Bill Clinton Life as a Leader: Leadership Traits - Term Paper Example

Bill Clinton Life as a Leader: Leadership Traits Introduction The world is experiencing rapid changes in all spheres of life including social, technological, political, and cultural. These changes have been attributed to a number of factors key among them globalization and rapid technological advancements (Hamilton, 2004). Because of these changes, organizations and nations have been striving towards having the best leaders who can help them address the challenges brought about by changes and enable them realize their goals and aspirations. This has made the concept of leadership to dominate the academic, business, political, and social discourses. Jones (2005) defines leadership as the process through which an individual influence others to realize or accomplish set objective(s), as well as direct an organization or society to be more coherent and cohesive. Leadership aims at influencing a group of individuals to realize their goals and objectives. Leaders carry out this process by application of their leadership skills and knowledge (Nelson, 2006). The success of organizations and nations are greatly determined by the kind of leaders that they have at a given period. Leadership styles and traits of individuals holding leadership roles are the factors that bring success or failure to the organizations or nations that they lead (Gillespie and Warren, 2008). This paper will discuss Bill Clinton as a leader and his leadership traits. Bill Clinton was the United States’ 42nd President from 1993 to 2001.he holds a law degree from Yale Law School and he served as the Governor of Arkansas before being elected as President (Campbell and Rockman, 2000). He is one of the United States presidents of the modern times that demonstrated outstanding leadership traits and qualities (Jones, 2007). As a president, Clinton was instrumental in advancing America’s economic and political interests within and outside the country. Some of his most notable achievements include signing into law the North American Free Trade Agreement; successfully passed the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and welfare reform; and presided over America’s longest duration of economic expansion (Schier, 2000). Bill Clinton’s strong leadership skills were demonstrated with the approval ratings he got when he left office; he left office with the best end-of-office ratings compared to any United States president since the Second World War (Phillips, 2007). Before looking at the leadership traits of Bill Clinton, it is critical to look at some of his leadership roles and achievements, as well as failures. It is important to note that Bill Clinton’s leadership roles began during his time as student (Hamilton, 2003). He actively participated in Vietnam War protests and he was the organizer of Moratorium even in October 1969 while he was student at Oxford University. He briefly served as the professor of law at the University of Arkansas (Cohen, 2001). His first attempt to gain political leadership was in 1974 when he unsuccessfully ran for the House of Representatives. He lost the general election by 52% to 48% margin to Republican Paul Hammerschmidt (Nelson, 2006). In 1978, he was elected Governor of Arkansas and he became the youngest governor in the United States at the age of 32. He focused on improving Arkansas roads and on educational reforms. In addition, during his tenure as a governor he prioritized on job creation and economic growth (Campbell and Rockman, 2000). However, his tenure was marked by citizens’ anger over Cuban refugees’ escape in 1980 from Port Chaffee and by motor vehicle tax that was unpopular. Due to this, he lost the governor’s post in 1980 (Hamilton, 2004). He was again elected as a governor in 1982, a position he kept for 10 years. During this ten years tenure he is credited for transforming Arkansas economy and improving the state’s educational system significantly. It is also during this period that he became one of the New Democrats’ leading figures. He also served as the National Governors Association Chair from 1986 to 1987, therefore bringing him to a national audience that is beyond the Arkansas audience (Jones, 2005). He ran for presidency of the United States in the 1992 General Elections and he won with 43.0% votes against George H. W. Bush who was the incumbent. This in has been attributed to steep decline of Bush’s public approval and to Clinton’s focus on the domestic issues (Schier, 2000). Many authors and political observers seem to agree that Bill Clinton’s leadership style was fallible, definitive yet effective. They also agree that he exemplified numerous universal qualities and core leadership skills that characterize a transformational and effective leader (Nelson, 2006). So, what re the leadership traits of Bill Clinton that made him an effective leader and with admirable leadership qualities? The first leadership trait is his effective communication skill. A look at his speeches and forums of dialogue demonstrates excellent and effective communication of Bill Clinton. Gillespie and Warren (2008) note that one of the key traits of any effective leader is excellent communications skills. Bill Clinton has the ability of presenting his views convincingly, logically, and eloquently. Various studies have indicated that one of the core effective leadership foundations is public speaking skills (Phillips, 2007). Clinton realized this necessity and he polished his communication and presentation skills. Effective communication skill enabled Bill Clinton to make conviction to the majority of the citizens that he will carry on his priorities and make American nation a more prosperous and stable state. Jones (2007) argues that Bill Clinton seemed to recognize the reality that conviction was extremely important and that his vision, ideas, and priorities had to be communicated effectively before they are acted on, and before the populace follow his dream and vision. He has continued to use this leadership trait after his presidential career; he has been active in giving speeches, founding charitable organizations and generally in public life (Gillespie and Warren, 2008). He used this skill in helping the Democratic Party to win the 2008 presidential election. The second leadership trait of Bill Clinton is that he was visionary. Throughout his academic, professional, as well as political career, he proved to be visionary. His history shows that he realized from a very tender age that he could make a difference in his life, United States, and the world at large (Campbell and Rockman, 2000). His actions showed that he was the kind of person who wanted to make a difference. For example, during his college years, he participated in Vietnam War protests as well as in the organized the Moratorium event in October 1969 with the aim of making a difference on issues that affected the American nation (Jones, 2005). It is evident from his school, career, as well as political life that he was never content to creeping along, instead he pursued avenues that would enable him progress and help him realize his vision. Due to being visionary, Clinton dream of becoming a Governor of Arkansas became a reality when he was still young- he was the youngest Governor in the United States (Schier, 2000). He also made a reality his vision of improving the educational system of Arkansas and reforming the state’s economy. He carried similar vision of improving the economy, security and educational system to presidency. By the time he left office as the president, the United States economy, security, as well as education had improved significantly (Hamilton, 2003). Tenacity and determination is another leadership trait of Bill Clinton. His leadership roles particularly the Governor and President roles illustrated how tenacious and determined he is. He campaigned tirelessly to clinch United States presidency. He finished distant third in the first primary contest. However, this did not dampen his ambitions to become the president. The approval ratings of the incumbent president during the Gulf War were in the range of 80% and he had been considered as unbeatable (Nelson, 2006). Nonetheless, Bill Clinton was determined to campaign and win against George H.W. Bush who was the favorite to win the 1992 presidential elections. When Bush compromised with Democrats to attempt at reducing the Federal deficits, his approval ratings were hurt as he had reneged on the promise of not raising tax (Hamilton, 2004). Clinton on many occasions condemned Bush for failing to keep his promises. His tenacity and determination was also illustrated when he faced impeachment after the 1998 elections in the wake of the Lewinsky Scandal. Besides, he was tenacious and determined to find solutions to the American and the world’s problems (Cohen, 2001). In particular, he made massive efforts towards prevention of global warming and AIDs, and improving the economy. He made tireless campaigning to motivate others to take action towards finding solutions to the problems that America and the world at large faced (Jones, 2005). Moreover, Bill Clinton is inspirational. He is very empathic and inspires people to think about the challenges facing the world and he set the great ambition to deal with them. During his presidency, he was seen to be very passionate about addressing the challenges that faced the world (Schier, 2000). He demonstrated the ability to see the bigger picture to the world’s problems. In addition, he also had a resounding persuasion to communicate people’s role to address these challenges. His inspirational nature saw him have high approval ratings in his first and second term in office (Cohen, 2001). In fact, Bill Clinton’s approval rating at the time he left office matched those of Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan at 68%, which were the highest ratings for American presidents departing office in the modern era (Jones, 2005). Even after he had left office people still thought that he should remain active in public life and that he had something worthwhile to contribute to America and the world at large (Campbell and Rockman, 2000). The final main leadership trait associated with Bill Clinton is the ability to connect with people. Nelson (2006) observes that those who were close to him agree that when he speak he devotes his total attention to engaging in conversation leaving the persons involved believing that they were only two in a crowded room. He has demonstrated the ability to talk in simple but insightful terms that have great impact on people who are listening to him (Gillespie and Warren, 2008). This elusive quality is also known as charisma. His ability to connect with people has won him the hearts of many as they see in him a genuine interest in people and no prejudice whatsoever. This quality of leadership has helped him to build trust of many people, particularly his followers. Unlike many leaders, Bill Clinton does not forcefully implement solutions that he has prepared. He does not dictate terms. Instead, he facilitates the process of coming up with solutions to the problems at hand with the view of arriving at the potential solutions to the problems (Jones, 2007). Because of this leadership trait, he was able to build an incredible global leaders organization that is dedicated to building sustainable and strong global community to address the challenges of access to education and health care, cleaner environment, and poverty among others. Many people in the United States and across the world see him as a great symbol of hope and optimism (Hamilton, 2004). Conclusion It is evidently clear that Bill Clinton demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities. As it can be seen from the above discussion, the main leadership traits associated with Bill Clinton include effective communication skills; being visionary; tenacity and determination; inspirational; and ability to connect with people. These leadership traits enabled him to achieve what he had set out as his top most priorities as the president. During his tenure as president of the United States, he illustrated traits of a true leader. While he made mistakes, he demonstrated strong leadership in many ways, and in ways that proved that he considered the citizens. He promoted good deeds in the government and improved the economy as well as oversaw the decline in crime rates in the country. Understanding the leadership traits of Bill Clinton is fundamental in helping the society understand what effective leadership entails as well as the meaning of leadership in action. References Campbell, C., & Rockman, B. A. (2000). The Clinton legacy. New York: Seven Bridges Press. Cohen, E. (2001). The Polls: Change and Stability in Public Assessments of Personal Traits, Bill Clinton, 1993–99. Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 31. Gillespie, D., & Warren, M. (2008). Teach yourself the Clinton factor: Communicating with charisma. London: Teach Yourself. Jones, C. O. (2005). The presidency in a separated system. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Jones, C. O. (2007). The American presidency: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hamilton, N. (2004). Bill Clinton: An American journey: great expectations. London: Arrow. Hamilton, B. (2003). Bill Clinton: An American Journal. New York: Random House. Nelson, M. (2006). The presidency and the political system. Washington: CQ Press. Phillips, D. T. (2007). The Clinton charisma: A legacy of leadership. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Schier, S. (2000). Postmodern Presidency: Bill Clinton’s Legacy in U.S. Politics. University of Pittsburgh Press. Read More