In his acceptance speech delivered in Chicago's Grant Park, newly chosen President-elect Barack Hussein Obama threw down the gauntlet and declared, "A new dawn of American leadership is at hand" (DeFrank, 2008). Indeed, with expectations for his incoming administration at a historic high (Ruggeri, 2009), the unprecedented election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America was met with heightened euphoria and emphatic hallelujahs (DeFrank). Undoubtedly some wondered, "Can he truly live up to all the hype and handle well the monumental task at hand?" From day one, the ills of the nation and the planet called all his leadership skills into practice; putting his bold promise of "a new kind of American leadership" clearly on the line.
President Obama Active from Day One in Office
For the most part (whether one agrees or disagrees with his policies or accomplishments) President Obama attempted to fulfill his pledge to be that new kind of presidential leader (Conrad & Holder, 2009). From the first day he sat down in the Oval Office, Obama's works were characterized by an ambitious agenda and decisive action through which he showed evidence that the office of the American presidency requires carefully formulated combinations of leadership approaches (Conrad & Holder). Consequently, in his first 100 days, President Obama demonstrated a number of well-recognized leadership models including the five highlighted below:
Charismatic/Transformational Leadership Theory
Charismatic/Transformational Leadership Theory demonstrated in just about everything "from the president's personal equanimity …to his masterful use of the bully pulpit" (Huffington, 2009). "Charismatic leadership is a unique personality characteristic that gives a person...exceptional powers that result in the person being treated as a leader" (Weber as cited in Northouse, 2008).