Leadership and Identity in the Age of Obama
Description: This paper will explore the complexities of leadership in a contemporary context, focusing on salient themes of race, gender, nationality, inclusion, and identity as they relate to the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States, using applications of transforming leadership, social identity, and group relations theory.
Abstract:
The election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States created an environment, both domestically and internationally, in which apathy, disappointment and anger about politics and the role of the United States government, as well as repressed and regressed attitudes about race, gender, and other salient aspects of identity, underwent an intense shift. It is our premise that the new face of leadership in America has begun to shift the discourse of identity swiftly from the periphery of domestic and global consciousness to bring related issues once again to the center.
At the core of this monumental shift in the collective consciousness are questions about the role of leadership and authority, specifically, whether manifestations of leadership that have historically existed (and continue to exist), are useful, desirable and functional, or whether transformation of the role and function of leadership needed to occur.
At the collective unconscious societal level, the emergence of Barack Obama as a viable candidate for the presidency spoke to the countrys desire for transformation and change. Consistent with the basic tenets of transforming leadership theory, Obama tapped the higher aspirations of people, inviting them to choose hope over fear and unity over division. Despite this compelling message, the true transformation in consciousness may well be in the ability of followers to look at and beyond the identity of the messenger. According to social identity theory, a dominant construction that makes hesitancy to acknowledge and embrace an African American man, who is also bi-racial, as leader would be expected to be normative. Yet, a longer view of United States history reveals a pattern of unconsciously moving towards change and transformation, while consciously fighting against it. This pattern of behavior is the foundation of the birth of the nation, and can also be seen in seminal events of slavery, the Civil War and the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, the reconstruction era, the era of Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, the rise of feminism and womens liberation, the era of gay and lesbian liberation and protest, and other equally important events that have shaped the countrys collective character.
In the service of more fully exploring leadership and identity, our paper will present three critical periods leading up to the Obama presidency: 1) the Obama campaigns victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses and the meaning and significance of the relationship between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as the Democratic candidates, 2) Obamas speech on race and the events leading up to it, and the challenge to the discourse on identity that it represented, and, 3) the nomination, election, and inauguration of Obama and the shifts in representation and identity that these events yielded consciously and unconsciously for the nation and the world.
We will apply group relations theories about leadership and authority in the analysis of each of these events. The conceptual framework helps us examine the ways that leadership reflects the needs and desires of the group. As such the chosen leader is one who most binds the anxieties of the group and provides a sufficient container for there to be collective action related to a shared task or sense of purpose. More recent advances in the theory also point to the ways the authority of the leader tends to be deeply related to the views and projections the group has on identity. Not only does the Obama presidency challenge this notion, it offers the possibility that a new discourse is emerging that has not yet been fully defined.
Four fundamental questions are therefore suggested:
1. What is it that is being changed?
2. What does this change mean beyond Obama as president and person for the nation as a collective?
3. What are the implications for the form of leadership represented by Obama beyond the borders of the United States?
4. What are the elements of the emerging discourse?
It is our view that a leadership that reflects, "We are the ones we have been waiting for. We are the ones that we seek," is emerging with Obama as president. As such, leadership that is based on division, dominance, and fear may be yielding to one that has unity, inclusion, and hope at its core. Thus, as the nature of leadership shifts, so does the character of the discourse on identity . . . indeed toward the content of character rather than the color of skin.
Ellen Short, Long Island University, Human Development and Leadership
Bio: Ellen L. Short is an assistant professor at Long Island University in the Department of Human Development and Leadership, Counseling Programs. Her areas of specialization in practice, teaching, scholarly research, and publishing are: group dynamics focused on race, ethnicity, gender, social class, and culture; substance use/abuse and high-risk behavior among HIV-positive heterosexual populations; and multicultural assessment of intelligence and aptitude tests. She has served as a consultant at group relations conferences in the U.S. and internationally. She has also directed group relations conferences at Teachers College, Columbia University and New York University. She is a member of the A. K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems and the New York Center for the Study of Groups, Organizations and Social Systems. She is co-author of: Racial and Cultural Dynamics in Group and Organizational Life: Crossing Boundaries (Sage, 2010).
Barack Obama as Transformational Leader: Politics and Policy
Description: This paper examines the Obama presidency both in historical context and in light of Obama’s own statements that he intends to be a transformational president, paying particular attention to the role of charisma in Obama’s leadership style. It draws comparisons to previous presidents such as Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan who relied heavily on strong communication skills to advance their political objectives.
Abstract:
This paper examines the Obama presidency both in historical context and in light of Obama’s own statements that he intends to be a "transformational" president. Goethals will pay particular attention to the role of charisma in Obama’s leadership style and draw comparisons to previous presidents such as Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan who relied heavily on strong communication skills to advance their political objectives. Goethals will apply insights from his previous work on psychological theories of presidential leadership, with particular emphasis on how the high expectations Americans have for Obama may affect his presidency and on how well early in his presidency Obama has exhibited "intelligence, optimistic resilience, and flexibility" in his leadership.
Al Goethals, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond
Bio: Al Goethals is a social psychologist with a long-standing interest in presidential leadership. Among many other articles, he is author of "Theories of Presidential Leadership," which appeared in the Annual Review of Psychology in 2005. He also is co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Leadership (2004) and The Quest for a General Theory of Leadership (2006).
Description: This paper examines the moral aspects of the leadership challenges Obama faces. How can presidents act so as to move beyond platitudes about inclusivity and tolerance, to actually change the tenor and content of public debate? This is a critical question for Obama, who has stressed repeatedly the importance of restoring civility and respectful dialogue to American politics, yet also has called for bold challenges to the status quo.
Abstract: This paper paper examines the moral aspects of the leadership challenges Obama faces. How can presidents act so as to move beyond platitudes about inclusivity and tolerance, to actually change the tenor and content of public debate? This is a critical question for Obama, who has stressed repeatedly the importance of restoring civility and respectful dialogue to American politics, yet also has called for bold challenges to the status quo. How can a president be on all sides, yet also take sides? Hicks will examine Obama’s efforts to date to effect change in how Americans think and talk about religious diversity, about race, and about politics itself. Douglas Hicks, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond
Bio: Doug Hicks is a social and religious ethicist with a particular interest in the moral complexities of leadership in diverse, pluralist societies. He is author most recently of With God on All Sides: Leadership in a Diverse and Devout America (Oxford, 2009) and co-editor of Global Neighbors: Christian Faith and Moral Obligation in Today's Economy (Eerdman's, 2008).Return to complete program
