Everyone knows the name Oprah. Whether you have watched her show, read her magazine, heard of her philantrophy; it is undeniable that she is one of the most powerful women in the entire world. She runs an empire, influences people everyday, and is known for her extreme generosity.
I believe she has two different leadership styles, both autocrat and laissez-faire. She is an autocrat in the business world, she has very strong beliefs and likes to push for her ideas and make all the decisions when it comes to things like running her company, Harpo. However, she has a more laissez-faire style when it comes to her audience and fans. She is very giving, but after she gives what she can, she allows the people to make their own decisions as to how they react or handle her charity. Oprah actually opened the "Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls" in South Africa. She is very passionate about inspiring young girls to be empowered, as she has become, also growing up with an underprivileged childhood.
A lot of Oprah's power comes from her likability and fan base. I think this gives her both her positive and negative qualities of being a leader. The positive qualities of her leadership role is that she uses her power to give back to the community and things she believes in. The negative quality I believe is that she can use her power to press her beliefs and by having such a great influence over so many, can really sway that impact of a decision. For example, when she supported Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Her support for Obama potentially is estimated to have brought in over 1.5 million votes, and swayed the entire popular vote.
Whether you love Oprah and are sad to see her talk-show ending, or you hate Oprah and think she is overrated, there is no denying that she is a true leader and role model for women all over the world.
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