Name: Tai Jing Lin Phylicia
Class: G4
To me, a leader is charismatic, selfless, courageous, has a clear goal in mind, and can
confidently lead others towards the goal. A living example would be Malala Yusufzai, a
Pakistani activist who is passionate and determined to challenge the deeply seated belief in
her society that men are superior to women as she started championing women’s rights to
an education at the tender age of 11. She has demonstrated servant and charismatic
leadership throughout her pursuit of making the world a fairer place for women.
According to the charismatic leadership theory, a charismatic leader is one that “have
a vision, are willing to take personal risks to achieve that vision, are sensitive to followers'
needs and exhibit extraordinary behaviour”. (Robbins & Judge, 2017) Malala is a
charismatic leader who shows great resolution and courage to advocate for women’s right to
education, despite it challenging the status quo of a misogynistic society like Pakistan. A
strong case in point would be the shooting incident she was involved in a few years back
when she was only 15, where she was shot thrice by a lone member of the Taliban in her
school bus. This incident left her seriously wounded as it grazed her left eye, shattered her
eardrum, and broke her jaw joints. Despite her near-death experience, she never gave up on
fighting for her beliefs as seen in how she continues speaking up for children’s education
rights immediately after her recovery, yet again putting herself at risk of being targeted
again, given the rising backlash for the public. Her willingness to put her life on the line
highlights her passion and conviction for that vision, therefore motivating and inspiring her
followers to follow suit. On her 16th birthday, she made her first public speech at the UN
since the attack, saying that “the terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my
ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness dies.
Strength, power and courage was born...My ambitions are the same…Neither am I here to
speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorists’ group. I am
here to speak up for the right of education of every child.” (Malala, 2013) This further
epitomises her charisma as it shows how she remained unfazed and is clear of her goals and
what she stands for despite the numerous backlashes. Thus, this makes her a charismatic
leader that inspires not just members of her society, but also the world at large to fight for
what they believe in, even if it defies social norms.
Malala has also exhibited authentic leadership, which is where leaders “share
information, encourage open communication.” (Robbins & Judge, 2017) “The most
important thing is talking to other people, learning from them and speaking out for what you
believe in.” (McNamara, 2017) These were words uttered by Malala during her “Girl Power
Trip” on her 20th birthday, where she spoke to young women around the globe, some of
whom had escaped from terrorist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram, about education. She
even goes further to act as their voice by tweeting their concerns. This highlights how
Malala takes great care in trying to understand the communities’ struggles and concerns so
as to ensure that the campaigns and movements she rolls out can make a genuine impact on
them. This implies that she highly respects their opinions and strongly believes in the
importance of open communication, hence making her an authentic leader.
All in all, Malala’s unwavering passion to pursue her vision and empathy for others
played a pivotal role in acting as a source of motivation and courage for the masses to
support her and fight for what they believed in, leading to Malala’s eventual success of
being a global voice for education and equality for women.