Analysis of Leaders: Pelosi and Kardashian

Introduction

The leadership qualities of Kim Kardashian and Nancy Pelosi are undeniable, as they have proven that they are willing to use their influence and initiative to advocate for a better society in their unique spheres. Kardashian has become a major voice for prison reforms as she leads a campaign that will ensure the prison system in the US is more humane and able to give people a second chance in life. On the other hand, Nancy Pelosi, as the speaker of the house is highly influential and thus has focused on moving the government from the shutdown that has been experienced from the standoff regarding the funding of a wall along the US-Mexican border. The leadership qualities of Kardashian and Pelosi of an important opportunity to experience and learn how different leadership styles can play a role in influence how a leader acts and gets results.

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Firstly, the transformational leadership style implies the approach that allows leaders to influence decision-making and the outcome of activity through example and reverence by their subordinates (Goetsch and Davis 28). In this case, transformational leadership can be viewed as leading by example, and giving and trusting subordinates to make decisions that will influence the outcomes of an entity, a project, or a campaign (Donate and de Pablo 362). The case of Kim Kardashian presents a good example of a transformational leadership style in action. For instance, although thousands of people had viewed the clip of the first time offender serving a life sentence, only Kim Kardashian took the initiative to take action towards her release, and consequent campaign for prison reforms (McKenzie). Currently, the debate on prison reforms is continuing to gain moment after the release of the woman through clemency (McKenzie). The actions of Kim Kardashian have turned many skeptics into believers of the ability of change to be experienced in the United States, and offer many incarcerated individuals the opportunity to have a second chance in life.

Transactional leadership involves the use of incentives or compromises whereby leaders influence others to undertake a task through the promise of rewards or punishment (Bolden 46). In this case, such leadership can be equated to a "give and take" situation where a person has to give something for an activity or an outcome he/she desires to become a reality (Donate and de Pablo 365). Nancy Pelosi's leadership style can be considered as transactional, especially, in her dealing with President Donald Trump in the negotiations for the funding of the border wall. The Democrats, led by Pelosi, have offered a compromise fund of $1.3 billion towards the enhancement of border security while denying Trump his demand for $5 billion for the construction of a border wall (Nilsen). Such an approach to leadership shows a person who practices transactional leadership style in ensuring that her wishes are achieved in the negotiations. Despite the ongoing stalemate, Nancy Pelosi is not willing to change her stance unless there is a compromise on the part of Republicans led by Trump. In other words, Pelosi is offering an offer, or a transaction, where instead of a wall, there will be funds to ensure the borders are safe even without a wall and thus ensuring that while the president does not get money for the wall, he achieves his goal for a secure border.

The last leadership style is the autocratic leadership style, which is characterized by the leader taking a hardline stance on an issue and requiring it to be undertaken in his/her way (Goetsch and Davis 29). In such leadership, only the leader matters and other people have to follow what he/she says or wants (Bolden 52). If the leader does not achieve what he/she wants, then it becomes a major problem for all the involved parties. The leadership style of Nancy Pelosi shows some characteristics of autocracy in that although she has presented an offer to president Trump, it seems that it is either the Democrats way or no way. In other words, despite the continued shutdown of the government, which affects thousands of people, Nancy Pelosi has taken a similar approach as Trump of unwillingness to promise, and thus creating a stalemate, which continues with disregard to the negative consequences facing the society. Consequently, the push by Pelosi and her agreements with the stances of Democrats shows characteristics of an autocratic leader who wants things to be done her way only.

Conclusion

The leadership approach that a person takes in handling problems and guiding a group towards a specific action is an important indicator of their leading qualities and personality. The actions of Kim Kardashian towards prison reforms are transformative, and starting as a lone person, she has been able to influence many people to support and believe in the need for prison reforms in the American justice system. On the other hand, Nancy Pelosi exhibits both transactional and autocratic leadership whereby, on one hand, she willing to negotiate with the presidents towards a compromise deal for border security, while on the hand being unwilling, just like the Republicans, to bulge from her proposal for $1.3 billion financing towards enhancement of border security.

Works Cited

Bolden, Richard. "Leadership, Management and Organisational Development." Gower handbook of leadership and management development. Routledge, 2016.

Donate, Mario J., and Jesus D. Sanchez de Pablo. "The Role of Knowledge-Oriented Leadership in Knowledge Management Practices and Innovation." Journal of Business Research, vol. 68. No. 2, 2015, pp. 360-370.

Goetsch, David L., and Stanley B. Davis. Quality Management for Organizational Excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2014.

McKenzie, Joi-Marie. "How Kim Kardashian West Helped to Free a 63-year-old Grandmother from Prison." ABC News, 6 June. 2018, abcnews.go.com/beta-story-container/GMA/Culture/kim-kardashian-west-helped-free-63-year-grandmother/story?id=55695331. Accessed 15 Jan. 2019.

Nilsen, Ella. "Pelosi Learned the Art of "No" From Working with Bush. Trump is a Whole New Test." Vox, 15 Jan. 2019, vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/15/18172806/nancy-pelosi-george-bush-trump-government-shutdown. Accessed 15 Jan. 2019.