Oprah Winfrey
Integrative Perspective Individual Paper Presentation
The Leader that is Oprah Winfrey
Kellyn Klapko
Organizational Leadership: 540
Dr. Immordino & Dr. Ruben
April 17, 2014
1 Oprah Winfrey
2 Introduction
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate”
– Oprah Winfrey
There is a romantic notion in regard to leadership that is crucial and quite an
obsession to today’s social reality. There is an unspoken need to identify a hero or heroine,
whether in corporations, familial structures, or entertainment and pop culture that hypnotizes
followers alike. These followers are infatuated with the mystery and the goals surrounding
leader motivation that contribute and impact action and thought of the individual and the
community. Oprah Winfrey seduced and America fell in love. Winfrey is a self-made
billionaire, entrepreneur, television and radio personality, actress, philanthropist, Academy,
Emmy, Golden Globe Award recipient, the Jefferson Awards for Public Service recipient and
even awarded the Presidential Medal for Freedom. Romanticized leadership involves the
control and influence of the leader on the future fate of the organization. Winfrey’s
organization is more than her handmade financial empire but also that of her immense public
following, which to name a few includes the 23.8 million followers on Twitter, the 9,886,177
likes her Facebook page gained, and the 7.4 million people nationally that watch The Oprah
Winfrey Show daily.
Oprah Winfrey is an African American woman who became an emergent, multidimensional, and complex leader. Peter Northouse (2013) defined leadership as a “process
whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (pg. 5).
She exerts means of influence, power, establishes all types of relationship dynamics and
provides common goals in order for both “leaders and followers [to] work together toward a
common good” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 7). Winfrey overcame instances of abuse and sexual
assault growing up along with other obstacles and over-time transitioned to “the most
powerful woman in the world” where although almost impossible to calculate is “her
Oprah Winfrey
3 profound influence over the way people around the world read, eat, exercise, feel and think
about themselves and the world around them” (Academy Achievement, 2014). It is through
situational circumstance, time, and experience both positive and negative that add to the
complexity of leadership but also the rate of maturation. What started out as sensational news
stories and outrageous guests at the beginning of her talk show career matured into an
“emphasis on spiritual values, healthy living and self-help, and her program became more
popular than ever” (Academy Achievement, 2014). There are three leadership theoretical
frameworks provided by Peter Northouse that identify Oprah Winfrey as a leader and reside
in aspects of gender, authenticity, and transformational leadership.
Women and Leadership
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to
greatness” – Oprah Winfrey
New opportunities have been presented and taken advantage of by women, as they
are now beginning to steadily occupy positions of leadership. While there are no questions as
to whether or not women can be effective leaders, show commitment to their jobs, or be
motivated in their leadership roles, there are questions as to the manner in which they lead, as
it does not mirror that of a man’s leadership style. Research has found that women “were
somewhat more effective than men were in education, government, and social service
organizations, and substantially more effective than men were in middle management
positions” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 351). Women now constitute “47% of workers, hold 51% of
all bachelor’s degrees and 42% of PhDs…yet in Fortune 500 companies, women constitute
only 4% of the top officers” (Carli & Eagly, 2001, pg. 630). Even though these statistics
show progress, the Wall Street Journal’s concept of the glass ceiling “accounts for this
disjunction” and has “since been acknowledged by journalists and the public as an invisible
but powerful barrier that allows women to advance only to a certain level” while men ride the
Oprah Winfrey
4 glass elevator and are able to easily access career advancement (Carli & Eagly, 2001, pg.
630). It’s important to note the difference between “labor force participation and education
[which] suggest gender equality” as opposed to the “distributions of men and women in elite
leadership positions” (Carli, Eagly, pg.630). It was due to the “lack of women in powerful
positions” that was “explained by many as the ‘pipeline problem’ or the interpretation that
women with the appropriate education and background were not available” (Carli & Eagly,
2001, pg. 631). The pipeline has since been “eroded by the dramatic increases in women’s
employment as managers” but “has given way to the glass ceiling as a metaphor for prejudice
and discrimination” (Carli & Eagly, 2001, pg. 631). The element of discrimination stems
from the creation and perpetuation of gender stereotypes, which are “easily and automatically
activated” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 358). It is one disadvantage in society to be a woman, it is
an even greater disadvantage to be both a woman and a “woman of color [who] often also
confronts racial or ethnic prejudice” (Northouse, 2013, pg 358).
Oprah Winfrey’s rough childhood experiences led her to live with her father in a very
strict household. When she was 17 years old she won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty
pageant, which sparked the beginning of her career. She was offered “an on-air job at
WVOL, a radio station serving the African American community in Nashville. She also won
a full scholarship to Tennessee State University where she majored in Speech
Communications and Performing Arts” (Academy Achievement, 2014). She left school and
became an on-air television personality. Winfrey moved to Chicago and turned AM Chicago
“into the hottest show in town” it turned into an hour long program and in 1985 turned into
The Oprah Winfrey Show, which became “the number one talk show in national syndication”
and in the show’s “first year of eligibility, the show received three Daytime Emmy Awards”
and in 1988 Winfrey received the International Radio and Television Society’s ‘Broadcaster
of the Year’ Award where “she was the youngest person ever to receive the honor”
Oprah Winfrey
5 (Academy Achievement, 2014). Winfrey started young, was visible, and created a following
at a young age. Research indicated that women are poor self-promoters. Winfrey proved that
she didn’t even have to self-promote since the public did it for her. Being in a myriad of
media outlets she was able to gain a voice, share a multitude of experiences, live and learn
life and most importantly travel through the next twenty-six years of her life with millions of
men and women all over the world. Winfrey’s background is crucial to her foundation as a
strong and effective leader.
The world yearns for effective leadership yet it should be provided regardless of
gender, therefore allowing an “androgynous mixture of traits including intelligence, social
skills, initiative, and the ability to persuade” that make an effective leader” (Northouse, 2013,
pg. 357). It is through the negotiation process that people gain “access to the right positions,
experiences, opportunities, resources, and assistance in both the professional and domestic
spheres” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 357). Bridging the women leadership gap in today’s society
requires equal participation, specifically in the area of decision-making. It is decision-making
that has a “major impact on what is valued in societies and how resources are allocated”
(634). Women should also be available in decision-making in great numbers in order to try
and “produce balance between male and female power” (Carli & Eagly, 2001, pg. 634).
Organizations need to keep moving forward in a woman’s career development by offering
work-life balance as well as creating visibility, training opportunities, and mentorship
programs. Women should also exhibit “communal qualities such as warmth and friendliness
with agentic qualities such as exceptional competence and assertiveness” (Northouse, 2013,
pgs. 362- 363). At the same time organizations should be promoting a diversity among
women leaders because not only will it help create “societal institutions, businesses, and
make governments more representative, but it can also contribute to more ethical, productive,
innovative, and financially successful organizations” (Northouse, 2013, pgs. 362- 363).
Oprah Winfrey
6 One of Winfrey’s biggest leadership achievements stemmed from her personal
childhood. It occurred in the early 90’s when her programming on The Oprah Winfrey Show
transcended to an authentic and spiritually healthy show where her goals matured and the
vision of others became priority. Winfrey had a lot of motivation to make this goal become a
reality. Given her own experiences with abuse as a child, she “initiated a campaign to
establish a national database of convicted child abusers, and testified before a U.S. Senate
Judiciary Committee on behalf of a National Protection Act” (Academy Achievement, 2014).
It was President Bill Clinton that signed what came to be known as the “Oprah Bill” into law
in 1983. This bill established “the national database she had sought which is now available to
law enforcement agencies and concerned parties across the country” (achievement.org). It
was an African American Woman who persuaded congress to pass this bill and was able to
yield such a change in the lives of children and families all over. She embodied all of the
androgynous traits mentioned above, but went beyond as a woman and made a decision, one
that gained the approval of the male President at the time. Winfrey also at that time began to
learn and transition to what she would call her “authentic self” and would become richer than
the billionaire status she has achieved.
Authentic Leadership
“I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had,
I’d have done it a lot earlier” – Oprah Winfrey
Authentic leadership is a more abstract type of leadership as there is no one central
definition but it resides in the “people’s demands for trustworthy leadership [that] make the
study of authentic leadership timely and worthwhile” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 253). According
to Peter Northouse (2013) there are three different viewpoints on what authentic leadership
could translate into from an intrapersonal, interpersonal, and developmental perspective. The
intrapersonal perspective focuses on “the leader and what goes on within the leader” as it
Oprah Winfrey
7 incorporates elements of “the leader’s self-knowledge, self-regulation, and self-concept” (pg.
254). The interpersonal viewpoint focuses on “authentic leadership as relational created by
leaders and followers together” like that of a reciprocal process where both leader and
follower are affected (Northouse, 2013, pg. 254). The developmental perspective means
“authentic leadership develops in people over a lifetime and can be triggered by major life
events” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 254). Research was conducted in regard to the developmental
aspect and it was found that there are four components that contributed to this type of
leadership: “self-awareness (leader’s personal insights), internalized moral perspective (core
values lead rather than external pressures), balanced processing (allows leader to weigh both
sides of the problem before making a valid and educated decision), and relational
transparency (being honest to oneself and others)” (Northouse, 2013, pgs. 263-264). These
four components are what set the foundation for authentic leadership, but it is the
psychological factors that maintain this leadership style and involve that of confidence, hope,
optimism, and resilience.
Part of Oprah Winfrey’s authenticity was established when she was rejected by ABC
and formed what is now Harpo Productions and where she launched her award-winning
daytime talk show. John Greathouse (2012) from Forbes Magazine commented that it was
Oprah “owning her show in its entirety [that] allowed her to be truly authentic, in a way that
hosts controlled by large networks were unable to emulate” (pg. 1). She didn’t have to work
with mediocre budgets, celebrities, or even accept sponsors she didn’t feel mirrored what she
believed and stood for, and in fact that was part of her appeal. She was approached by a
major soft drink brand to promote their product and she said “no’ and it was that “no” that
“led to her global popularity – her fans knew that she was not for sale. If she promoted a
book, product, movie or diet, it was because she was a fan, not because she was earning a
promotional paycheck” (Greathouse, 2012, pg. 1). The reason her talk show lasted as long as
Oprah Winfrey
8 it did was due to the sustainability of the “emotional and personal connection with her
audience, despite her tremendous wealth and power” (Greathouse, 2012, pg. 1). Another
aspect of her authenticity sprang from her close relationship with her staff. Winfrey “retained
a solid connection with reality because she surrounded herself with a team who worked with
her from the outset of her venture” and that included her “understanding that her success was
shared by everyone who contributed to Harpo’s growth” (Greathouse, 2012, pg. 1). This
experience in Winfrey’s life displays her relational transparency, balance, morals and selfawareness. Authentic leadership as projected is both “formed and informed by [her] life
story” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 261).
Authentic leaders are those that have secured a profound sense of self and yet “have a
genuine desire to serve others” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 258). This concept of “authenticity has
its roots in Greek philosophy – to thine own self be true” (Bruce & Gardner, 2005, pg. 319).
Five characteristics have been established by people who exhibit Authentic leadership: “they
understand their purpose, they have strong values about the right thing to do, they establish
trusting relationships, they demonstrate self-discipline and act on their values, and they are
passionate about their mission” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 258). These leaders have heart and a
deep unwavering sense of compassion. After all it is the leader’s primary responsibility to
“learn to develop these qualities and apply them to the common good as he or she serves
others” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 267). It is imperative that authentic leadership thrives in
“environments that provide open access to information, resources, support, and equal
opportunity for everyone to learn and develop [who] will empower and enable leaders and
[followers] to accomplish their work more effectively” (Bruce & Gardner, 2005, pg. 327).
There needs to be a continuous pattern of learning and purpose that sustains the authenticity
in this type of leadership. Authentic leadership is about creating that “fundamental difference
in organizations by helping people find meaning and connection at work” and in life. (Bruce
Oprah Winfrey
9 & Gardner, 2005, pg. 331). This effective leadership style also depends on always wanting to
exceed expectations. It is the positive atmosphere created within and externally towards
others that sustains these exceptional performances in and outside of the workplace.
Winfrey has demonstrated an authentic leadership style across all boundaries and
perspectives in her life and in the lives of others. This has definitely occurred over a period of
time and from her past experiences. Oprah’s Angel Network is an example of authentic
leadership in action. It started in 1994 when Winfrey had a little girl named Nora and her
father Ted as guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Nora was invited to the show to talk about
the “Penny Harvest project” in which “she and other children collected pennies, which added
up to $1,000.00 to help different organizations” (Oprah’s Angel Network, 2008). Then
Winfrey thought to herself: “If you could do that, I wonder what I could do” and this is the
question that “brought about an organization that would change lives around the world”
(Oprah’s Angel Network, 2008). Winfrey did a live on-air performance shortly after in which
she invited viewers to join her “using their lives to improve the lives of others with her new
organization” (Oprah’s Angel Network, 2008). It was Winfrey’s visions to “inspire
individuals to create opportunities that enable underserved women and children to rise to
their potential” (Oprah’s Angel Network, 2008). Oprah’s Angel Network to name a few
examples has allowed Oprah and her followers to “build over 55 schools in 12 countries,
providing education for thousands of children in rural areas throughout the world,” a “schoolbased program that inspires young people to become active, compassionate and
knowledgeable global citizens” and to “provide books for under-resourced children in
regions where a book club selection is set” (Oprah’s Angel Network, 2008). Winfrey
displayed authentic leadership through intrapersonal, interpersonal, and through
developmental perspectives. She has joined with followers alike to help others, which also
triggered a type of transformational leadership.
Oprah Winfrey 10 Transformational Leadership
“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing
his attitude” – Oprah Winfrey
Transformational leadership is a more modernized and popular view of leadership in
today’s society as it has a direct influence on “intrinsic motivation and follower
development” (Northouse, 2013, pg.185). It is a “process that changes and transforms
people” and embodies that of “emotions, values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals”
while focusing on “assessing followers’ motives, satisfying their needs, and treating them as
full human beings” (Northouse, 2013, pg.185). This process is one that a “person engages
with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both
the leader and the follower” (Northouse, 2013, pg.186). Charismatic leadership goes hand in
hand with transformational leadership as it “transforms followers’ self-concepts and tries to
link the identity of followers to the collective identity of the organization” (Northouse, 2013,
pg.189). Charismatic leaders are those people that exhibit “beliefs and values they want their
followers to adopt,” prove that they are competent, they “articulate ideological goals that
have moral overtones,” they “communicate high expectations for followers,” and they arouse
task-relevant motives in followers that may include affiliation, power, or esteem” (Northouse,
2013, pgs.188-189). Transformational leadership coupled with transactional leadership,
which is defined as the exchange between a leader and follower actually allows for
“performance that goes well beyond what is expected” (Northouse, 2013, pg.193). There are
transformational factors that were found after research was conducted that aid in this
leadership style. Transforming leaders are those people that have “a clear vision of the future
state of their organizations,” they are “social architects” which means that are able to “shape
or form for the shared meanings people maintained within their organizations,” they created
“trust in their organization by making their own positions clearly know and then standing by
Oprah Winfrey 11 them,” and they used creative deployment of self through positive self-regard” (Northouse,
2013, pg.197).
Oprah Winfrey doesn’t just have a power in regard to what the public eats, drinks or
buys, but also whom they will support politically. In the 2008 Presidential election, for the
first time in her career she publically supported a candidate. This candidate was Democratic
nominated Barak Obama. She made quite a few campaign appearances and also hosted a
fundraiser to support him. In an interview with CBS she stated “I’m 100 percent behind our
president. I actually love our president, and have the utmost respect for him and that office
and what it takes to be there” (Dwyer, 2012). One of the biggest impacts she made on his
campaign besides her presence alone was financial support in which she said, “if he [Obama]
or his office called me tomorrow and said that they needed me, I would do whatever I
thought would be of service” (Dwyer, 2012). She hosted a fundraiser dinner at actor Tyler
Perry’s house in Atlanta, Georgia and tickets for the event were $35,800 per person. Obama
himself commented and said “when Oprah decides she likes you, then other people like you
too” and how she continues to befriend his wife Michelle in which they look to Oprah about
“day to day issues…in trying to keep [their] focus on the big picture”” which is what “she’s
[Oprah] done for so many people not just in America but around the world is extraordinary”
(Dwyer, 2012). Now that’s transformational leadership, getting a multitude of people to join
you in support of a candidate for President. And President Obama is exactly right in the fact
that whatever Oprah endorses seems to come into fruition. She transforms all types of
followers daily who see what she believes and allows that feeling and motivation to captivate
them.
Leadership in general has an everyday presence in organizations. It has been found
that employees “not only do a better job when they believe their supervisors are
transformational leaders, but they also are much more satisfied with the company’s
Oprah Winfrey 12 performance appraisal system” (Bass, 21). Transformational leadership makes a difference
and more needs to be done across all levels of management. This type of leadership also
starts within, an individual that looks toward the future, is confident, and seeks to work with
others in order to achieve common goals for the common good. It is important than to place a
type of premium on the surrounding “intellectual resources and flexibility on the
development of people” (Bass, 23). There is a huge difference in society between a “oneminute manager” that tries to provide “day-to-day leadership” rather than someone who takes
pride and looks out for one’s coworkers. It is this same type of leadership that isn’t just seen
or made available in corporate America but also in that of any organization whether it is a
family, a religious organization, a local business, etc. It is about making the difference and
translating that difference across boundaries to impact others.
Winfrey was and still is a transformational leader and one of the ways she proved it
was through making a difference in the lives of little girls in Africa. Johannesburg, Africa
was the decided location where she felt it was time to build “the new school she has dreamed
of” and “beyond inspecting the handiwork of the builders, she [came] to personally select
girls for the founding 7th and 8th grade classes” (Building a Dream, 2007). These girls weren’t
ordinary; in fact they came from troubled backgrounds and were quite poor. Winfrey with the
help of teachers across South Africa joined together to choose these 11, 12, and 13-year-old
girls based on “academic excellence and early displays of leadership” (Building a Dream,
2007). This school is called The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, which is “an
innovative high school whose aim is to discover, teach, inspire young South African girls to
become a new generation of leaders”, and this is only the first of these schools but it is
Winfrey’s goal to build this type of educational system on continents with struggling
communities (Building a Dream, 2007). She finds these girls similar to herself in that she
looks for the “I can” attitude that she had amongst her struggles from her childhood. Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey 13 believes that the “greatest gift you can give is the gift of learning” and it was “her quest for
special girls who want to learn” she “want[s] somebody who already knows that education is
empowerment, and who wouldn’t have had the chance to fulfill the great possibilities of her
life had this not happened – [she] want[ed] to change the trajectory of a child’s life”
(Building a Dream, 2007). Winfrey didn’t just articulate a goal with moral overtones; she put
it into action and made her dream become a reality. She transformed herself through this
process by changing the lives of others. It was something real and organic and she is
providing opportunities to young girls to not only internally change, but also change their
way of life, their family and community and even their future professional world. She is
creating leaders and building their character from across the world.
Conclusion
Nobody’s journey is seamless or smooth. We all stumble. We all have setbacks. It’s just life’s
way of saying, ‘Time to change course’” – Oprah Winfrey
Leadership is a process as are these types of leadership styles. They can be standalone methods of leadership or they can work with each other and change based on
circumstance and situation. What is so great about leadership is the fact that it is a complex
and multi-dimensional way of being. There are limitations to leadership and the different
styles but it is all about putting it into perspective and continually trying until results are seen.
Whether it is learned or natural, skills have to be honed and that happens through experience
in facing the positives and negatives of actions or lack thereof. Women are slowly rising in
the midst of available leadership positions and society is coming together to try and eliminate
prejudices for women. Being a women and an authentic one at that, speaks volumes not only
to other women but also to the general public. Transformation and authentic leadership
actually intertwine at different parts in the process. There is a version of transformational
leadership coined authentic transformational leadership, which is a “socialized leadership that
Oprah Winfrey 14 is concerned with the collective good” and involves positive means of group association such
as “ethical climate, decision making and moral action” (Northouse, 2013, pg. 187). This is
one of the most effective means of leadership as it embodies all that is important to those in a
collective society.
Oprah Winfrey embodies that of an authentic, transformational, African American
woman leader who has overcome a plethora of obstacles and created an unshakeable empire.
The following that she has been able to establish since her mid-twenties are outrageous in
numbers and the fact that she is able to maintain and grow her fan base daily is incredible. It
isn’t just the fact that she made this possible; she has been endorsed again and again and
recognized with a multitude of awards. She might be having difficulty in stabilizing her
network, which is her latest venture but she is convinced that “she can have it all. She just
can’t have it all at once” and blatantly refuses the idea of failure since “[she] doesn’t believe
in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process” (Greathouse, 2012, pg. 1). That is a
leader – learning from the experiences that didn’t go as planned and enjoying them along the
way and continually learning and making new decisions. She influences but most importantly
treats the element of power as a reciprocal resource. Winfrey stay’s in tune with reality but
always having “her feet on the ground, [she] just wears better shoes” (Greathouse, 2012, pg.
1). This is why Oprah Winfrey is both a leader and the “most powerful woman in the world”
(Academy Achievement, 2014).
Oprah Winfrey 15 References
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Bass. (n.d.). From Transactional to Transformational Leadership: Learning to Share the
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