LEADER AND LEADERSHIP STYLES
Please, read and comprehend the text below. Refer to the glossary.
A National Leader‟s Styles
The office of the national president is a multi-faceted occupation that requires many kinds of leadership styles. This article briefly discusses some of the hats to be worn by a national leader. Mostly the article focuses on three broad leadership styles including transformational-charismatic,cross-cultural, and contingency-situational leadership.
Transformational-charismatic
As a rule, before the election, a national candidate for the presidency should perform his best to attract the attention of his people and foreigners alike with a seemingly charismatic nature. A charismatic leader is sure to have an uncanny ability to draw others to his side and move them to accomplish a cause bigger than themselves. A charismatic approach is transformational if it invokes a permanent change in the people who embrace the leader's vision. During his first term, the elected President proves to woo most of the population to his vision by showing the potential to make a huge difference in both domestic and foreign affairs.
Cross-Cultural-Global Leadership
The national leader should object to unilateral, ethnocentric foreign policy but formulate a cross-cultural approach to the world, thinking not only of his nation‟s interests but also the interests of the other nations as well. The succeeding national leader is expected to travel abroad more than any other president at that point of his administration and pay careful attention to cultural norms in the places where he travels. The leader has to attempt to be conciliatory to the neighbouring countries and welcome them to fruitful cooperation.
Contingency Leadership
During his first months in office, the national leader should display culturally sensitive and transformational leadership and respond to various situations using different types of leadership models. In this way the leader is supposed to model what has been described as contingency leadership. When traveling abroad the leader keeps conciliatory, humble and apt to listen before speaking. When the leader faces a malfunction or a failure in economics or politics, he should not mince words but stand tough to call for necessary changes. He accepts new concepts and standards to pare down long-time commitments to out-of-date technologies both economically and politically. Under the heat of the foreign and economic troubles, the national leader performs hard work to accomplish what he promised understanding that each second he waited may mean a lost home or job for another group of citizens. Whether one liked what he does or not, the national leader should not shy away from the challenges that faced him when he accepted the job as president.
The National Leader's Personality Profile
The profile reveals that the national leader should be ambitious and confident; modestly dominant and self-asserting; accommodating, cooperative, and agreeable; somewhat outgoing and congenial; and relatively conscientious. The combination of ambitious and accommodating patterns in the leader‟s profile suggests a “confident conciliator” personality composite.
Leaders with this personality prototype, though self-assured and ambitious, are characteristically gracious, considerate, and benevolent. They are energetic, charming, and agreeable, with a special talent for settling differences and a preference for mediation and compromise over force or coercion
as a strategy for resolving conflict. They are driven primarily by a need for achievement, but also have substantial affiliation needs and a modest need for power.
This article offers an empirically based framework for anticipating the national leader‟s performance as chief executive. The following general predictions regarding the President‟s leadership styles can be inferred from his personality profile:
- Ambitious, self-assured, gracious, considerate;
- Preference for mediation and compromise over force or coercion as a strategy for resolving conflict;
- High need for achievement; moderate need for affiliation; low need for power;
- More pragmatic than ideological;
- More task- than relationship oriented;
- Likely to act as a strong advocate in his administration, using his powers of persuasion to advance his policy vision;
- Preference for gathering information from a variety of sources rather than relying solely on advisors and administration officials;
- In dealing with members of Congress, may show preference for avoiding unnecessary conflict by trying to remain above the fray in heated, highly divisive debates;
- Preference for articulating and defending his policies in person rather than relying on staff and administration officials to speak for him.
Adapted from article ‘President Barack Obama's Leadership Styles’
at http://ecoggins.hubpages.com/hub/Barack-Obamas-Leadership-Styles
Glossary
a multi-faceted occupation –многогранный род занятий/профессияleadership styles –качества лидера
to wear many hats –выполнять/обладать различными профессиональными умениямиto focus –делать акцент/концентрировать внимание
transformational-charismatic leadership style –здесь:качество лидера,определяющее его/еѐспособность адаптироваться к различным обстоятельствам реального мира и сохранять свою харизматичность
cross-cultural leadership style –здесь:качество лидера,определяющее его/еѐ способностьпринимать во внимание межкультурную составляющую в ходе взаимодействия с другими членами группы / сообщества
contingency-situational leadership style –здесь:качество лидера,позволяющее ему/ейсохранять целостность характера в различных ситуациях взаимодействия с другими членами группы / сообщества
to fair in smth / doing smth –преуспеть в чем-либо
to attract smb‟s attention –привлекать чьѐ-либо вниманиеcharismatic nature –харизматичная природа характера
an uncanny ability to draw others to his side –сверхъестественная/удивительная способностьпривлекать других на свою сторону
to accomplish a cause bigger than themselves–здесь:завершить что-либо в значительнойстепени большее нежели если бы каждый брался за это в одиночку
a charismatic approach to smth –особенный,характерный только для этого человека подходк чему-либо
to embrace smb's vision –понять/поддержать чей-либо взгляд/точку зрения
to woo most to his vision–здесь:приобщить некоторых(своих последователей)к своимвзглядам
to make a huge difference in both domestic and foreign affairs–здесь:всѐ изменить вовнутренней и внешней политике
unilateral ethnocentric foreign policy –односторонняя этноцентрическая внешняя политикаto pay attention to smth –уделять внимание чему-либо
to display culturally sensitive and transformational leadership –здесь:демонстрироватьлидерские качества, позволяющие менять точку зрения / взгляды других людей
to respond to various situations –реагировать на различные ситуацииleadership models –модели поведения лидера
to face smth –оказаться лицом к лицу с чем-либо
to mince smb‟s words –жеманничать/говорить нечленораздельно
to call for necessary changes –призывать к необходимым переменам/изменениямto force smb to do smth –заставить/принудить кого-либо сделать что-либо
to pare down smb‟s commitment to smth –здесь:снизить зависимость кого-либо от чего-либоunder the heat of the current foreign and economic troubles–здесь:находясь на пикепроблем, связанных с внутренней экономической политикой
to work hard to accomplish smth –прилагать усилия для того,чтобы выполнить что-либоeach second he waited may mean a lost home or job for another group of citizens–здесь:
каждая секунда промедления означала потерю дома или работы для той или иной группы населения
Whether one liked what he did or not…-здесь:нравилось это кому-то или нет…
to shy away from smth / doing smth –здесь:уклоняться от чего-либо/выполнения чего-либоto accept the job as president –принять/вступить в должность Президента
the profile reveals –здесь:характеристика представлена(как)ambitious and confident –амбициозный и уверенный(в себе)
modestly dominant and self-asserting –здесь:демонстрирующий мягкое превосходство иуверенность в себе
accommodating, cooperative, and agreeable –располагающий(к себе),склонный ксотрудничеству и согласию (по каким-либо вопросам)
somewhat outgoing and congenial –в некоторой степени открытый и целостный(характер)conscientious -добросовестный
the combination of ambitious and accommodating patterns in smb‟s profile suggests a “confident conciliator” personality composite–здесь:сочетание таких качеств какцелеустремлѐнность и умение располагать к себе в чьѐм-либо характере предполагает потенциал уверенного в себе миротворца
to show a preference for mediation and compromise over force or coercion as a strategy for resolving conflict-здесь:демонстрировать предпочтение к посредничеству и достижениюкомпромисса применению силы и давления в качестве стратегии для разрешения конфликта to be driven primarily by a need for achievement –руководствоваться в основномнеобходимостью преуспеть в чѐм-либо
to have substantial affiliation needs and a modest need for power –здесь:отдаватьпредпочтение работе в команде, сохраняя, тем не менее, лидерские позиции
an empirically based framework –здесь:работа/публикация,выводы которой основываютсяна результатах наблюдения в естественных условиях
to anticipate smb‟s performance as (chief executive) –выражать поддержку чьей-либо работев качестве (руководителя)
a personality profile -характеристикаambitious -амбициозныйself-assured -самоуверенныйgracious -благодарный
considerate -внимательный
to be more pragmatic than ideological –быть более прагматичным нежели склонным кдогмам идеологического свойства / характера
to show preference for gathering information from a variety of sources rather than relying solely on smth –демонстрировать предпочтение сбору информации из различных источниковнежели полагаться лишь на что-либо одно / один источник данных
to remain above the fray in heated, highly divisive debates–здесь:оставаться над„схваткой‟,
где стороны придерживаются радикально крайних суждений / мнений
to show preference for articulating and defending his policies in person rather than relying on staff and administration officials to speak for him–здесь:демонстрировать предпочтениевыражать и защищать свою точку зрения самостоятельно нежели полагаться на еѐ трансляцию со стороны членов своей команды и представителей администрации