Franklin Roosevelt's leadership and its relevance to modern leadership practices

Franklin Roosevelt's Leadership

Franklin Roosevelt Leadership

Discuss why a consideration of Franklin Roosevelt's leadership at a former point in time is important to an understanding of leadership today.

Franklin Roosevelt is the kind of leader who faced tremendous challenges and overcame them. This helped him to have a sense of understanding the problems impacting different segments of society. These attitudes became a part of his leadership style during his presidency. This is despite coming from a background of affluence and power. (Maney, 1998) (Savage, 1991)

For example, Roosevelt was arrogant and full of himself when he was the Secretary of the Navy. After acquiring Polio, is when his life was turned upside down and he was humbled. During this time, he learned what it was like to feel the sense of discrimination and misunderstanding when it comes to the disease. This helped him to see the challenges impacting ordinary people and how he can make a difference. Over the course of time, this gave Roosevelt a sense of certainty and inner strength in dealing with the toughest issues. (Maney, 1998) (Savage, 1991)

During the Great Depression, America was facing an economy that was continuing to implode with no one presenting any ideas in preventing it. Roosevelt step forward during the 1932 Presidential Campaign and said that he could put an end to these challenges. The solutions required thinking creatively and making tough choices. (Maney, 1998) (Savage, 1991)

Once he was elected, Roosevelt implemented programs such as the New Deal to stabilize the economy and address the root causes of the depression. The results were that the growth began to dramatically improve from when he was first elected in 1932. The leadership and tenacity that Roosevelt provided established a sense of certainty that things were slowly changing for the better. This is illustrating how his personal experiences helped to make him strong enough to deal with the toughest challenges. These attributes were reflected in his leadership style. This is what encouraged everyone to believe in him and that positive transformations are occurring. (Maney, 1998) (Savage, 1991)

Moreover, Roosevelt was using these attributes in leading the nation during World War II. He was responsible for helping to give America a sense of certainty in going after Germany, Italy and Japan. At the same time, he set the example for everyone to follow by conserving on natural resources and supporting the war effort. These factors helped to directly contribute to the success of the Allies. The leadership provided by Roosevelt gave everybody a sense of determination, pride and certainty. The experiences that he went through helped to shape the kind of leader he became by making him more determined. This allowed Roosevelt to guide the nation during some of its most challenging times. (Maney, 1998) (Savage, 1991)

These ideas are relevant in contemporary society by showing the characteristics and attitudes which must be embraced to overcome critical challenges. Roosevelt illustrates this despite having a debilitating disease and being physically challenged. As a result, the leaders of today could learn a sense of understanding the problems impacting ordinary people and engaging in actions to address them. (Maney, 1998) (Savage, 1991)