Oprah Winfrey A Modern Leader - Research Paper Example

Oprah Winfrey, a Modern Leader Abstract Despite Oprah Winfrey not being on TV screens daily following the end of her talk show in 2011, she remains among the world’s headlining billionaires. With the much interest elicited among scholars on charismatic and transformational leadership theories with regard to organizational research, Oprah offers an appropriate illustration for this article. As such, this project seeks to evaluate the leadership traits of Oprah in line with charismatic and transformational theories, giving her strengths and weaknesses. Introduction Leadership has been one of the topics that continuously elicit so much study. According to Judge, Woolf, Hurst and Livingston, leaders are defined as those at the helm of the largest organizations in a society and whose actions could “change the course of history” (2006, p.203). In spite of the fundamentalism of their decisions, effective leadership remains a critical consideration. According to Lussier and Achua (2010), charismatic and transformational leadership represents a new perspective in leadership that would enable organizations steer through the modern-day chaotic, rapidly changing environment. In literature, these two leadership traits would be discussed from both separate and interrelated perspectives, evaluating the influence that leaders have on followers, basically considering the relationship between leaders and their followers. These two theories shed light on leaders who impact extraordinarily on their followers and on the political, economic, cultural and social systems in general (Bass & Bass, 2008). The Reason for Oprah’s Popularity and being an Admired Figure on TV When discussing the charismatic and transformational leadership theories, Oprah Winfrey provides an appropriate example of a modern day leader whose popularity crosses international borders. Such leaders generate excitement, energy and emotion among their followers making them popular and admirable. Oprah has been an icon on TV for a long time. She employed her celebrity status for the good by championing social change in the world. She has advocated for social justice in their various forms including child abuse, domestic violence, poverty and literacy among many others. Her influence transcends her ethnic American audience to cover a global followership. Lussier and Achua (2010) observe that while executing her duties as the host and supervising producer of Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah entertained, empowered and enlightened viewers around the world. Therefore, Oprah exudes charismatic and transformational traits. As such, the show remained the leading talk show for 22 seasons consecutively, viewed by over 48 million viewers weekly in America and aired in more than 120 countries (Stelter, 2011). Perhaps, this popularity could explain the average monthly sales of 2.4 million copies of her O Magazine in 2007. The Locus of Oprah’s Charisma According to Judge et al. (2006), Max Weber was the first scholar to bring up charismatic leadership discussion. Over time, various scholars have critiqued Weber’s idea on charismatic leadership, the most controversial one being the locus of a leader’s charisma (Lussier & Achua, 2010). The debate here would be whether charisma basically results from the social climate, one’s leadership qualities or an interaction of the two. Weber supports the sociological perspective arguing that charismatic leadership arises out of a stressful environment. Proponents of this view argue out that Martin Luther King, Jr., for example, could not emerge as a charismatic leader without the presence of social crises. The opponents of this view believe that charismatic leadership results from people’s leadership attributes including intelligence, self-confidence, trustworthiness, exceptional communication skills and being highly visionary. Even so, an increasingly accepted view appreciates charismatic leadership as a result of an interaction of both social situation and one’s leadership attributes (Bass & Bass, 2008). The locus of the charisma in Oprah could be more attributed to the extraordinary qualities she portrays more than the external environmental factor. Lussier and Achua quote Oprah as saying that “knowledge is power! With knowledge you can soar and reach as high as your dreams can take you” (2010, p. 338). It is this belief that has enabled Oprah save herself from a troubled background, rising up to international fame. Looking back at her history, Oprah lived with her grandmother for the first six years of her life, having been born in Kosciusko, Mississippi. It is during her sixth year with her grandmother that she moved to live with Vernita Lee, her mother in Milwaukee. As she turned eight, she became a victim of sexual abuse, even worse, the perpetrator being her teenage cousin. This marked the beginning of a five-year ordeal with sexual molestation with the perpetrators being her family, including her uncle. This could have caused her to be the rebellious child she became, with the juvenile detention center being where she belonged. At fourteen, life changed for good when she moved to live with a strict disciplinarian, Vernon Winfrey, her father. This marked a fresh start for Oprah. This story of Oprah portrays someone who worked hard to make the remarkable achievements in her life. Her life’s successes could be attributed to mere determination and hard work, on top of education with the desire to change the environment she grew up in. Therefore, her locus of charisma emanates from both the social environment and her attributes. The Effect of Oprah’s Charisma on her Followers Lussier and Achua (2010) describe charismatic leader-follower relationship as being very emotional. It could be likened to a master-disciple relationship though the followership in this case would be primarily out of commitment, passionate devotion and love. The followers would believe in the charismatic leader’s power to cause radical change based on their unique transcendent vision. They perceive the charismatic leader as an object of identification and would strive to emulate the leader’s behavior. Furthermore, charismatic leaders would cause followers to set higher goals and have confidence in the attainment of such goals. Bass and Bass (2008) acknowledge that such leaders could make an organization appealing to external stakeholders. These effects of charismatic leadership could be illustrated by how Oprah’s charisma influences her followers. The followers of Oprah exhibit loyalty to her and her beliefs and strongly show unconditional acceptance and affection and willingly accept whatever cause Oprah would champion. Lussier and Achua (2010) give an example of an Oprah Winfrey Show episode in 1997 where this charismatic leader urged viewers to make a difference on other people’s lives using their own lives, a call that saw the creation of Oprah’s Angel Network, a public charity, in the following year. This charity course has seen the raised donations distributed to non-profit organizations around the world to help establish schools and scholarships, build youth centers and homes and support shelter for women. Therefore, Oprah has been able to instill specific values of frankness, loyalty and honesty on their followers that has enabled them positively impact on the lives of people worldwide. Is Oprah a Socialized Charismatic Leader or a Personalized Charismatic Leader? Lussier and Achua appreciate charisma as a “double-edged sword” because while it could lead to positive outcomes as in the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi, it could also lead to negative outcomes as was the case with the leadership of Adolph Hitler and David Koresh (2010, p. 345). To differentiate between the two, the personality and values of a leader would be critical to consider. The valuation theory explains opposing but complimentary drivers of one’s behavior: self-glorification based on self-enhancement and self-maintenance that would influence the meaning of one in life through protecting, maintaining and finally aggrandizing such a person’s self esteem, consistent with negative charisma; and self-transcendence based on collective interest that provides meaning to life through supportive relationships and is consistent with positive charisma. This differentiation separates a socialized charismatic leader, SCL from a personalized charismatic leader, PCL. SCL possess an empowering, self-transcendent and egalitarian personality as opposed to PCL who possess a narcissistic, Machiavellian and dominant personality (Judge et al., 2006). While the latter follows organization-driven goals and enhance empowerment, equal involvement of followers and personal growth, the latter pursues leader-driven objectives, promoting a feeling of dependency, submission and obedience among followers. With Oprah, her character and particularly her charitable activities point out to a socialized more than a personalized charismatic leader. The self-transcendence motive characteristic of a socialized charismatic leader encompasses collective interest, uses supportive relationships to provide meanings and aligns to positive charisma. This is what drives Oprah as the establishment of her Oprah Winfrey Foundation aimed at supporting the well-being, education, empowerment and inspiration of children, women and families all over the world. Oprah has donated millions of dollars to help those with low opportunities in life including giving scholarships to students expected to give back to their respective societies. Oprah’s Qualities of Charismatic Leadership Various qualities would differentiate charismatic from non-charismatic leaders. Attribution theorists according to Lussier and Achua (2010) employ behavioral differences in accomplishing this distinction task. Bass and Bass (2008) document a charismatic leader as being visionary and having a sense of purpose; able to effectively communicate the vision; able to motivate other people to join in the cause of the vision; and being focused and consistent, exhibiting high sense of confidence to accomplish the set mission. Such leaders have a high risk orientation and minimal internal conflict. Going by these traits of a charismatic leader, Oprah exemplifies charismatic leadership, being among the richest Americans yet humble among people. In fact, Lussier and Achua (2010) appreciate Oprah as being considered as a sister to her employees. Oprah is a confident, energetic, personable and brilliant person, also exuding superb communication skills and full of moral conviction (Forbes, 2012). When she originally started her show, the aim was to encourage, uplift, entertain and enlighten television viewers which was later changed to aim at transforming the lives of people, make people perceive themselves differently and make homes happy and fulfilled. Is Oprah a Transformational Leader, a Charismatic Leader or Both? Charisma and transformation have widely been bundled together when considering leadership styles, based on charisma being foundational in both. But in essence, Lussier and Achua (2010) consider charisma as one of the attributes that constitute transformational leadership. These two overlap and reinforce each other from the perspective of power and moral leadership. It would be interesting to note that while all charismatic leaders are transformational by nature, not all transformational leaders attain their objectives through charismatic influence. While transformational leaders, normally many in number, would be found at all organizational levels, charismatic leaders would only be realized in case of a crisis and are few (Dvir, Eden, Avolio & Shamir, 2002). Emotional resistance exuded towards charismatic leaders would be more extreme as opposed to that towards transformational leaders. Transformational leaders generally exhibit role modeling, empowerment, personalized leader-member exchange, create and articulate vision and would foster teamwork. In the light of this discussion, Oprah passes as a transformational leader. Oprah founded her production company, Harpo Productions in 1986, with the aim of introducing quality entertainment projects in production works. Thereafter, Oprah made history by being the first woman to produce her own talk show, Oprah Winfrey Show, courtesy of Harpo Productions which took over this production responsibility from Capitol Cities/ABC. Harpo is a name that cannot be ignored in modern television and film productions. Despite the privacy of the finances of Harpo, Forbes Magazine estimates its worth at $675 million (Forbes, 2012). But additionally, Oprah’s magazine publication has seen her transform the lives of the over 2 million readers of her O, The Oprah Magazine monthly. This magazine went international since the launch of its international edition in South Africa in 2002. With these charismatic traits added to her transformational leadership, Oprah would thus be said to be both a charismatic and transformational leader. Factors that have contributed to Oprah’s Understanding Judge et al. (2006) define personal meaning as the extent to which a life makes emotional sense and also to which its demands are viewed as worthy of commitment and energy. In basic sense, it refers to the equilibrium maintenance between official and personal life. This derives from purpose in life, PIL which concerns a positive attitude in possessing a life’s transcendent vision. The type and depth of PIL majorly determine motivation, especially in a challenging context. The general recognition has been that charismatic leaders would have a high sense of PIL and exhibit greater willingness to act on it. Among the factors that Lussier and Achua (2010) document as affecting personal meaning include values, personal interests, selflessness, legacy, self-belief and faith and spirituality. For Oprah, to illustrate her selflessness, legacy, values and activist mind-set as factors that influence personal meaning, it would be critical to evaluate the functions of her Oprah Winfrey Foundation. Through this private charity whose institution aims at inspiring, educating, empowering and fighting for the welfare of children, women and families in general drawn from all parts of the world, the needs of people with low opportunities have been addressed. Oprah in herself has given millions of dollars, supplemented with donor grants, to give students with merit an opportunity to go to school. Through the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program, Lussier and Achua (2010) indicate that Oprah offers scholarships to students who through education would give back to their communities in the US and beyond. Other than education, humanitarian efforts have been undertaken by the foundation in developing countries including the ChristmasKindness South Africa 2002 where Oprah visited rural schools and orphanages giving food, school supplies, books, athletic shoes and toys. In addition to sustaining this in the following year, Oprah partnered with the Ministry of Education of South Africa so as to build girls’ model leadership school that is now up and running (Forbes, 2012). Finally, it would be important to appreciate Oprah’s open declaration of her spirituality and faith in her shows. Oprah’s Strengths and Weaknesses Unlike an ordinary person, Oprah has various strengths that have shaped her life into being a highly respected celebrity. Of importance would be to acknowledge that education enlightened her and empowered her among her fellow women in the world. This enabled her communicate effectively to her international audience and increased her intelligence. Secondly, her celebrity status made it easy for her to establish a rapport with world leaders. This enabled her to share her concerns with resourceful persons hence the success of her projects. Lastly, her constant presence in the media through her TV show and magazine has enabled her effectively reach out to her audience from the international arena (www.oprah.com). It could be argued out that her premiership into the media in a time when a majority of the countries adopted freedom of expression and technological advancement made her easily cross international boundaries through media. Pointing out weaknesses in Oprah Winfrey could be a cumbersome task as she transforms weaknesses in her life into strengths. Notably, her background environment did not support positive outcome in life, having not enjoyed both-parents upbringing and further having suffered sexual abuse from her family (Lussier & Achua, 2010). In spite of this discouraging environment being a weakness in nurturing Oprah, not only as a decent human but also a leader, she rose above this and her determination has made her a respected global leader. Conclusion Oprah Winfrey provides an appropriate illustration of both a charismatic and transformational leader who has risen from humble backgrounds to create massive followers from an international scope. Other than the environment being responsible for the charisma in Oprah, her attributes have oozed out the positive leadership from her. In spite of her celebrity, Oprah lays low and uses her influence to champion the welfare of the less fortunate, particularly focusing on the children, women and families. She finds strength in every of her weaknesses. Therefore, even after leaving TV screens about two years ago, Oprah’s legacy lives on as she curves history as being a transformational and charismatic leader who influences the world. References Bass, B. M. & Bass, R. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications (4th ed.). New York, NY: The Free Press. Dvir, T., Eden, D., Avolio, B. J. & Shamir, B. (2002). Impact of transformational leadership on follower development and performance: A field experiment. Academy of Management Journal, 45(4), 735 – 744. Forbes, Moira. (2012, September 9). Oprah Winfrey talks philanthropy, failure and what every guest – including Beyoncé – asks her. Forbes. Retrieved 24 April 2013 from http://www.forbes.com Judge, T. A., Woolf, E. F., Hurst, C. & Livingston, B. (2006). Charismatic and transformational leadership: A review and an agenda for future research. Organizational Psychology, 50(4), 203 – 214. Lussier, R. N. & Achua, C. F. (2010). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development (4th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Stelter, B. (2011, May 22). Talk show ends and Oprah Winfrey moves on. The New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com Read More