Background
It may come as a surprise to some people, but most individuals belong to multiple cultures and must adhere to their principles and honor their values. Thus, there are three levels of culture: national, group, and organizational. The leaders of countries, groups, and companies are responsible for identifying the needs of their communities and adhering to one of the numerous leadership styles to meet these needs properly (Nahavandi, 2015). This paper aims to compare two leaders belonging to each cultural level and then discuss the four models of culture.
National Level: Abraham Lincoln and Herbert Hoover
Two former U.S. presidents represent different leadership styles. First, Abraham Lincoln exemplified the servant leadership model, one of the most sincere, kind, and compassionate presidents who was willing to help his people (Von Behren, 2021). Consequently, he knew what the community expected from him and realized he was there to serve them. At the same time, Herbert Hoover was a delegative leader – he trusted his teams and their experience and let them make significant decisions (Western Governors University, 2020). Ultimately, despite their differences in style, both leaders prioritized the well-being of Americans.
Group Level: Oprah Winfrey and Vince Lombardi
Now, it is possible to compare how a woman and a man lead and motivate their followers. For instance, Oprah Winfrey is a famous and admired female leader who inspires and motivates many American women. Her style is transformational – to promote her vision and values, Oprah encourages innovation, recognizes the need to help, and rarely listens to others’ opinions, trying to balance such situations using her charisma (Bin Sattar, n.d.).
At the same time, Vince Lombardi, a former NFL executive, was a role model and inspirer for many males. Following a transactional leadership style, he focused on a rewards-and-penalties system and performance-oriented tasks. One similarity between these two leaders is that they do not tend to consider the views of their followers.
Organizational Level: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates
Participative leaders encourage collaboration and shared decision-making, which are characteristics of Bill Gates. The organizational leader takes suggestions and recommendations from his colleagues, but does not delegate all his duties to them. Furthermore, Steve Jobs exemplified a charismatic leader, utilizing his expressiveness and oratory skills to achieve results and persuade his employees and followers (Herrity, 2022). These leaders acted similarly by utilizing empathy and effective communication skills, and their leadership styles enabled them to achieve excellent results in their businesses.
Models of Culture
Finally, it is essential to discuss how the four models of culture are represented within national cultures. According to Hall’s Cultural Context Framework, national culture can be categorized as high- or low-context, influencing how leaders communicate ideas and instructions. For example, the former style is more abstract and nonverbal, while the latter is oriented toward concise verbal messages.
Next, Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions allow for the identification of the nature of each country (Nahavandi, 2015). For example, the people of Morocco are more hierarchical, pessimistic, traditional, collectivistic, and patriarchal than those in the Netherlands. Third, Trompenaars’ Dimensions of Culture describes how leadership can combine different dimensions’ traits; it is possible to say that Abraham Lincoln was an example of the family culture – a caring ‘father’ of the nation. Ultimately, the GLOBE model categorizes countries into nine groups based on their primary values. This division adds to Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions.
References
Bin Sattar, S. (n.d.) Leadership qualities – styles, traits and skills of Oprah Winfrey. The Strategy Watch.
Herrity, J. (2022). 5 qualities that define charismatic leadership. Indeed.
Nahavandi, A. (2015). The art and science of leadership. Pearson Von Behren, M. T. (2021). A door Ajar, peering into the nature of a person: Three insights for servant-leadership. The International Journal of Servant-Leadership, 15(1), 155-180.
Western Governors University. (2020). What is laissez-faire leadership?