Ronald Reagan S Moral Leadership

Ronald Reagan: The Great Communicator

Credited with ending the Cold War and defeating Communism, Ronald Reagan leveraged an early career as a sports announcer and a lead actor in "B" movies such as "Bedtime for Bonzo" to become the leader of the free world. Given his impact on history and the direction of U.S. foreign policy in the years since, this leader represents a worthy figure for study. To this end, this paper reviews the relevant literature to provides a brief biography of Ronald Reagan, the specific leadership style he used, and an analysis of his moral intelligence and credibility as a leader. In addition, an analysis concerning the alignment of this leader's values and behaviors with the organizational values expressed in vision, mission, and value statements of the United States that are most closely affiliated with the leader, as well as any other indicators of organizational culture, is followed by a synthesize of the research in the form of a personal reflection of "lessons learned" that includes at least two key take-aways that can be applied to the author's own leadership practice. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning this leader are provided in the conclusion.

Biographical introduction

Born on February 6, 1911 to John and Nelle Reagan in Tampico, Illinois, Ronald Wilson Reagan worked his way through college where he studied sociology and economics (Biography, 2016). Following graduation and a brief stint as a sports announcer, Reagan passed a screen test for a part in a movie and went on to make 53 films (Biography, 2016). It is little wonder, then, that both of Reagan's wives were actresses, the first Jane Wyman who passed away in 2001 and then Nancy Davis, with whom he had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott (Biography, 2016).

When he became president of the Screen Actors Guild, the Red Scare was in full bloom and Reagan encountered his first experiences with politics, including cautioning the country about the dangers of Communism in the film industry (Biography, 2016). In 1966 and again in 1970, Reagan was elected governor of California and secured the presidential nomination in 1980 which he won in a landslide against Jimmy Carter (Biography, 2016). Just over 2 months in office, Reagan was shot but managed to recover, even demonstrating the wry sense of humor for which he was well-known during the process. This leader is worthy of study today because during his tenure as president, the Berlin Wall fell (although historians differ in their opinions as to whether Reagan's "Tear down this wall" speech which earned him the title "The Great Communicator" was primarily responsible) and the country enjoyed the longest sustained period of peacetime prosperity in its history (Biography, 2016).

Reagan's moral intelligence and credibility

Like many other national leaders, opinions concerning Reagan's moral intelligence differ. For instance, Gardner (1999) reports that, "Certainly, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton were effective leaders, but historians will be arguing about their morality or immorality for decades, if not centuries" (p. 132). On the one hand, the United States experienced a hefty 35% increase in defense spending during Reagan's time as president (Biography, 2016). On the other hand, though, Reagan succeeded in obtaining tax cuts for the nation's low-income taxpayers (Biography, 2016). Likewise, despite this variance in opinion concerning his moral intelligence, many of his contemporaries and modern historians agree that Reagan enjoyed widespread credibility with respect to his foreign policy and was not only willing but eager to use the nation's military might to support his foreign policy goals. Conversely, Reagan's propensity to cite facts and figures that had little semblance to reality placed his general credibility in question (Gillespie, 2004).

The alignment of Reagan's values and behaviors with organizational values

The presidential oath of office states in part that incoming presidents swear or affirm that they will "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Based on his actions as president, it is reasonable to suggest that Reagan's values and behaviors were closely aligned with the organizational values set forth in the Constitution. Although the majority of the enumerated powers in the Constitution relate to the U.S. Congress, the operative part of the Constitution that involves the president is straightforward with respect to his responsibilities. According to Talent (2016), "The only substantive function of government specifically assigned to the President relates to national security and foreign policy, and the first such responsibility granted him is authority to command the military" (para. 2). In these areas, Reagan was a masterful leader who "declared war against international terrorism [and sent] American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libya was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub" (Biography, 2016, para. 3). In addition, Reagan protected the free flow of oil through the Gulf of Hormuz during the Iran-Iraq war by deploying naval escorts for oil tankers (Biography, 2016).