Leadership And Leadership: Case Study: Oprah Winfrey

1. One person that is known for their authentic leadership is Oprah Winfrey. She is a well-known talk show host, film and television actress, philanthropist, and television producer (Biography.com Editors, 2016). Her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, was seen nationally and internationally and has opened many doors for her in the business and financial world. In the twentieth century, Oprah was consistently the only African American billionaire for three years. Through her charitable network, she has raised over $51,000,000 for education and disaster relief efforts.

2. In many ways, Oprah has and continues to embody the self-awareness and internalized moral perspective theoretical aspects of authentic leadership. During the 1990s, The Oprah Winfrey Show shifted from outlandish stories and guests to shows about spirituality and healthiness (Oprah Winfrey Biography -- Academy of Achievement, 2015). At this time, she worked on becoming a healthier individual and would eventually write a book with her personal trainer on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This occasion could be viewed as having self-awareness because she was aware of what was important to her which was reflected in her talk show. Also, her valuing and taking action in living a healthy lifestyle was consistent, which would be related to with

Before the age of 14, she had been sexually abused, abandoned, and gave birth to her son who died shortly afterward. Moving in with her authoritative father has surely helped in improving her life. However, there was a possibility that she could have resisted the demands of her father and new home life. The fact that she did not and turned her adversities into achievements in a relatively short amount of time truly shows the amount of resiliency that Oprah has possessed in her lifetime. This is certainly an admirable quality of hers that has served as a source of inspiration for myself and