Leadership Case Studies (Crisis) - Analysis of the leadership philosophy of Donald Trump
Zenotis Boyd Jr.
Program/Project Manager - Network Integration Services/Aerospace Management Consulting
Analysis of the leadership philosophy of Donald Trump
Since President Donald J. Trump took office on January 20, 2017, the news, popular culture, and political observers have either labeled him fascist and authoritarian, destructive and impulsive or strong and bold?(Zampella, 2018). These responses reflect a political crisis leadership for American liberal democracy. ?Exploring relational leadership frameworks provides a methodology to focus on concepts that seek to describe Donald J. Trump’s leadership style.
For my analysis, I have chosen to focus on what I perceive to be (1) Donald J Trump’s “Why” coupled with (2) theories of the transactional leadership style and leadership traits. From there I will (3) explore Donald Trump’s leadership traits versus followers’ wants, needs, culture, and identity. ?The bottom line is that Donald J. Trump’s political vision has found a significant audience, crystalizes, and exerts influence throughout American culture?(Main, 2021) and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
The mental model that will guide my interpretation and analysis of Trump’s leadership includes the following assumptions. The assumptions influence how any evidence will be interpreted.
Assumption/Assessment
Trump knows his “why”
-?????????he is the chosen one?(Mbakwe, 2019), his political goal – is to challenge the status quo.
-?????????He needs to be innovative & create something great?
Trump is committed to making a “better” world for his children and family for future generations/ One way to do that is to challenge the status quo. Knowing Trump’s why?is an important first step in analyzing?how Trump sought to achieve his political goals.
Trump as a leader –
-?????????Leads in a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous—not here or there or occasionally, but everywhere and ongoing. —a reality that is still hard for many leaders to accept.
-?????????has mobilized his support base with a belief that the liberal elites are responsible for the removal of important economic, security, and domestic issues?(Robertson, 2021)
-?????????Rebel leader of an electoral insurrection is not part of the established political system
DJT animates his followers’ attitudes and animosity – targeting the free press, the courts, free and fair elections, and regulatory agencies safeguards of liberalism. The election of Donald Trump expressed intense dissatisfaction with long-standing arrangements and institutions to the extent that ideological differences have followers adopting forms of “coordinated/uncoordinated violence” – domestic terrorism. The Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement offers followers a compelling explanation for America’s decline - liberalism and institutions of liberalism.
As the American President –
-?????????Trump has done his best to disconnect American Democracy from liberal principles and institutions
-?????????Cambridge Analytica & Steve Bannon’ psychological warfare mind folk tool?(Bannon, 2018)
Dismantle of liberal institutions’ consequence was decided by Executive Order. (one person) Whither the risk, who is to say, but much power. One man trampled the rights of others, usurped and ignored the mandates of Congress, ruled by Executive order while raising troubling questions about the stability of American democracy. Who is to say? You?
?Table 1. Assumptions and Assessments
Transactional Leadership Model
I consider the transactional approach Trumps’ most typical approach.?Transactional leadership involves motivating and directing followers primarily through appealing to their own self-interest. The power of a transactional leader comes from their formal authority and responsibility in the organization.?The main goal of the follower is to obey the instructions of the leader. (Management Study Guide, 2022)
The extent to which a leader is transactional is measured in terms of influence on his followers.?Followers of such a leader feel trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect for the leader.?Donald Trump offers followers an inspiring mission and vision to give them identity. The Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
Some of the common characteristics of transactional leaders include:
Advantages of Transactional Leadership Style
§?Effective in maintaining a dominant leadership style
§?Not-particularly effective in crisis management and troubleshooting.
§?Single-handed leadership and direct line of command are seen as effective.
Disadvantages of Transactional Leadership
§?To never change from a strict line even when there is a possibility of success on a different approach.
§?This model motivates the followers only on the grass-root level.
The transactional style of leadership is viewed as insufficient, but not bad, at the end of the day. It forms the basis for relational interactions, but care should be taken by leaders not to practice it exclusively, otherwise, it will lead to the creation of an environment permeated by position, power, perks, and politics.?(Management Study Guide, 2022)
Donald J Trump’s Leadership Traits
Leadership traits refer to?personal qualities that define effective leaders. ?Leadership traits are important skills to have because effective leadership depends on the leader-follower relationship.?Leadership is nothing if not linked to collective purpose i.e., the leader-follower relationship; the effectiveness of Donald J Trump’s leadership must be judged not by his press clippings but by actual change measured by intent and satisfaction delivered to his followers.
The traits of effective leadership are an issue that has raised controversies in recent history. Possession of certain traits does not make one an effective leader. Nor does lack of certain traits necessarily preclude effective leadership. ?Therefore, the analysis of DJT’s leadership style will be based upon the overall impression of his leadership traits, motivation/purpose “his Why”, alongside the leadership traits considered normative and promoted by the liberal news media.
Donald Trump’s?leadership traits were found to be primarily personality patterns (Aubrey Immelman, 2020) – (il-liberal viewpoint this is good)
·????????Ambitious/self-serving (bordering on exploitative),
·????????Dominant/controlling (bordering on aggressive), and
·????????Outgoing/gregarious (bordering on impulsive), infused with secondary features of the
·????????Dauntless/dissenting pattern
·????????Distrusting/suspicious ??
·????????Erratic/unstable.
Forbes description of Effective leadership traits?(Patel, 2017) (liberal viewpoint this is good)
·????????Self-Managing - prioritization of goals and being responsible for accomplishing those objectives. able to regulate your time, attention, and emotions, while remaining aware of your strengths, weaknesses, and potential sources of bias.
·????????Acting Strategically- “Leaders must always be prepared to adjust their strategies to capture emerging opportunities or tackle unexpected challenges.” Thinking strategically is an ongoing process that involves assessing the situation and environment.
·????????Being an Effective Communicator -effective communicators?are able to clearly and succinctly explain to their employees everything from organizational goals to specific tasks.
·????????Being Accountable and Responsible- know how to use?power and authority appropriately?without overwhelming or overpowering staff members.
·????????Setting Clear Goals and Persisting in Achieving Them
Donald Trump’s leadership traits. To explain and understand the meaning of the different points of view of what good leadership traits are for the liberal versus the illiberal I need to define the concepts. Illiberalism is an ideology that breaks with or rejects the principles of liberal democracy. Fortunately, the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence provides a definition of liberal democracy.?All human beings are created politically equal, all people hold a set of political privileges that are not to be infringed upon by anyone or anything. Government is necessary to protect the rights of everyone, Government derives its just powers from the ‘consent of the governed”.?Respect, reasoning, deliberation, prudence, arguments, facts, and the search for common ground. A political culture based on tolerance?(Main, 2021).
Illiberalism is an ideology that believes none of this. It represents a backlash against previous experiences of liberalism, denouncing, the political, economic, and cultural liberalism embodied by supranational institutions, globalization, multiculturalism, and minority-rights protections?(Laruelle, 2021).??As a Rebel leader, one would not expect Donald J Trump to conform to any liberal norm, including normative leadership traits.
Donald Trump’s followers’ values, beliefs, culture and identity politics.
Leaders must have the capacity to perceive needs of followers in relationship with their own.??Donald J Trump chose Stephan Bannon to lead his campaign.?Bannon a veteran propagandist who as chairman of Breitbart Media had ready built alt-right assemblage of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim provocateurs ready to stand behind Trump. Their values as supporters of the illiberal doctrine are that white people are superior to other peoples, and should therefore have greater power, authority, or status.
The political upheavals that came with the new millenniums’ dispersion of power created a feeling of antiauthority in certain areas. Donald J Trump has shown up for his followers. who realize their identity as a deprived class, has advantages to be gained by painting themselves -rather than African Americans, women, or gays – as the true outsiders to a liberal democratic society.
A quantitative estimate of potential Trump Followers can be analyzed by using English language websites identified as illiberal. numbered Visitors to 1,952 websites over the time period from January 2019 to November 2019 were assembled.?The numbers show that by many measures the audience for illiberalism is fairly large.?(Main, 2021)
?????????????Table 2. Monthly Traffic to Websites January 2019-November 2019
Deep inside Cambridge Analytica’s “American operations”, which was driven by Steve Bannon’s vision to remake America and fueled by money, Cambridge Analytica weaponized web analytic data and wielded the massive store of (social media data) it had harvested from individuals. (Bannon, 2018) The strategy was to create and influence a community of needs that becomes the purpose for their coming together as a base of Trump supporters.?The stunning spectacle of DJT election victory was in part based on Cambridge Analytica’s effective messaging to followers.
When asked what Donald Trump Voters actually want?(Friederdorf, 2015) themes reveal Transactional leadership, Hope, Great Man, Anarchist, and Populist as follower need, wants, and expectations. These needs and want correlate with the previously mentioned “the Why” of Donald J Trump’s purpose.
Theme/ Explanation for support
Transactional
Trump’s Nature Is to Make the Best Deals Possible––“While Trump may very well have his own best interests at heart it’s ok: his best interest is our best interest and that best interest is our property values and our economy. When our economy tanks, his property values go DOWN! If anyone would be interested in saving our country, it would be someone whose salary is directly tied to the value of the country we call the USA!”
Hope
Trump Is a Gamble Worth Taking––“I am of the belief that he is conceited and arrogant enough to avoid failing in front of the world at all costs.”Trump Is Low Risk, High Reward––“I will vote for Donald Trump (and to a lesser extent Bernie Sanders) because he represents hope … And how much damage can he really do?” Trump Is Jay Gatsby––“Is it not better to place your chips on hopes and dreams rather than certain nightmares? Those of us who buy Trump’s vision, nearly to the point of blind trust, are loudly professing our disgust with the current immoral situations that taint and threaten our blueprint of the American dream.”
Great Man
Trump Is the Picture of American Greatness––“Think about John F. Kennedy or Ronald Reagan inspiring the world with leadership. Think of Babe Ruth, Martin Luther King Jr., Fred Rogers. The American 20th Century was a great one. Now think about the American headlines of today. What do you think of? War? Poverty? Political division? Do we see greatness in America still on a daily basis or even in the movies? The Trump Family is the picture of the American Dream … When Donald Trump says that he wants to make America great again, I believe him.”
Anarchist
‘I Just Want to Watch the Chaos …’––“I'm a young guy who is immature, a bit antisocial, and with no plans for kids or a wife ever. At some level, I don’t really care how things go with America as long as it’s fun to watch.” An Anarchist Who Revels in Destruction––“Like the joker from?The Dark Knight, I just want to see the world burn.” Trump Knows It’s All a Joke––“Many are right; it’s not about trusting Trump; it’s a collective middle finger to the establishment … Trump knows the more outrageous, the better.”
Populist
Trump Is a Corrective to American Culture’s Pathologies––“The preeminence of political correctness among the culture class indicates a momentous shift away from formerly prominent middle-class cultural values towards something entirely different. Even if Donald Trump were to accomplish little in his presidency, there is a hope that were he president, he could in some way alter that prevailing Washington/media culture, and set a new cultural tone.”Trump Has Successfully Run Large Organizations––“He leads an enormous, diversified organization that is worth billions. This requires leadership. Leadership, by the way, is different from knowledge. When you lead a large organization you set vision, goals and expect results. You do not know every detail of every level of your organization. You can’t. The world is just too complicated. You delegate and empower. You can get information when you need it and the president has no shortage of people ready to educate him on issues.”
Populist
Trump Embodies the Rage of the White Middle Class––“Politicians spend no time helping them. Black lives matter more and illegal immigrants who break the law get a free pass. Evangelicals in this country no longer feel they have the right to religious freedom and have watched what they perceive as a sacred institution in marriage gutted. All the while, politicians they voted for to represent them just plain don’t.”Desperate People Cast Desperate Votes––“Wall Street, the banks, and even illegal immigrants seem to be prospering more than the average American citizen. We are desperate.”
Populist
Trump Has Successful Supporters––“I’m a college graduate, I have a Family, I work in an executive-level management position for a Fortune 500 company and I’m a homeowner. What I think you may find interesting is that I have a circle of friends, both men and women, who have similar concerns and backgrounds. We are all employed with excellent careers and we all are supporting?Trump?for President.”
Populist
A Bernie Sanders Supporter Who’d Vote Trump Over Clinton––“While he might not deliver on his promises, he would certainly be a bull in the China shop of contemporary American politics, which has long needed destroying and rebuilding.”
????????Table 2. Themes Want and Need of Trump Voters?(Friederdorf, 2015)
Implications of Trump Followership
MAGA expectations carry more political force than hope and aspirations. Their expectations are directed at more specific and explicit goals that Donald J Trump has held out as necessary political demands desirable, deserved, and possible?(Burns, 1978).
By matching his message to the goals and aspirations of his followers Donald J Trump has activated a populist movement MAGA.?We can discern patterns of activation – face-to face conversations (Trump Mega Rally’s), membership in MAGA movement, utilization of strategies to retain or expand hold on MAGA followers,
Conclusion
All expressions of radical illiberalism are worrisome insofar as they undermine the nation’s social contract to be a “free and open society”. transactional style of leadership is viewed as insufficient, but not bad, in developing the maximum leadership potential. It forms as the basis for more mature interactions, but care should be taken by leaders not to practice it DJT leadership style solely, because it is so radical it is so off the rails that DJT should expect his leadership to appear alien, that’s all a part of the show.
References
Aubrey Immelman, A. M. (2020, July 27). The Personality Profile and Leadership Style of U.S. President Donald J. Trump in Office. Retrieved from College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University DigitalCommons@CSB/SJU: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/327205735.pdf
Bannon, S. (2018, Mar 18). I made SteveBannons psychological warfare tool;meet the data war whistleblower. Retrieved from The Cambridge Analytica Files: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/data-war-whistleblower-christopher-wylie-faceook-nix-bannon-trump
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. new York: Harper & Row.
Dugan, J. P. (2017). Leadership Theory. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Friederdorf, C. (2015, August 17). What Do Donald Trump Voters Actually Want? Retrieved from The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/08/donald-trump-voters/401408/
Laruelle, M. (2021, October 22). Disillusioned with Democracy: A Conceptual Introduction to Illiberalism . Retrieved from Institut Montaigne: https://www.institutmontaigne.org/en/blog/disillusioned-democracy-conceptual-introduction-illiberalism
Main, T. J. (2021). The Rise of Illiberalism. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Press.
Management Study Guide. (2022, May 28). Transactional Leadership Theory. Retrieved from MSG Mangement Study Guide: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/transactional-leadership.htm
Mbakwe, T. (2019, Aug 22). Donald Trump: 'I am the chosen one'. Retrieved from the Christian News: https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/donald-trump-i-am-the-chosen-one
Patel, D. (2017, March 22). 11 Powerful Traits Of Successful Leaders. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/deeppatel/2017/03/22/11-powerful-traits-of-successful-leaders/?sh=bdc402f469fc
Robertson, L. (2021). Leadership:How to thrive in Uncertain Times. Nashville: Post Hill Press.
Zampella, T. V. (2018, March 7). Trump’s Leadership Mindset: Is It “Presidential?”. Retrieved from Medium: https://tonyvzampella.medium.com/trumps-leadership-mindset-is-it-presidential-25be953c8480