My favorite motion picture is The American President (Reiner & Reiner, 1995). The fantastical love story of a bachelor president falling in love with a commoner stirs my heart, but the rousing presidential speeches stir my mind. The climax of the movie is this scene (Flores, 2008):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HKTqS4bXugg
I will admit that I was a bit offended the first time I heard the climatic lines, “People don’t drink the sand because they’re thirsty; they drink the sand because they don’t know the difference,” (Reiner & Reiner, 1995). President Andrew Shepherd is basically saying that the American people are too stupid to know the difference between a good leader and a bad leader. This is the turning point of the movie because it is then that he realizes that as the leader of the people, it is his responsibility to ensure that his followers, the American people, are not simply used as political pawns but educated on issues so that they can make good decisions and feel good about their lives. A few moments later he calls an impromptu press conference where he finally talks straight with the American people. He acknowledges their needs for clean air and safer streets and announces that he will push for legislation to ensure that their needs are met. Here is the scene (Gray, 2012):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zemrWBIc_hE
The leadership of the president of the United States is most effective using a team management leadership style as this style embraces collaboration between leaders and their followers (PSU WC, 2014).
All leadership styles can be classified according to the levels of their production component and their people component (Northouse, 2013). Presidents certainly must be concerned with the production component as they are responsible for being the face of the country, enforcing the laws of the land, and moving the country forward. They also must possess a strong people component, being able to woo voters, negotiate with opposition parties, and broker agreements with other nations.
Utilizing these two components, the Leadership Grid defines five distinct leadership styles with varying degrees of each component contained within each style (PSU WC, 2014). The styles are authority-compliance, country-club management, impoverished management, middle-of-the-road management, and team management. With a focus almost exclusively on the production component and little emphasis on people, U.S. presidents are unlikely to exhibit the authority-compliance leadership style as this dictator-like style is unlikely to win them votes. While a country-club management style may make them popular with voters, it is unlikely that their leadership will be considered successful since there is not enough emphasis on production. An impoverished management style would likely be rare in this country as the nature of the job of the president requires involvement and does not afford the luxury of indifference. Many presidents exhibit a middle-of-the-road leadership style by maintaining a balance of the production and people components and seeking to avoid conflicts that may stymie re-election. The team management leadership style also maintains a balance between the production and people components but emphasizes the partnership between leaders and followers.
With millions of followers and so many responsibilities, it is little wonder that presidents have difficulty knowing which leadership style to embrace. Like many politicians, President Shepherd’s leadership style could be considered opportunistic because he utilizes a variety of the five styles of the Leadership Grid to advance his own personal ambitions (Northouse, 2013). However, when he states, “I was so busy keeping my job, I forgot to do my job,” he recognizes this flaw (Reiner & Reiner, 1995).
Team management is the leadership style that President Shepherd chooses to embrace at the conclusion of the film (PSU WC, 2014). He recognizes that effective leadership requires leaders to be honest and forthcoming with their followers and to encourage their followers to make contributions. This leadership style maintains a balance of the production and people components. If followers are engaged in their work and with their leaders, both leaders and followers are likely to be satisfied with the experience which is why this leadership style is the most effective for U.S. presidents.
References
Flores, B. (2008, August 20). The american president (know the difference). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HKTqS4bXugg
Gray, J. (2012, October 4). Andrew Shepherd’s speech from the american president. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zemrWBIc_hE
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2014). PSYCH 485 lesson 5: Style and situational approaches. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/sp14/psych485/001/content/05_lesson/01_page.html
Reiner, R. (Producer) & Reiner, R. (Director). (1995). The american president. USA: Castle Rock Entertainment.
Rebecca Leah Freeman says
According to Northouse, transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms people. It is concerned with emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals. (Northouse, 2013). I would have to argue that Presidents can also be transformational leaders. For instance President Abraham Lincoln understood what it took to have the courage to lead. Lincoln was a transformational leader because he knew in order to be effective, he must not act in isolation or issue top-down mandates as they would be destructive. Instead, he guided people toward a collaborative alignment of vision and mission. As a transformational leader, Lincoln made decisions once the process of building a consensus and developing a strong vision and mission were finished.
The major accomplishments of President Abraham Lincoln are as follows:
• Lincoln was one of the best communicators of all time. He was a public speaker, writer, debater, humorist, and conversationalist.
• Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which began the process of freedom for America’s slaves. The document also allowed black soldiers to fight for the Union.
• Abraham Lincoln set an example of strong character, leadership, and honesty which succeeding presidents tried to emulate.
• Abraham Lincoln was a strong supporter of the Thirteenth Amendment that formally ended slavery in the United States.
Some of the key traits underlying President Abraham Lincoln’s accomplishments were intelligence and integrity. According to Northouse, intelligence is “having good language skills, perceptual skills, and reasoning ability” (Northouse, 2013). While someone with integrity “possess the qualities of honesty and trustworthiness” (Northouse, 2013). As a transformational leader, President Abraham Lincoln developed the trust, loyalty, and respect of his followers. Furthermore, he understood the importance of maintaining close relationships. He was a strong transformational leader that appealed to higher moral values.
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 6th ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE,. Print.
Brooke Lerro says
I think another way Presidents lead is through Servant Leadership. Servant leadership is about meeting the needs of the followers (Northouse, 2013). Aren’t we all the presidents followers? Don’t we all want the president to hear us out and make changes we see fit for the good of man kind? Yes, the president has people to answer to and people who advise him daily, but in the end, the president is here to lead us the people and we want to be heard. Here is a list of 10 characteristics of a servant leader; listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, building community.
Also, part of this leadership style is that the leader wants to help the followers help themselves. If the leader can effectively teach one to do a job efficiently, than they have more time to focus on other, more important tasks that need the leaders attention. The president most certainly does this. They have their congressman and woman who understand the president and know how to get a task done the way the president would like so they can spend time on more pressing issues.
There are certain behaviors a servant leader must master in order to allow them to help followers grow. These behaviors are; conceptualizing, emotional healing, putting followers first, helping followers succeed, behaving ethically, and creating value for the community. If the leader is successful in getting the followers to take charge of situations without the leaders help, some outcomes will be follower performance and growth, organizational performance, and societal impact should occur.
overall, social impact is very important in the president’s eyes. They are here to help lead our country by helping make changes fit to what we want and need. In a sense, the president is a servant to his people but has many congressman he trusts to help do the many jobs that are required of a president.
The president is a servant leader because he has the wants and needs of his followers at heart but also aids his congressman and woman to take on responsibilities that he may not be as pressing as other problems occurring.
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 6th ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE,. Print.
Heather Elizabeth Mitterer says
I have not watched this movie, but loved the way you pulled all of these concepts together and captured them by an interesting topic. I wanted to understand what “drinking the sand” meant, and now I do. This concept can be applied to the leadership of the President, but also to leadership in our organizations. If we do not set an example as leaders and guide our followers, then “how do they know the difference between sand and water”? I also like that this is not about the fact that the people are stupid, but rather that they are not led to understand the difference. It puts the responsibility back on the leader to guide and educate their followers.
This makes me consider my work environment and the common mistakes and attitudes that are witnessed in the hourly employees. Many of them act this way because they do not know any better. They were not properly led or guided through the process of their job, and expectations were not outlined or communicated. They hourly employees are merely doing the best they can with what they know. Often we complain because the hourly workers are not held accountable when mistakes are made, however I believe that management should be held accountable first. We cannot be upset with the employees when they do not act as we expect, however leadership has not outlined the expectations.
Koriann Bollhorst says
I really liked how you were able to bring all those concepts together, the film, Leadership Grid, and U.S. Presidents in general. I think it would interesting to apply the leadership styles explained by the Leadership Grid to specific former presidents and investigate what the state of the country was like during that time. Would one leadership style really be better than the other for running the country, or does several other factors come into play?