Today, women are entering the leadership sphere, which is mainly occupied by men. Many women leaders believe that people perform best when they feel good about themselves and their work. An effective leader creates results, reaches goals and deadlines, and quickly recognizes vision and objectives with high level of quality and productivity. To accomplish these, a leader should have special qualities like able to motivate others, specific and technical skill set, clear sense of purpose, mission, clear goals, focus and commitment. Over the years, women have proven themselves to be successful leaders as men. For instance, Oprah Winfrey, one of the most successful and famous African-American women in history to have made a huge impact and difference …show more content…
She was born in rural Mississippi to her single teenage mother, Vernita Lee. She was raised by her grandmother for the first few years, then lived and raised by her mother in Milwaukee from age three to fourteen. Oprah’s mother taught her how to read at a very young age, making Oprah the smartest and most intelligent, young African-American girl in the neighborhood she grew up in. Oprah started encountering challenges as she grew older and prettier before reaching the age of ten. Before the age of ten, Oprah suffered a substantial amount of abuse, hardship, and molestation from close family members and acquaintances of her mother. Then, at the age of thirteen, she escaped home and was went to a juvenile detention home, only to be rejected admittance since all the beds were …show more content…
Oprah was pregnant and give birth to a son who died as an infant. During this time, her mother became frustrated and sent her way to live with her father, Vernon Winfrey, in Nashville, Tennessee. Oprah’s father was had strict rules and high standards, and even her on a set curfew every day. Oprah had a midnight curfew and she was required to read a book and write a book report every week. Though her father strictness, he always wanted the best for Oprah. He taught her the values and morals of life. With her father’s help, Oprah managed to repair her disordered and wild life. Eventually, Oprah made it to the honor roll list in school, she was nominated “Most Popular Girl” she was a part of the East Nashville High School speech team, and was second in place worldwide for dramatic interpretation. To top it off, during Oprah’s last year of high school, she entered and won a speaking competition, giving her full scholarship to the State University of Tennessee, which is historically known as the largest and only state-funded, black institution in Tennessee. This is where Oprah studied and majored Speech Communication and Performing Arts (Wikipedia, 2017). While at the State University of Tennessee, it was one of Oprah’s professors who pushed her into accepting the job offer as a Co-Anchor for CBS television station. This job was what started Oprah’s career and her many successes in
Oprah Winfrey is as American entrepreneur and a popular talk show host. She was born on January 29 1954 in Kosciusko Mississippi. She was the result of a broken teenage relationship and teenage pregnancy so as you can imagine it had quite an impact on her development as she grew up. Against all odds she became a very successful woman and is currently worth 2.8 billion USD.
Oprah Winfrey achieved great success in her various endeavors, growing from a news reporter in Nashville to the world-famous talk show host she is today. During the 1980s, talk shows were a crucial part of daytime television. Shows were organized based upon their content and varied greatly in subject. The popularity of talk shows led many people to enter this field, leading to a constant struggle for airtime. Oprah’s rise to fame began when she moved from her hometown in Nashville, to college in Baltimore and ultimately to Chicago, where she lives today. She appeared on an early morning television program called A.M. Chicago, which was later retitled The Oprah Winfrey Show which aired its first episode on September 8, 1986. Talk shows like Oprah’s were wildly popular, especially to women, because they focused on entertaining their viewers rather than discussing political problems. The thirty-minute to hour-long programs allowed for people to escape their problems, even if only for a short period of time (Rose). Biographer, Ilene Cooper took on the challenge of writing a biography about the complex and extraordinary life of Oprah Winfrey. In an article on the Kirkus Review website, published in 2010, a critic enjoys how the author of the biography, Up close: Oprah Winfrey, “makes excellent use of many quotes from interviews, Oprah’s own writing and, of course, her television show” (“Oprah Winfrey”). This reviewer appreciates how the biographer uses all of her resources to understand more information about Oprah. Some of Oprah’s greatest contributions to society are her generous donations to several organizations, and the way she encourages individuals to take actions that can not on...
After her birth, Winfrey’s mother traveled north while Winfrey spent six years living in poverty with her grandmother. They were so poor that Winfrey often wore dresses made out of potato sacks, and was repeatedly made fun of by the children. Hattie Mae Lee, was a humble grandmother, though, she had taught Winfrey how to read before the age of three! She often took her to the local church where she was soon nicknamed “The Preacher” for the ability to recite Bible verses. Of course with every guardian, there were rules, and Lee’s rules were that if Winfrey did not do her chores or misbehaved in any way shape or form, Lee would hit her with a stick.
Leadership is a complex idea that is often is hard to define. Everyone seems to have different characteristics that they feel contribute to a good leader. Even though there is no straightforward definition of leadership, there are still certain personality traits, behaviors, skills, and motivators that people admire in a leader. The best example to show how leaders utilize these characteristics is to examine a prominent figure in pop culture, such as Beyoncé. Her life is transparent enough that we can analyze her leadership skills, and how they change in any given situation. Beyoncé’s impact as a leader will be analyzed in three different categories.
Oprah’s father made sure she was well educated by having her write book reports, learning vocabulary, and had strict rules for her as she grew up. She entered into the Elks Club speaking contest and won a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. The following year Oprah Winfrey was invited to the White House Conference on Youth. Oprah was becoming known for her speaking skills. She was offered a broadcasting job that she turned down twice. However, she eventually accepted it and became the first African American female co anchor of the evening news as a sophomore in college at just nineteen years
Oprah Winfrey grew up in abuse and poverty, but that did not stop her in being the women she is today. Oprah is one of the richest women on Earth, but not without her struggles. On top of that, Oprah is a capitalist pragmatist (Lofton, 2006). Oprah believes in a spiritual path, but one that does not concern religion (Lofton, 2006). Her religion is more about perfecting herself and trying to be the perfect human being (Lofton, 2006). Her family and past, her career, the nature of how she sees God, and the influence she has on people all influence Oprah and her worldview.
Oprah Winfrey lived a very rough early life until Vernon Winfrey took her into good hands. She lived in Kosciusko, Missippi for the first 6 years of her life, and then she moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother who was a housemaid. When Oprah lived with her mother she was sexually molested during the daytime when her mother would work the long days. This abuse went on everyday possible for 4 years until she was out on her own at age 14. Oprah had given birth to a baby, which had unexpectedly died during infancy. After the baby had died she moved in with her Father who lived in Tennessee. “Vernon Winfrey was a strict parent, but he gave his daughter the secure home that Oprah needed. He saw to it that she met a curfew, and he required her to read a book and write a book report as well. “As strict s he was,” says Oprah, “ he had some concerns about me making the best of my ...
She set up campaigns and looked to teach kids to be who they wanted to be. She also protested and spoke publicly to others about segregation. A Biography.com editor stated, ““She founded the Family for Better Lives foundation and also contributes to her alma mater, Tennessee State University. In September 2002, Oprah was named the first recipient of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.” She wanted kids and adults to become who they wanted to be without the hate and discrimination from others. She knew from experience as a child that what she wanted to be was not possible according to people she was around. She had to overcome hate and fear of failing as well as her family not supporting her in the beginning. She also faced a death of her infant child. The same article as earlier states, “she has a half-sister named Patricia. Oprah's mother gave birth to a baby girl in 1963. At the time, Oprah was 9 years old, and living with her father. Lee put the child up for adoption because she believed that she wouldn't be able to get off public assistance if she had another child to care for. Patricia lived in a series of foster homes until she was 7 years old.” She even had family members that she had never met until later in her life that she once said that she knew that they would’ve been the ones to support her. Although, she
Oprah Winfrey, a woman of triumph, came from an atrocious background. Presently recognized as one of the wealthiest women in the world, was not always the case for Winfrey. She grew up in a household
Oprah Winfrey was raise in a very bad economically town in the city of Milwaukee, Mississippi. Shortly, after being born her mother abandoned her, so she was raised by her grandmother. Her grandmother was very religious, therefore; Oprah had religion incorporated in her life because of it. In addition, on account of her grandma Oprah
Oprah was born on a farm in 1954 to a poor family. Winfrey enjoyed reciting African American poetry, and became known as the "little speaker" in her town. When she was 12, Winfrey won $500 for a speech she gave at her father 's church. From then on she wanted to "be paid to talk." When Winfrey was a teenager, her dream was put on hold. Some of the trusted men of her family began to sexually abuse her. She lashed out in anger at the world by lying to her mother, running away from home, and stealing. Unaware of what Winfrey was going through, her mother sent her away to live with her father. If her mother never sent her away, Oprah 's life would have been much different. At age 17, Oprah Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant and was offered an on-air job at WVOL, a radio station for the African American community in Nashville. Oprah continued to work at WVOL in her first years of college, but her broadcasting career was already taking off. She left school and signed on with a local television station as a reporter and anchor. In 1976, she moved to Baltimore to join WJZ-TV News as a co-anchor. There, she co-hosted her first talk show, People Are Talking, while continuing to serve as anchor and news reporter. In January 1984, she was invited to Chicago to host a half-hour morning program on WLS-TV. In less than a year, she turned AM Chicago into the hottest show in
Oprah Winfrey moved back and forth between her mother, father, and grandmother while growing up. Oprah was born in Mississippi in 1954. She lived on a farm with her grandparents. Her parents got into a divorce( Kramer 6). When Oprah was 13 she moved to her dad's house. her dad could not take care of Oprah (Kramer 10). Her dad gave Oprah to her mom. Oprah ran away from home for one week before she came home. A few years later she got abused from her cousin, uncle, and a close family friend ( Kramer 11). Oprah had many struggles while growing up like moving a lot and getting abused.
Oprah Winfrey was born in the Kosciusko, Mississippi, on January 29 1954. She was sexually abused by a number of male relatives and friends of her mother’s, Vernita she moved to Nashville to live with her father, Vernon, a barber and businessman. Oprah Winfrey family Stedman Graham, Veron Winfrey, Vernita Lee, Patricia Lloyd, Jeffrey Lee and Patricia Lofton. Oprah was the American’s first lady of the talk show. Her name was supposed to be Orpah from the bible. Winfrey became Miss Black Nashville and Miss Tennessee during her freshman year at Tennessee. Oprah moved to Chicago, Illinois, In January 1984. Her first job as a teenager was working as a local grocery store.
Oprah was born to an unmarried teenage mother. Oprah spent her first six years living with her grandmother, who taught her how to read and write. Oprah credit’s her career choice to her grandmother’s influence and encouragement to speak in public. As for Ellen who was born and raised in Louisiana, by both her parents. By the age of thirteen Ellen’s parents divorced; shortly after her mother remarried and they moved to Texas. Oprah has received two honorary doctorate degrees from both Duke and Harvard. Oprah started working in local media, she was both the youngest and the first black female news anchor at Nashville’s WLAC-TV. Ellen, however, attended the University of New Orleans where she majored in communication studies but left
For most people growing up is filled with memories of joy and happiness. A childhood should be filled with affection and care, but Oprah did not always feel those things. Oprah did not have such a great upbringing, but despite the odds she rose up and became who she had wanted to be. Oprah had dealt with many accounts of sexual abuse, the lack of attention from her mother, and moving from place-to-place for most of her early years (Fry, web). Not only was Oprah faced sexual abuse, but she also became pregnant from one of the instances (Fry, web). This made things even more difficult for the young Oprah.