During the years since our last presidential election there has been an increasing trend in our country. A division that keeps growing more clear, that we do not agree on many different political issues. Both republicans and democrats stand firm in their beliefs, so much so that during the election 89% and 90% of republican and democratic voters believed that if the other candidate won it would create an incredible danger for our country (Dimock, Wike, 2020). Our overall world view has suffered because of current leaders. Decreasing drastically in countries like France and Germany, who had 84% and 86% confidence in the U.S President to do the right thing in 2016, to only 11% and 10% confidence in our President today (Wike, 2020). These examples prove our growing need for unity, innovation, change, cooperation, and the ability to prioritize the needs of the people more effectively, especially during a global pandemic like the one we are facing. Transformational leaders are strong role models that motivate, inspire, and engage with their followers in a positive way that collectively aids in achieving or exceeding their goals (Northouse, 2016, p.162-163). The leadership factors we need in order to bridge that gap, and lesson our negative view around our own country and the world, will begin with what Joe Biden does when he takes office.
Important leadership qualities we need in order to come together again, align with the factors of transformational leadership. Charisma, motivation, consideration, and stimulation are all equally needed to fulfill this model, which I believe is important for our future leaders to encompass. A leader with charisma will have strong ethical and moral values, often times recognized as a good role model for others to follow (Northouse, 2016, p. 167). Aside from the 20,000 false claims made by our president during his time in office, that fact checkers at the Washington post try to keep track of (Kessler,Rizzo,Kelly 2020) , his sexual misconduct allegations alone should be enough to give us a glimpse into his moral character. There are 26 women who have alleged some kind of sexual misconduct from our current President (Relman, 2020), regardless of if you believe these allegations are true or not, it is important for our leaders to set better examples. This proves why we need a leader who has better moral ground, one not surrounded by controversy and sexual misconduct allegations. Unfortunately Joe Biden does have allegations against him as well, from 8 women who said he made them “uncomfortable”, and who were upset at the fact that he refused to apologize for the alleged conduct (Relman, Sheth, 2020). Going forward now that Biden is our President elect, one way he could gain our trust in him as a role model, could be for him to address these concerns, and acknowledge and apologize for any wrongdoings, in order to move forward and become the role model we need.
Once he has gained our respect and trust to become that role model, then he needs to be able to stimulate and motivate us in ways that are not currently happening. We need a leader who will support us and our goals and suggestions. Considering any ideas to limit our productivity and innovation would be the opposite of moving forward as a country, and stall us in making significant scientific advancements. Yet this is the fourth year of continued debates on decreasing funding for certain types of research within the NIH, NSF, DOE, and. NASA (Mervis ,2020). Stimulation comes from allowing us as followers to innovate and create new things (Northouse, 2016, p.169). By defunding important research programs you’re not only blocking creativity and knowledge but also our ability to challenge new ideas and keep up with other modern advancements. One way Biden could help support us more, is to stop defunding programs like this and allow us to continue our research and development. This will restore our innovation and stimulate us again to achieve things beyond our goals. By empowering the people and giving them back their opportunities and their voices, he can motivate them and stimulate them to continue attempting and completing great things.
The most significant factor of these four that I believe would make the largest difference for our nation is consideration. We need a leader who listens to the people, and takes all of their concerns into consideration to the best of his or her ability. Instead of promoting violence and discrimination through tweets like, “when the looting starts the shooting starts”, ecouraging police to be more violent, and calling coronavirus “Chinese Flu” (Cineas, 2020), we need a leader who respects all people and works with us, for us. Comments, like some of the ones Trump has said regarding the “Chinese Flu”, are small examples of the negative image we created for our country, regarding our respect for other nations. President elect Joe Biden will need to be able to listen to the needs of all people and groups, BLM, LGBT, the police, men, women, and everyone in between to work with us all on creating a better America. He will have to help all of our nation as a whole instead of being selective in who he helps, and he will have to show respect for all other nations.
Overall I believe that our President elect will need to encompass parts of the four factors outlined within the transformational model to close the divide we have seen and improve our foreign image. His charisma should portray an effective and ethical role model. He should motivate us as a nation to come together and work collectively with one another. We will also require him to stimulate and challenge us to meet and exceed our goals by channeling our creativity and innovation. Lastly, we need him to respect and appreciate all forms of human life regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, or financial standingings. If he can meet these demands when he reaches office, then hopefully we can begin to fix not only the divide in our own country, but the divide we have created from the rest of the world as well.
References:
-Cineas, Fabiola. (2020). Donald Trump is the accelerant. A comprehensive timeline of Trump encouraging hate groups and political violence.
-Dimock, Michael; Wike, Richard. (2020) America is exceptional in the nature of its political divide. Pew Research Center. Washington DC. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/13/america-is-exceptional-in-the-nature-of-its-political-divide/
-Kessler, Glenn; Rizzo, Salvador; Kelly, Meg. (2020).. President Trump has made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims. The Washington Post. Retrieved from : https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/13/president-trump-has-made-more-than-20000-false-or-misleading-claims/
-Mervis , Jeffery. (2020). Trump’s new budget cuts all but a favored few science programs. American Association for the Advancement of Science.(AAAS)). Retrieved from: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/02/trump-s-new-budget-cuts-all-favored-few-science-programs
– Northouse, Peter. (2016). Leadership Theory and Practice. (7th Edition).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
-Relman, Eliza. (2020). The 26 women who have. Accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Business Insider Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/women-accused-trump-sexual-misconduct-list-2017-12#alva-johnson-23
-Tenpas, Kathryn Dunn. (2020). Tracking turnover in the Trump administration. Governance Studies: Brookings Institution. Retrieved from: https://www.brookings.edu/research/tracking-turnover-in-the-trump-administration/
-Wike, Richard. (2020). The Trump era has seen a decline in Americas’s global reputation. Pew Research center. Washington DC. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/19/the-trump-era-has-seen-a-decline-in-americas-global-reputation/
Hey!
I am stunned in the best way by your post. I think you did an amazing job outlining the transformational model and voice what our nation needs. I am hopeful that the next four years will help mend the divide that we currently have in our country and a strong leader will do just that.
President elect Joe Biden has a chance to make real positive changes for the United States. Utilizing the transformational method can ensure that he points the country in a more cohesive direction. One thing that I hope that he does is take the opportunity to fulfill his promises to the people. If Biden does so, he will reinforce the trust the American people have given him. As followers, the American people need to be able to trust our presidents word and that he will fight for a better future for all.
I have a concern that he is not charismatic enough. He does not capture the audiences or medias attention with his speeches, unlike the current president who uses outrageous claims to support his agenda. I hope that as he settles into his new position that he will find his voice and empower the people to be treat each other with more kindness and find a way to bridge this gap that Trump created.
One topic that I am interested in seeing how he will handle is COVID-19. As we are facing a global pandemic, having a leader that seems to face it seriously will be refreshing. This past year has been hard on many people and as a transformational leader, Biden should have a plan of action or vision as he enters office (Pennsylvania State University, 2020). I hope he is able to inspire the American people to stay safe and take precautions in order to make the world a healthier place.
References:
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). Psych 485 Lesson 10: Transformational Leadership Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2075467/modules/items/30110499
Hi, I read your blog and found it very interesting. Firstly, you explained the current situation of the time, and I agree with you. While reading your blog, I felt like I must have this discussion with you at a cup of coffee. You are right that there is a need for unionism, change, and cooperation between Democrats and Republicans. Leaders are role models for their followers, and there is a possibility it can happen if leaders play their role as transformational leaders. Leaders can inspire their followers with their acts and setting good examples of their character (Northouse, 2016). There should be clear standards for leaders that any leader should not be elected if they have done certain things that are unacceptable in society.
In your discussion, you discussed some crucial facts about Joe Bidden, who is elected president and has allegations of sexual harassment. He needs to give justifications for his past doings and supporting the generation in their goals. If he wants to gain public trust, he needs to take some steps for it. Instead of this, he worked like traditional leaders. He needs to become a source of change. Appreciate the innovation and creativity and give a chance to the young generation to prove themselves. For a leader, it is crucial to understand the needs of everyone without discrimination. Listening to people’s needs and considering them as his people will make him an ideal leader and role model (Relman, 2020).
References
Northouse, Peter. ( 2016). Leadership Theory and Practice. (7th Edition). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Relman, Eliza. (2020). The 26 women who have. Accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Business Insider Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/women-accused-trump-sexual-misconduct-list-2017-12#alva-johnson-23
Hi,
Great blog post! I really enjoyed reading this. I agree with the fact that Biden needs to be a transformational leader for things to improve. I think he has the five factors needed in order to succeed. One thing that worries me is his ability to focus. There were plenty of times he has held speeches and even as an avid lip reader, I could not make out what he was saying. This worries me because of other countries and wars occurring. Trump held such a leadership that war didn’t happen because people saw his strength and knew he would use his power quickly.
Transformational leadership comes from a place of learning and growing. Transformational leadership is all about gaining the followers approval and connecting in a way to get the followers to connect their beliefs in alignment with the leadership’s belief’s (PSU WC, 2020). This is so important for our country right now. Never in the history of our country have we needed some alignment ever before. Between the riots, the virus, the economy on the brink of destruction, we need peace and some light at the end of the tunnel!
Transformational leadership characteristics include vision, rhetorical skills, image and trust building and personalized leadership (PSU WC, 2020). Biden has accomplished a lot of this with determination. His appearance on stage was always very welcoming. He always had a smile and made his speeches seem genuine (when his words actually made sense coming out). This is something that resonated with me despite the fact that I voted for Trump. I’m hoping he can step up the way that we need him to and I completely agree that transformational leadership could possibly be the way to get things back together for us!