Barack Obama: A Transformational Leader

This essay examines Barack Obama's presidency through the lens of transformational leadership. It explores how Obama's vision, communication skills, and ability to inspire change contributed to his success in areas like healthcare reform and economic recovery. However, it also acknowledges the challenges of implementing long-term goals without sufficient operational planning, as exemplified by the Affordable Care Act rollout. Ultimately, the essay argues that while transformational leadership can be highly effective, it requires a balance between vision and operational strategy for optimal results.

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Barack Obama as a Transformational Leader
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Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America, is an example of a
leader who adopted and encouraged the application of transformational leadership style in his
administration. Transformational leadership style is a management approach that focuses on
motivation, inspiration, and guidance as strategies for ensuring collective objectives are
attained (Asbari, 2020). Leaders who adopt this style tend to lead by example while enacting
appropriate workplace systems that promote the growth, morale, and well-being of the
followers. The style is based on the notion that adopting techniques that foster teamwork,
creativity, and flexibility is essential in inspiring employees to adopt positive workplace
behaviors which results in better performance. Throughout his two terms, which commenced
in 2008 and ended in 2016, Obama focused on motivating the citizens of the USA to become
active participants in the change process and the implementation of government programs
(The White House, 2024). During his campaigns and tenure, Barack was involved in
encouraging the Americans to fight against various vices they experienced at that time
including increased racial discrimination, high levels of unemployment, and the external
threats from terrorist groups. The application of the transformational leadership style in
Obama’s administration was characterized by various achievements such as promoting
collective action and drawbacks similar to other leaders who adopt this management style.
One of the major achievements of Barack Obama was ensuring that his followers
were united towards the attainment of a common objective which was to make the USA great
and equitable. Transformational leaders tend to rely on effectively communicating the vision
and objectives to the individuals involved as a way of encouraging the adoption of certain
attitudes and behaviors. They utilize their influence to motivate the people towards the
attainment of the established objectives (Bakker, et al., 2023). During his 2008 presidential
election campaign, Obama had a vision for a better America characterized by economic,
social, and political progress. He came up with a popular slogan “Yes we can” as a way of

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influencing and encouraging the citizens to become active members in the transformation of
the country towards the desired goals. His 2012 campaigns were also based on a call for
action with as slogan “forward” which involved motivating people to continue partaking in
the change process (Larbaa & Badi, 2020). The application of slogans to ensure that people
are united toward the achievement of common objectives portrays the use of transformational
leadership. He was able to motivate people by creating a working experience that was
perceived as purposeful hence encouraging the adoption of behaviors that promote
development and equality. Thus, one of the strengths of the Obama administration is that it
was able to influence the followers to be more united towards the achievement of a common
goal which was to make America great.
Another strength depicted by the Obama administration due to the application of
transformational leadership style was enhanced communication with the followers especially
when it comes to the common goals. The transformational leadership approach requires the
implementation of effective communication strategies between the leadership and the
followers to ensure that each participant in the change process has adequate knowledge of the
vision and the role they play (Bakker, et al., 2023). Barack Obama, as a leader, is considered
as charismatic. Charismatic leaders are individuals who utilize their excellent communication
skills, persuasiveness, and charm to encourage others to adopt desired behaviors or mindsets
(Nugraha, 2021). Obama was able to effectively articulate his appealing vision to the people
by adopting expressive and strong forms of communication when engaging with his
followers. His high levels of self-confidence and a strong sense of individual moral values
portrayed him as a charismatic leader (Nye, 2023). By adopting effective communication
strategies as required by the transformational leadership approach, Obama was able to
effectively convey his vision and enhance the motivation of his followers.

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Obama Administration was also able to create and manage changes in various aspects
including when it comes to discrimination, healthcare, and unemployment issues. Although
embracing change is essential, especially in contemporary society, implementing it is
relatively difficult due to various limitations including high levels of resistance from the
people involved. As a charismatic leader, Obama was able to convince his followers of the
importance of change not only for individuals but for the entire country. For instance, by
establishing a clear vision and using effective communication techniques, his presidency was
able to introduce healthcare reforms through the implementation of the Affordable Care Act
(Larbaa & Badi, 2020). The reforms in the health sector promoted the adoption of health
coverage in the country. Other transformations that Barack led included legalization of the
same-sex marriage in all the states, cutting the level of unemployment by half, and increasing
the grants and help rendered to the communities considered as deprived (The White House,
2024). The fact that Obama was able to inspire change through his visions and was involved
in their implementation depicts him as a transformational leader.
However, his administration was characterized by high prioritization of the long-term
goals over the short-term goals which jeopardized the actualization of his vision with clear
operational strategies on the ground. One of the main weaknesses of adopting a
transformational leadership style is that the approach is too conceptual and fails to cater for
operational planning which is essential in guiding the actions of the followers (Bakker, et al.,
2023). Some of the objectives were based on unrealistic expectations which adversely
impacted the attainment of the intended objectives. For instance, in the implementation of
Obamacare, the government envisioned the application of a healthcare website to enable
people to conveniently attain the required coverage. Despite the idea of using a website as a
compelling vision to call followers to action, its implementation and rollout were botched.
Failure to account for various operational issues such as the number of users that the website

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was supposed to serve resulted in delays and only a small proportion of people succeeded in
obtaining insurance (Chiu, 2020). Thus, the focus on the big picture in transformational
leadership can be considered a drawback since the essential operational issues required for
the effective implementation of a given vision are not accorded the appropriate attention.
Therefore, the application of a transformational leadership style in contemporary
society is associated with various strengths and drawbacks as depicted by the Obama
administration. Transformational leaders can inspire and motivate people towards the
adoption of attitudes and behaviors that resonate with the common objectives. The approach
also supports the adoption of effective communication strategies to enable the leader to
articulate his or her vision to the followers thus encouraging them to adopt the desired code
of conduct and mindset. Obama Administration was also able to enact and manage changes
that improved various aspects of the country such as increased healthcare coverage in the
country. However, over-focusing on the big-picture or long-term objectives adversely
impacts the implementation of the change since it fails to include operational planning and
short-term goals in the process. It is vital to integrate operational planning in the
transformational leadership style as a way of breaking down the vision into clear short-term
goals that can be easily monitored and evaluated. Adopting operational planning will also
enable the breakdown of the entire change process into duties and actions for each
stakeholder involved.

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References
Asbari, M. (2020). Is Transformational Leadership Suitable for Future Organizational Needs?
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, POLICY AND LAW (IJOSPL) ,
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Bakker, A. B., Hetland, J., Olsen, O. K., & Espevik, R. (2023). Daily transformational
leadership: A source of inspiration for follower performance? European Management
Journal, 41, 700-708.
Chiu, L. (2020). The Obama Paradox: Policy Success, Political Failure. Retrieved from
University of Central Florida; STARS:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1929&context=honorstheses
Larbaa, C., & Badi, R. (2020). Charismatic Leadership and U.S. Presidential Campaigns:
Lessons from Barack Obama’s Political Rhetoric. Retrieved from University L'Arbi
Ben Mhidi Oum El Bouaghi:
http://bib.univ-oeb.dz:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/9546/1/FINAL
%20MEMOIRE%20CHAIMAAA%20%283%29.pdf
Nugraha, A. P. (2021). The Effect Of Transformational Leadership Style, Transactional
Leadership And Charismatic Leadership On Organizational Citizenship Behavior
(Ocb) with Working Culture as an Intervening Variable. IAIC International
Conferences, 3(2), 100-112.
Nye, J. S. (2023). Obama the Pragmatist. Soft Power and Great-Power Competition, 67-69.
The White House. (2024). Barack Obama. Retrieved from The White House:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/barack-obama/

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