Leadership essay

Name: Student number: Class: Course code: Teacher: AC Day:

Rowan van Dorp 2179325 COAC4E 2259XADV11 Marlin de Bresser 04-04-2016

Creative leadership is all about passion and building a community In my opinion creative leadership is all about passionate leadership and building a community. In this essay I will explain with the help of my example Oprah Winfrey who also provided me with the inspirational quote, that passionate leaders honestly commit to something about which they feel deeply and stay committed through difficult circumstances, which is based on their passion instead of generating revenue.

In the first main body paragraph I have explained the inspirational quote of Oprah Winfrey why it is related to creative leadership. In the second main body paragraph I have elucidated why passion is an important success factor to become a creative leader, according to the model of the book ‘Collective Genius’. In the third main body paragraph I have wrote a piece about Oprah Winfrey, a leader who in my opinion really lives and breathes the practices of creative leadership.

First of all, I will explain why this quote is related to creative leadership. Creative leadership means leading innovation, which includes continuously discovering and defining new problems, solving those problems and implementing the new solutions (Basadur, 2004). Creative leaders see themselves as creators of a context in which others make innovation happen (Hill, 2014). In addition, creative leaders are not focusing on money. They are driven by their internal passion and purpose, which is characteristic of Oprah Winfrey (Ball, 2014). A good example of Oprah Winfrey’s passion is The Book Club, an interactive, multi-platform reading club where passionate readers are brought together to discuss inspiring stories (Schrama, 2014).

Creative leaders also envision a better future that is based on their passion, purpose and visions (Ball, 2014). Their purpose is based on ethical values and not on financial values.

Furthermore, creative leaders have attention for world concerns and are willing to inspire others to action. Other elements of creative leadership are included in the model ‘The Willingness to Do the Hard Work of Innovation’ of the book ‘Collective Genius’ (Hill, 2014). In this model (figure 1), the importance of building a community with a shared purpose, values and rules of engagement is exposed. Oprah is the founder of the company Harpo Productions, which includes several communities such as The Book Club or Oprah Winfrey Network (Oprah, 2015). Oprah says that the purpose of her overall company is to inspire, inform and entertain people and that she wants to be a role model for her audience (McCorvey, 2015). Therefore she invented her company. Furthermore, Oprah’s statement “You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job and not be paid for it” also strengthens the purpose of her company, because the intention of her company and communities is to help and inspire people Figure 1 what is driven by her passion (Oprah, 2015).

Oprah’s overall company Harpo Productions was founded in 1986 and has several hundred employees (Oprah, 2015). Nowadays, Oprah has structured Harpo Productions so it can run without her constant oversight, leaving plenty of time to pursue additional projects that she’s passionate about. To realize this, she appointed two employees – Erik Logan and Sheri Salata – as her co-presidents who have the same shared values as Oprah (Oprah, 2015). Erik Logan and Sheri Salata agree with the value of Oprah that it is important to base your work on passion instead of making money (McCorvey, 2015). This is good reflected in Oprah’s television shows where she realizes her help for others and wants to be an inspiring role model for them. Therefore, employees of Oprah see her as a spiritual leader of the organization with a mission on earth (McCorvey, 2015). Oprah’s value is also related to the way she treats her employees; each employee gets the freedom to do what he or she stands for and Oprah only hires talented people that she believes in (Oprah, 2015). Moreover, Oprah takes good care of her employees by giving them praises and vacations as a thank for their efforts (Chris, 2015).

For her communities such as The Book Club or Oprah Winfrey Network, Oprah created forums where people can generate positive, thoughtful dialogues with each other. Oprah claims that her communities are places where people can strive to live their best lives and achieve personal growth (Oprah, 2015). In addition, Oprah added some rules of engagement for the communities and her employees. For example, only healthy debate is allowed and she wants people to treat each other respectfully with no destructive postings or hateful meanings (Oprah, 2015). This fits again the ethical purpose of Oprah’s company. Furthermore, another rule of engagement is that Oprah’s two co-presidents always consult telephonic (because of Oprah’s busy schedule) with her if there are any problems or if they need approval, to receive Oprah’s inspiring advice that give them good insights (McCorvey, 2015).

Creative leaders as Oprah Winfrey are capable to inspire others from their ethical purposes – which also complies to world needs and concerns – that is straight from the heart and based on passion. Passionate leaders genuinely believe in what they say. When a leader is passionate, people feel a deep sense of being led in a worthy direction by someone who is committed to something more important than his or her own individual glory (Andersen, 2012). A great example of this are Oprah’s two co-presidents and employees, who see her as a guiding spirit that is inspiring for them (McCorvey, 2015). Passionate leaders also have an open communication about their passion. They want to hear and integrate others’ points of view, they act in support of their passion and when possible difficulties arise, they hold their principles and find a way forward (Andersen, 2012).

Furthermore, when passionate leaders are able to communicate their innovative ideas to inspire others, it means that people see them as a role mode. This ensures that leaders who are seen as role models, are abler to encourage and enable people to think together in innovative ways, which is also important for creative leadership (Basadur, 2004). A good example of Oprah’s innovative leadership is The Book Club, where she mentioned her favorite books and invited several authors in her television show (Oprah, 2015). Due The Book Club, many books became very popular bestsellers and sales were increasing (McCorvey, 2015). Oprah’s passionate leadership style made her a successful

leader with a strong community in which her employees feel inspired and connected. When leaders as Oprah are truly passionate, they are able to convince people of their ethical visions, which will lead that people feel included in the leader’s commitment.

Appendix Andersen, E. (2012, 11 juni). Passionate Leaders Aren't Loud - They're Deep. Opgeroepen op 2 december, 2015, van Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/06/11/passionate-leaders-arent-loud-theyre-deep/#491abfce3a94 Ball, R. (2014, 16 april). The paradoxes of creative leadership. Opgeroepen op 21 november, 2015, van School of Creative Leadership: http://www.thnk.org/insights/theparadoxes-of-creative-leadership/ Basadur, M. (2004). Leading others to think innovatively together: Creative Leadership. In The Leadership Quarterly (pp. 103-104). doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2003.12.007 Chris, J. (2015, 18 augustus). 8 Oprah Winfrey Leadership Style Secrets. Opgeroepen op 8 februari, 2016, van Joseph Chris: http://www.josephchris.com/8-oprah-winfreyleadership-style-secrets Hill, L. (2014). Collective Genius: The art and practice of leading innovation. Boston, America: Harvard Business Review Press.

McCorvey, J. (2015, 12 oktober). The key to Oprah Winfrey's success: Radical Focus. Opgeroepen op 8 februari, 2016, van Fastcompany: http://www.fastcompany.com/3051589/secrets-of-the-most-productive-people/the-key-to-oprah-winfreys-success-radical-focus Oprah. (2015). House rules. Opgeroepen op 8 februari, 2016, van Oprah: http://www.oprah.com/index.html Oprah. (2015). How Oprah Winfrey found her purpose. Opgeroepen op 9 februari, 2016, van Oprah: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/How-Oprah-Winfrey-Found-Her-Purpose Oprah. (2015). Meet the Harpo Studios staff. Opgeroepen op 8 februari, 2016, van Oprah: http://www.oprah.com/own-oprah-behind-the-scenes/Meet-the-Staff-of-HarpoStudios Oprah. (2015). Oprah's Book Club 2.0. Opgeroepen op 8 februari, 2016, van Oprah: http://www.oprah.com/pressroom/Oprahs-Book-Club-20-Launches-Online-MondayJune-4 Schrama, A. (2014). Wie zijn bekende spirituele leiders? Opgeroepen op 22 november, 2015, van Mission Matters: http://www.missionmatters.nl/4121/wie-zijn-bekendespirituele-leiders/