Leading Public Organizations - Essay Example

Leadership and Communication Styles Leadership is not only applicable in the organization, workplace, or in the family because its greater cause is to positively influence and motivate the people around them to achieve common goals. Different types of leaders have different leadership styles like Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Bill Clinton is the 42nd President of the United States and has been elected for two terms (1993-2001). During his term, the economy of the U.S. is into strong recovery despite of several controversies and impeachment proceedings.

Because of his personal charm and grace, Bill Clinton is considered to be a good and effective leader. “A charismatic leader uses his or her enthusiasm and energy to motivate others” (Brophy 17). Throughout his presidency, his charismatic leadership style is considered to be one of his assets that maintained his popularity. In fact, he is considered to be one of the most charismatic leaders in the world together with John F. Kennedy and Adolf Hitler. He is a type of leader that is willing to listen to a certain person with full attention that would make a certain person feel his/her importance at that certain moment.

This kind of leader is willing to take risks in order to be successful and be distinct from others; however, there are times that this person is infatuated by realities or failures around him. According to Landy and Conte, a charismatic leader has a “dynamic and expressive communication style” (566). Clinton is communicating in an assertive manner as he gives inspiration to many people; he is open to any criticisms, and he listens with empathy and honesty. George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the U.S. and he is the successor of Bill Clinton serving from 2001 to 2009.

Bush leadership style is autocratic or command and control style, the same with most dictators like Hitler and Stalin. This type of leader often acts independently, and expects to be treated with respect because of their unlimited autocratic power. It is said that this tough decisive leadership is not applicable in a modern day society because it will only lead to fear, violent and misunderstandings; however, if used responsively, this style is very effective (Brophy 15). Bush is one of the many leaders that are using assertive style of communication, but he is not a good communicator compared to Bill Clinton, in fact, he is most effective only in small group of people rather than the general public and he is highly scripted (Edwards and Wayne 277).

Bill Clinton is a charismatic leader with a good communication skill, while George W. Bush is a conservative authoritarian leader that is not a good communicator. These two former U.S. presidents are using different leadership and communication approaches but despite of disparity, both of them are known to be effective leaders. This is because an effective leader is flexible enough to use different styles and techniques as to what is appropriate in a certain situation, task, or people involved (Krames 66).

There are no leadership and communication styles that are established to be better than others because it needs to have a mix elements of all those styles in order to be competent. Works Cited Brophy, John R. Leadership Essentials for Emergency Medical Services. United Kingdom: Jones and Bartlett Publishers International, 2010. Print. Edwards, George C., and Stephen J. Wayne. Presidential Leadership: Politics and Policy Making. USA: Wadsworth. Krames, Jeffrey A. The U.S. Army Leadership Field Manual.

USA: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print. Landy, Frank J., and Jeffrey M. Conte. Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010. Print.