Essay on Obama

Barack Obama! Throughout, American history there has been many influential leaders who have brought justice, freedom, and change to its nation. From George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and now finally the 44th president of the USA “Barack Hussein Obama”, there have been many great people who have made history. As the first African American to become president and instil the ideology “Yes We Can” a motto now embedded in American tradition. Obama has succeeded in bringing free health care as well as bringing the solider home. It takes a great man to run a nation but it takes a great leader to have the confidence of the people and stay true to fulfilling each promise. A leader comes in many forms and Barack Obama exemplifies more than one leadership style but a combination, showing his versatility and his compassion for the American people. As a man of change who has become great in the United States of America he represents the leadership style which will be looked through trait theory as well as behavioural and motivation theory thus showing his achievements and his urge to change “…American people that are one nation under God, and may call that God different names but remain one nation” (Barack Obama Quote). What is a leadership? It is defined as “the influential process of leaders and followers to achieve organizational objective through change”. To take on a leadership role is not the easiest task for every individual, however, for one African American man he took on this role. His name is Barack Hussein Obama. Born August 4th 1961, he was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother, Ann Dunham is a white American from Kansas while his father Barack Hussein Obama Sr. was born of Kenyan decent in Africa. Growing up as a young man he had talents that the average Joe did not have or wished that they had. One of the talents which he acquired during his early twenties was becoming a community organizer and later on a human rights activist. Human rights activists tend to focus on key issues to produce a better outcome for the society and its community. Many activists like Cesar Chavez, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr. and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi have fought endlessly to provide freedom and change to their nation as a whole. Human right activist do not only get the nations’ attention but install change for today, tomorrow and the future to come. Also, previous President Jimmy Carter and founder of the not-for-profit Carter Center, praised Obama and suggested that he had the potential to be a human rights leader. Barack Obama was praised by all whose heart he had touched. His intelligence, self-confidence and integrity allowed him to quickly gain the trust American before becoming president. Continuing his various foundational works especially in Chicago; in the heart of where he used to reside in, there happened to be an outpour of guns and drugs within the black community. In addition, as a previous Senator Barack Obama worked his way through. He eventually was rewarded with a position as executive director at the Annenberg Challenge Grant Foundation. Nonetheless, his implementation of change began to blossom within Chicago. His sensitivity to his community allowed him to acquire emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence requires that you are able to work with others while forming a healthy relationship with them as well.Prior to becoming elected president in 2008 he was first elected Senator of Illinois while he was still a law professor at the University of Chicago in the year 2004 winning seventy percent of the votes. Also, during his presidential campaign in 2008 he began to draw out crowds not only in the US but worldwide. Also progressing forward with the historic campaign emotions ran high as anxiety about Obama among (Republicans and conservatives) and enthusiasm, especially among younger voters, generated the highest voter turnout since the 1960s. There is no doubt that Obama’s nomination and victory in the 2008 presidential election are historic. A state of relief fell upon non-white and white Americans that in “the land of the free” reconstruction of equality came since the year of the Civil Rights and now it finally feels like it is abolished. The acknowledgment of hope is now a mobilized tool which allows the construction of collective identity and agency. Finally on January 20th, 2009 Obama was inaugurated the 44th President of the United States. Obama and Trait Theory As a president and a leader, he possesses many personality traits. Some of his traits will be commenced from The Big Five Model of Personality which is the most widely accepted way to classify a personality. The Big Five Model of Personality consists of five different dimensions. They are Surgency, Agreeableness, Adjustment, Conscientious, and Openness to Experience. A person or leader who is looked at from the Big Five Model does not need to acquire a strong score in all areas. However, he exemplifies high scores in agreeableness (getting along with others), adjustment (emotional stability) and openness to experience (achievement). Another theory which can be viewed is Theory X and Theory Y. They explain and predict leadership behaviour and performance based on the leader’s attitude about followers. Leaders in Theory X, their employees normally dislike work and require supervision. On the other hand leaders in Theory Y their employees like to work and there is no supervision necessary. Examining these theories, President Obama would fall under Theory Y. This is because his emotional intelligence is (to those who work with him or who watch him on T.V) considered to contain self-awareness, social awareness, and self-management and relationship management. He is also quoted saying “I don’t get too high when things are going well and I don’t get too low when things are going tough,” Obama has remarked. Obama and Behavioural and Motivation Theory Comparing President Obama to the University of Iowa Research Study he exhibits a variety of traits, skills and behaviours that leaders use to cooperate with their followers. There are also two styles within this research. They are autocratic leaders which makes decision and tells employees what to do and democratic leaders who encourage decision making from employees. Well as a democratic leader who won the presidential election he does demonstrate leadership traits. He speaks for the people and by doing so he has promoted medical care for all the Americans that previously did not obtain health insurance. The compassionate man President Obama is his strength as an intermediary between people as well as his overwhelming desire for peace for all people on earth, founder in the commandment of neighbourly love he resembles Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Ranking from one to five, one being the lowest and five being the highest they are: psychological needs (basic needs), safety needs (individuals concerns with safety and security are met), belongingness needs (social needs), esteem need (self-confidence and self-respect), and finally self-actualization (highest need to seek potential) (Lussier and Achua 81-2). Even now as a president, father and husband he still instills motivation to anyone that chases a certain outcome that affects their performance. In fact, Obama keeps telling himself that “The Audacity of Hope”, “there’s a bright side somewhere … don’t rest until you find it…” (Obama 294). Becoming a president is a dream but becoming a leader is the greatest gift of all. President Barack Hussein Obama has made a historical change to the United States in November 2008. Not only is he a democratic leader but he is also a great leader in every way. President Obama has now embedded his motto “Yes We Can” into a land of dreams because he said that “We are the change that we seek” (Barack Obama quote)