and charismatic leadership; he was among those leaders who always kept the people motivated by delivering inspirational speeches. During the World War II, Winston Churchill provided immense support and guidance to the Great Britain by developing strength and courage among the people (Nordquist, 2). As a leader, he always led from the front; for instance, he watched the air raids like bombs falling on London, inspected the extent of devastation and then visited the front line. He always believed in taking actions instantly; for instance, when a new idea came to his mind, he would set on the wheels to start the job so that the task was successfully accomplished. This shows that all actions decided should be executed on an immediate mode so that delays may not cause one to lose the opportunity for becoming successful. Churchill had excellent communication skills and his speeches are still quoted by the present day leaders. To communicate in an effective manner is important for leaders so that the audience understands what the leader is trying to do and how it is trying to achieve it. He never had fear about anything and was determined to meet President Roosevelt and Premier Stelin even if he had to risk his own personal safety. He developed resilient and pleasant relationship between the U.S. and Britain which is still cherished as a special bond between the two countries and celebrated as well. As a leader, he focused on three important aspects for developing charismatic personality i.e. excellent communication skills, creating a vision so that everyone is able to keep the focus on a single goal and developing trust so that people are willing to provide their support to the leaders (Axelord, 34). Hence, the exceptional communication and a well-designed vision can inspire people to work hard and support their leaders in achieving the desired goals. If the people are clear on the vision that the leader has, all further tasks becomes easy to be accomplished as cooperation and coordination is expected from the leaders. Conclusion The world leaders have demonstrated different leadership styles and they have been successful in accomplishing various challenging tasks. Regardless of the leadership style, some of the common features that are important for the leaders in today’s world are creating a vision so that everyone has an idea about the goal that will be achieved in the long-run, motivating people to make valuable contributions and developing excellent communication skills so that a clear, concise and a powerful message can be communicated to everyone. The leaders have to develop a charismatic personality so that they can inspire their followers and should lead by example so that positive results can be attained. All the leaders that have been discussed in the paper reflect upon the different personalities of leaders and the type of leadership skills possessed by each leader. The examples of the leadership strategies and styles can be adopted from these leaders. Some leaders have gained a negative image due to their cruelness and harshness and hence this aspect should not be followed. 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