President Barack Obama: Transformational Leader

Management Theories Demonstrated in Obama's First 100 Days

Jun 16, 2009

During his first 100 days, President Obama showcased several models of leadership theory; not the least of which was transformational and charismatic leadership.

Since he took the oath of office, President Barack Hussein Obama has embodied several models of leadership theory; one of those leadership theories is transformational-charismatic leadership. Arianna Huffington (2009) wrote: “…any list of the most impressive achievements of Obama's first 100 days should start with the intangible qualities of transformational leadership.”

Characteristics of Transformational and Charismatic Leadership

Peter Northouse (2004) wrote that transformational leadership is “the process whereby an individual engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower." Additionally, transformational leadership is often seen as synonymous with charismatic leadership. First identified by German sociologist Max Weber, charismatic leadership is “a special personality characteristic that gives a person…exceptional powers that result in the person being treated as a leader” and according to Robert House (1976) displays characteristics of “being dominant, having a strong desire to influence others, being self-confident, and having a strong sense of one’s own moral values." The same type of intangible qualities that Huffington attributed to President Obama.

President Obama Benefits from Personal Charm and Charisma

John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters (2009) are currently involved in a special research project regarding the American Presidency called An American President Project Exclusive Analysis sponsored by the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). In their analysis of Obama's first 100 days, they observed that President Obama excelled in how he communicated with the American people, they wrote:

"Obama has benefited from skillful oratory, personal charm and charisma…He has mixed old and new media strategies to sustain and build popular support…Obama and his communications team have been clever at devising novel ways to present Obama in a sympathetic light. In confronting the contemporary era of fragmented media of communication, the president has shown a savvy ability to 'find the audience,' as opposed to expecting the audience to come to him. Obama has appeared on the 'Tonight Show' with Jay Leno. He publicly chose his NCAA basketball tournament picks on ESPN. He reached out to the Latino community by appearing on Spanish language television."

President Obama Stays Accessible through New Media Technologies

Furthermore, Woolley and Peters show how President Obama attempted to stay accessible to the American people and others by (a) actively engaging the Internet generation through media technologies like YouTube and MySpace; (b) traveling abroad more than any preceding president; and (c) attending 87 public events, all of which happened during his first 100 days in office.

In these ways, new American President Barack Obama showcased transformational-charismatic leadership.

Huffington, A. (2009). Obama’s First 100 Days: The Good, the Bad, and the Geithner. HuffingtonPost.com.

House, R. J. 1977. A 1976 Theory of Charismatic Leadership. In J. G. Hunt.Sc L. L. Larson (Eds.), Leadership: The cutting edge: 189-207. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.

Northouse, P. G. (2004). Leadership: Theory and Practice – 3rd Edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Woolley, J. T., and Peters, G. (2009). What about the Next 100? Obama in Action - Part VIII:The 100th Day. An American Presidency Project .

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