Trump: Charismatic Leader or Just an Anomaly?
Introduction
The election of President Donald Trump has to be more than a mere blip on the screen of U.S. History. Despite Trump's polarizing personality and the fact that he did not carry the popular vote, his election could still be characterized as the rise of a "dangerous charismatic leader" born out of the frustration of the masses as described by German sociologist and political theorist, Max Weber who lived from 1864-1920. This notion of charismatic leadership can be used to explain or rationalize the rise of demons and heroes and everyone in between, including Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, Martin Luther King, Jr. and even Charles Manson. But charismatic leaders need not appeal to all, especially initially. In fact, the manner in which they deal with those who disagree with them is often viewed as part of their charisma (Tucker, pp. 735-736). Similarly, the social change they seek is not necessarily based on honorable or moral principles. Because charismatic leaders take advantage of the collective despair of the people, the social
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As Dryzek & Dunleavy explain, Weber thought that as the more traditional rule (like monarchies) gave way to governments founded on rational legal principles, the rise of "dangerous charismatic leaders" would become more likely if and when the people became dissatisfied with the state of things (p. 63). Although charismatic leaders tend to possess messiah-like qualities, possessing these qualities does not guarantee charisma. Instead Weber stresses the need to look at the allegiance of the "disciples" to determine whether a leader is in fact charismatic (p.
Our team presentation focused on three Latino gangs, MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), the Mexican Mafia and the Los Surenos gang. My part of the presentation was to provide information on the type of crime these three gangs are known to commit. The crimes committed by the MS-13 gang are varied, violent, and take place all over the country. The FBI even put together a task force called the MS-13 National Gang Task Force in December of 2004 to try to put a stop to this gang’s activities. (www.fbi.gov). Los Surenos or Sur-13, originally based in Los Angeles, has also branched out from turf wars with rival gangs to “for profit”, violent crimes across the country. The Mexican Mafia has a similar story to tell as well in regards to gang crimes, which again range from respect crimes, and retaliatory violence to crimes for profit.
What explains the shocking popularity of the Donald Trump's reality series The Apprentice? There are a number of possible reasons. It certainly could be our endless curiosity about the lives of the rich and famous. It may also be explained by our current interest in staring into the fishbowl drama watching real life struggles, humiliations and victories. Perhaps it's the chance to witness, from a safe distance, the scary and possibly all-to-familiar horror of being fired from a desirable position. These are reasonable answers however, there seems to be much more to it than this. The wildly successful show, The Apprentice, has hit on something big. It responds to an ongoing and unresolved fascination with the mysterious, complex and universally meaningful phenomena called LEADERSHIP.
“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority”. The idea of the quote can be explained by Charismatic Leadership that founded by Max Weber in the 1920’s. Sociologist Max Weber defined charismatic leadership as individuals who possess “a gift of grace”. Charismatic leaders have strong visionary qualities and the ability to engage others in action. Furthermore, he also defines charismatic leaders are like hero or people with extraordinary qualities (12Manage, 2016). Weber (1947) stated that leaders with high charisma often be viewed as they have endowed with exceptional powers.
The conflict theory states that religion perpetuates social inequalities and comforts a person’s misery (Henslin 434). Of course, the functional perspective views religion as fundamental in reaching universal human needs: purpose, emotional comfort, social solidarity, and everyday guidelines (Henslin 429). Religion may provide a base to those who look for guidance and an afterlife or reward to work towards. Indeed, people may look to cults to gain solidarity but may soon find distress and isolation. In current events, Donald Trump has played the role of a charismatic leader. While encompassing a narcissistic personality and being charged with sexual assault on multiple occasions, he became President-elect in 2016. Donald Trump gripped the fear of the current political system in order to gain attention and praise from the silent majority. The way he promotes himself and speaks also invokes fear within Americans. Overall, by recognizing cult-like behavior, it will help people make informed decisions and become more aware of groups and/or leaders that bolster an extreme form of religion or
The idea of approaching leadership from the standpoint of values has been echoed in several studies. O’Toole (1995) compared and contrasted contingency and situational approach to leadership with value-based leadership. He stated that all leadership styles eventually enforces the individuals to follow what their leader commands them to do rather than focusing on what is the will of the followers – this he called as disrespect for the individuals. It is important for the leader to understand, why people are resistant to change in reality and must make a personal commitment to overcome this resistance to changing environment or culture. He suggested that if the company wants to initiate change that is constructive, focus must be placed on the
The assignment for week four is to assess and review results from the Authentic Leadership Self Assessment Questionnaire. The ALQ was created to provide a means to assess the parameters of authentic leadership and to allow for opinion on the behaviors that encompass Authentic Leadership Style (Northouse, 2013). Basically, the questionnaire and the model allows and individual to understand how followers or people perceive leadership authenticity.
The principles of leadership and management are helps to understand the management style and make the effective decision. An effective decision helps to gain the success of an organization. Lots of way to manage and collect information/question for leadership and management which are describing in the below:
Donald Trump is known for his eccentricity and unconventional businesses practices. He exhibits an unconventional leadership style. Donald Trump started early to develop his personal brand, this is exhibited by every piece of real estate Mr. Trump owns. Every casino, building or golf course has his name on it. He is eccentric, powerful, but yet he makes very smart business decisions. He is also a risk taker. All these business skills have made him a very well recognized business leader, and one of the nations most known billionaires. Donald Trump has appeared in many magazines, has written a couple of books, and even gotten his own show on NBC called “The Apprentice”. But what makes Donald Trump successful in almost every endeavor he takes on? Was he born a leader? or did he just become a great leader. There are certain characteristics common in all leaders. Some of those are values, skills and cognitive abilities. Mr. Trump exhibits all of these traits. If this is what has made him as successful as he is, why are certain leaders not able to achieve his type of success? Perhaps he has something extra that has propelled him above everybody else. Everything that he touches seems to turn to gold. Donald Trump’s leadership styles have made him rich, powerful, famous and known through out the world. This paper will examine some of those leadership styles.
Leadership is not defined by position. Leadership is an extraordinary responsibility given only to those willing to exude selflessness, decisiveness, and wisdom. CSM William R. Hambrick, Jr is an accomplished leader that embodies the values, attributes, and competencies that I aspire to convey to my subordinates. The impact that CSM Hambrick has had on my career and leadership philosophy is immeasurable. His far-reaching legacy is one of confidence, sound judgment, and empathy.
On projects I have taken the lead on, I have always valued input from other employees. This assumes the fact that the employee is competent in their area, and have a willingness to share ideas with management. I encourage active participation, and I am often surprised at some of the answers that have come out of collaborative meetings. When employees feel at ease to share their ideas, genuinely good things
Many great leaders have one thing in common and that is charisma. Charismatic leaders are those that have the capability to inspire and encourage people to do more than they would normally do, despite obstacles and personal sacrifice. (Daft, R.L, pg. 364) Charisma is what provokes energy and commitment out of its followers. These leaders possess the power to motivate their followers to do almost anything. They create an atmosphere of change and express an ideal vision of a better future. The most common characteristics of the charismatic leader involve maturity, communication, humility, and inspiration. These unique qualities impact their followers and conduct themselves in such a way that allows for remarkable results. Then one wonders, is charisma something you are born with? And if not, is it possible for it to be developed or even trained through life experiences?
Over the course of my professional career in different organizations in the past three years, I have worked under many managers. This has been a learning curve for me to understand the different managing styles and leadership characteristics of people. One of the managers whom I worked under, was the lead in a government project which also happened to be my last project before I took a break for continuing my studies, is a person I admire till date. I learned several life lessons in addition to the technical subject associated with the industry. This paper demonstrates the leadership styles exhibited by my manager with suitable examples.
In this paper I will look at the four major leadership styles, their characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and in what situations a particular leadership style is desired. Additionally, I will look at my leadership style and how I acquired this style throughout my career.
Has perception of charismatic leadership changed the playing field for the types of leaders that organizations are in search of? Many feel that the weight of the leader’s charisma as the focus of leadership needs to be re-examined. As a result, the charismatic leader may be viewed probably as one of the most contentious leadership styles because of the focus on the leader’s personal characteristics, often defining them as narcissists. Given the large number of narcissists at the helm or corporations today, the challenge facing organizations is to ensure that such leaders do not self-destruct or lead the company to disaster (Maccoby, 2000).
There are a few different types of well known leadership styles, authoritarian, delegative, and democratic. To assess my leadership style I used two online tests to help me determine my style. I felt the results were accurate and I fall into a democratic style/participative style. If I am leading I prefer to include the group and get their feedback on solving issues. However, I still make the final decision after listening to the thoughts of the group on a particular topic. This is considered to be a positive style of leadership that is inspiring to the group involved. The leaders decision making tends to be more accurate due to the input of other experts. (Cite)