Bill Clinton and leadership Essay

For the purpose of this paper, I have chosen the political leader and the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton as the subject of my essay. This paper is based on two of his autobiographical books which were based on his early childhood as well as his life before, during and after his presidency. The book My Life is an autobiographical account by Bill Clinton himself. He is the sole author of the book which was published in the year 2004. The book clearly outlines the various events of his life. These events pertained to the inauguration of Clinton as the 42nd president of the United States of America. This second volume, the first being a biography by Adam by the name of Bill Clinton, puts Clintons term in the office as the epic fall and the term of redemption. This was mostly indicated like such I the book due to the disastrous failure which came bout due to the actions of Mack McLarty, the white house chief of staff, as well as the promiscuous behavior of Clinton and the relationship with Hilary Clinton which was more emphatically and influential than his specific term. The years of 1993-1994 are depicted as the time where things were falling apart for both America as well as the Clintons. However the period following that pertaining to 1995-1996 the book depicts Clinton as In terms of the leadership and presidency Bill Clinton was much favored as being the revolutionary and sensible politician who with the support of his first lady was able to make America as the greatest nation of power in the world. The book also made use of many military metaphors to describe the situation the context of the book. It was highly apparent by reading the book that it was mostly about the evolution and change in the personality of Bill Clinton following his inauguration as the President of the United States. The change in him depicted him as being an arch baby boomer to the undisputed leader of his country. The accounts covered by Clinton were very much expected as he takes into account the bogus scandal of Whitewater, the unethical dalliance with Monica Lewinsky as well as his attempts at managing and balancing the budget for the United Stated of America. Other topics covered in the book also pertain to the Middle Eastern crisis and the peace plan proposed by him. However the more illuminating topics those were discusses in the book related to his personality and his life on a much personal note. This depicted the strength he showed as a person and how ,much the person as developed, and matured over the years in terms of his decision making him an ideal president for the United States during his time at the white house. The book itself however is ill organized and quite chaotic. The reason for this which can be ascertained for the events following and surrounding the launch of the book as well as the statement given by Bill Clinton himself was that the book is basically the picture into his life and the various significant events that took place in it. It is very much like the efforts of a small school boy however the content varies in terms of several topics and themes. The period of the presidency is treated like a rush period where the events merge into each other and the timeline is haphazard skipping large time variables in some instances. However despite the lack of maturity in the book, and the ill organization of the content the book did become a best seller, its sales even surpassing the sales of the memoirs of Hilary Clinton. The book My Life by Bill Clinton suffered criticism for the former advisor of Clinton’s Dick Morris who wrote a rebuttal by the name of Because HE Could. Through this book, Dick Morris set right and pointed pout the various inaccuracies which were present in the autobiographical account by Bill Clinton. The authors view on leadership however pertains to a more peaceful and negotiation based method of employing power and making use of it. Bill Clinton is of the opinion that in order to be able to run the country, a dictatorship is not the answer, instead innovative and democratic methods pertaining to dissemination of ideas across the board is a much better way of conducting managerial tasks. The author has stated through his autobiographies as well that the bet for of leadership is when the leader takes into account the point of view of those around him, gathering the specialized intellect available and then unanimously voting on the most beneficial and cost effective solution/ decision for the specific issue or case. This is a very democratic approach to decision making. However in the form of leadership described by Bill Clinton, it is essential to have a formal figurehead as this has the effect of providing the followers and the general population with one pint of view as well as a unified direction. The decision itself may be a democratic one however the proceedings to be carried out have to be collaborative in nature dictates from one source. The aspect of democratic leadership can be applied to the leadership for schools. The reason for this is that the political landscape pertaining to the role of leadership is much institutionalized. This is the same case with schools and colleges which are institutionalized as well with a formal set of rules and ethical code of conduct. However the differences settle in relative to the size of the operation. The operations conducted by Clinton were extensive, even global in nature. The scope for the school is restricted somewhat limited inn terms of the resources available, the staff participation and the relevance and long term effect of the decision making. However the same principle of school leadership as a form of democratic leadership can be employed. School leadership can be employed using democratic leadership styles characteristic of Bill Clinton by giving autonomy as well as decision making power to the lower staff and managers for their operations as well. This is an important component of the democratic leadership as the management and staff is usually the closest entity to the students and can understand their issues and problems much better. Moreover by being close to the students in terms of proximity the staff is also able to observe them and make them provide inputs for the prospective solution to the problem and the long term strategic goals of the institution. This information can be gathered form the expert and specialized managers and staff in the school and then relayed on to the appointed leader. The chairman for the board of directors of the school can then take this information in to account as well as any other information that would be reported by the management and the staff. After performing a cost benefit analysis and the long term strategy and profitability analysis the board of directors would be able to ascertain upon the main strategy for the school and how the issues need to be addressed. The above mentioned format for leadership enables almost all the members of the organization to participle and conduct a two way communication with the leader or the leaders of the organization. The solutions and strategies formed through this method are more accepted by all those concerned an in the long run are mostly effective as well. In terms of applying the leadership techniques and theories mentioned in the book and practiced by Bill Clinton clearly depict that the leader has to be an enigmatic person who has charisma and charm to carry out the role of being a figurehead and a liaison to the elements in the external environment. These views would enable me to hold a position of leadership in the school by making the fellow students aware of the characteristics that I have for being a potential leader as well as the communication and negotiation skills that would enable me to conduct discussions with them pertaining to the solution of the issues and the problems that hand. Aside from this the enigmatic personality is good for public relations as well as gaining the confidence and support of those around me. References 1. Clinton, B. , (2004), My Life, Publisher: Knopf, ISBN-10: 0375414576