Leadership Business and Rhetoric Perception of Leadership Styles and Trust Across Cultures and Gender

Leadership, Business and Rhetoric (Perception of Leadership Styles and Trust across Cultures and Gender)

I agree with most of the author's findings especially those that relate to gender, culture, trust and likelihood of voting influenced the outcome of the Democratic Party primaries in 2008. This was prominently displayed from the numerical display of predictable voting patterns in some states and these states had predominant cultures and races that made it possible to foretell or predict how they will vote and/or whom they will vote despite the policies of the party, the basic consideration would be the candidate himself. However, I have some reservations about some of the writer's pronouncement and assertions that attention should be placed back upon transactional leadership which was initially criticized for being less effective than transformational leadership in the modern (Quader, 2011). Transactional leadership is experienced when there is element of exchange, or aspect of reward and punishment in whichever form. Because of the unique challenges that leaders face in carrying out their mandate there is no single leadership theory that can be applied in all circumstances. A challenge at hand should be critically looked at and a remedy contingent with the situation instituted (Mind Tools, 2013). Tis them implies that employing the reward-punishment leadership style as suggested by the writer is not universally applicable and would instead be dictatorial rather than effective in leadership. That Obama is honest, forward looking, and inspiring while Hillary Clinton competence can be subject to protracted debate. However, the author's position that Obama is a competent planner and a skilled organizer is accurate and seen in his leadership of the nation during his first and current term. This can be attested to by the fact that he built a 700 person organization that enhanced his fund raising efforts during Democratic primary election campaigns (Quader, 2011). I agree with the author and his position that traits competency, honesty, measured leadership among other traits cannot be used to justify whether Obama or Clinton are effective leaders and that it is imperative that individual leader's behavior and style should instead be looked at critically and considered when evaluating their leadership style and the effectiveness of the same.

The author's assertion that transactional leadership theory, transformational leadership theory, trait theory, situational theory and contingency approach are the most recognized leadership theory is appropriate. The writer correctly mentioned that these behaviors and styles are determinants of the effectiveness of a leadership within the society and the nation at large (Quader, 2011). However, no single theory can be applied in all circumstances, the theories interact and cascade depending on the circumstances and the changing scenarios. Different circumstances require different approaches.

For leaders to increase followers' participation in an organization they have to abide by an ethical responsibility to reduce fear between them and their followers (Quader, 2011). This is something that Obama achieved by preaching the message of change from an ethical standpoint to the electorate and the entire nation and later on standing by those moral principles he advocated for. He remained true to himself by refusing to take campaign money from federal Washington lobbyists (Quader, 2011). His change message exuded his aura of authenticity and gave his campaign a sense of national movement (Quader, 2011). Having been a community organizer earlier in his professional life, Obama managed to carefully construct his grass-root campaign organization. His followers' participation in the campaign was enhanced by the fact that they took part in his public donations, participations and advocacy that brought forth seeable changes in Illinois. This conformed to a research conducted by Podsakoff et al. In 1990 that posited that followers trust in a leader is one of the primary variables that mediates effectiveness of transformational leadership with regard to producing performance outcomes (Quader, 2011).