Date: July 23rd, 2017
Among all the successful leaders, Oprah Winfrey is undoubtedly one of the superior leaders. She is such a leader who has gone through many tough times since childhood, and she has come out of them positively without giving up. She has become an iconic American television talk show host and a mogul in the entertainment industry. The Oprah Winfrey Show, hosted by Oprah Winfrey from 1986 to 2011, was the highest-rated talk show in history. She is now the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Harpo Productions as well as the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Leadership Qualities of Oprah Winfrey
- Inspirational: Oprah Winfreyalways improves herself professionally and personally, inspiring others as well. She inspires others to take her advice because of her nature. She always focused on being the best person, and she embodies leading by example. She is an individual who can change another person’s future by driving her inspirational quality.
- Emotional Intelligence: Emotional Intelligence is one of the key traits of a successful leader. Oprah has a tremendous quality to use her emotional intelligence when she interacts with people. This is one of her major qualities in maintaining long-term relationships. She enhances self- and social awareness through this quality.
- Being Resilient: Oprah Winfreywas born as the daughter of an unwed teen. She passed her childhood through difficulties; her schoolmates often teased her for her clothes since her family couldn’t afford ones for her. She also shared her experience of being abused by her relatives when she was a child. Oprah used her experiences as a catalyst for several projects aimed at helping victims. With her resilience, she reminded us that we are in control of our own destiny.
- Focused: She is always focused on making changes by not talking about it, but working together to make it happen. This quality characterized her pioneering leadership, and she is absolutely focused on going after whatever she wants and fulfilling her vision at any cost.
- Being Confident: This leadership quality worked as a prerequisite for Oprah Winfrey to succeed. Even after losing almost all hope, she stood firm and confronted every challenge with confidence. She had overcome her past and tough circumstances and had now become one of the greatest leaders we have ever seen.
Leadership Style of Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey’s leadership style approaches transformational leadership. Her transformational leadership style changes and transforms people with high expectations. She has the ability to bring life to even the most monotonous shows. She built her business by recruiting top talent and smart mentors, and by giving her customers the highest value. She transforms and nourishes each relationship with care. She always motivates and encourages her employees to see what they are capable of. She is well aware that success is impossible without the support of efficient people, which is why she always tries to transform her employees into the best.
Leadership Traits of Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey’s leadership trait is the foundation behind her success. She knows when to seize opportunities and how to steer her traits towards success. Some of her leadership traits are briefly explained here.
- Hard-Working Leader: Since childhood, Oprah has led a challenging life and didn’t come from a wealthy family. She climbed the ladder of success through hard work and eventually hosted her own talk show. She put a lot of effort into being a talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. Later, she was able to manage her own Oprah Winfrey Network & Oprah Radio, and she published O magazine. She says there is no secret to being a successful person, and anyone who is willing to work hard can achieve their goal.
- Versatility: Oprah is one of the most versatile personalities in the world. She is never afraid of challenges. She used this trait throughout her career, which made her one of the most successful leaders of all time. She stated that “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” She has always challenged herself from childhood to the present, changing herself for the better.
- Humanist: Oprah Winfrey is a caring and empathetic individual, and she never takes humanitarian issues so lightly. Her dedication and compassion towards charitable works and foundations reflect her social conscience. Her leadership attributes help her gain and sustain loyalty & belief from followers and other communities.
Besides these traits, a few other traits of Oprah’s are pointed out below –
- Managing Complexity
- Promoting Teamwork
- Fostering Long Relationship, etc.
Leadership Skills of Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey uses her leadership skills to organize and motivate her fellow employees to reach shared goals and build strong teams that perform successfully. Here are a few brief explanations of her leadership skills that will help people apply them in their careers.
- People Management Skill: Oprah knows well how to build & manage her team and bring people on board through the induction process. She acknowledges that she cannot succeed with a solo endeavour. She always hires and supports talented people whom she believes in while forming a team. Dr. Oz, Suze Orman, and Liz Dolan are the likes of people who work around Oprah Winfrey, and they boost her company and get wide exposure in return.
- Strategic Thinking Skill: Strategically, Oprah Winfrey is a very strong leader. She developed her vision strategically, where she wanted to be. She started as a brand on television, later expanding into radio, magazines, and movies, and then creating an entire network. She made all these happen with her strategic thinking skills.
- Communication Skills: She possesses communication skills and shares her vision and ideas with others. She not only pursues her vision but also communicates clearly with her staff and inspires them to align with her plans. She says that great communication begins with connection. She can motivate her teammates quite naturally and build rapport with them through her effective communication skills. This skill is considered one of her best leadership skills.
- Persuasive & Influencing Skills: Oprah can easily influence and persuade others through her leadership. Through her talk shows, she has shown us her incredible influencing skill. She obtained today’s status through her influence and personality. She impresses the people through her personality and positive attitude. With her excellent influence and persuasion skills, she makes people comfortable and created the Oprah Winfrey Brand.
To Sum Up
Oprah Winfrey is undoubtedly the role model for today’s leaders. Her whole life is inspirational, and she proved to us that no barriers can stand in the way of a person determined to succeed. She has given us a lesson: regardless of your goals, destinations, or strategies, the most important thing is how you develop your leadership qualities, skills & traits. She has been a mentor to all the women around the world.
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