Oprah Winfrey's Leadership

Oprah Winfrey’s leadership style encompasses various elements namely: 

Specialization, it is Important to recognize a core activity and maintain a brand associated with it, keeping, therefore, the simplicity of the message. In the case of Oprah, the specialization and differentiation are made for excellence, a positive and ambitious vision of self, as well as by binding to philanthropic projects. At a time marked by great talk shows of focused entertainment in the extraordinary and negative differentiation (Gerardo Rivera, Jerry Springer, among others), Oprah uses her difference - being a woman and being black as pillars for their communication, positive, empathic, consistent with the affirmation of capacity overcome obstacles. 

Another style that is possessed by Oprah Winfrey is direction, like other charismatic leaders like Steve Jobs; Oprah has a life story that embodies her vision. Just as a company adopts for herself and discloses a narrative, Oprah tells her story of life, stressing the importance of work and ethics in their decisions. It is women, black Americans and also the victims and the excluded. 

Differentiation is another style that is common to Oprah by keeping simplicity in the message and feeding a personal narrative that manages to be both strong and empathetic, Oprah distinguishes herself from the competition. She is unique and exceptional. And yet, she does not cease to represent every woman and their aspirations (Wilkins, 2015). 

Consistency style has a direct relationship with the differentiation and a proactive attitude towards career and the market. The message of Oprah is positive, echoes the aspirations and concerns of women worldwide. And it is clearly different, in that it does not focus their attention on aspects such as the role of women in the family or the husband, but what the set and to become happy. It is a change of perspective that does not focus on personal sacrifice but in personal fulfillment capacity. 

All these dimensions relate to the personality of Oprah, which incorporates and gives tangibility to the values it defends. She opens the door to mate and Friends, converting viewers into close relatives, all this long before the advent of social media. 

Brand has a direct relationship with the major challenges that companies face. Here is a question of coherence between the personal life and the public image. Note that the delicate balance established with friends and family in an open environment is very difficult to maintain persistently and can be disturbed by private discussions in the public space calling into question the maintenance of values touted. 

Visibility style is Reinforced by the omnipresence of the brand on television, in print communication, radio, and other activity. 

Productivity establishes a direct link with the more conventional business activity. A brand that does not sell does not produce, and therefore it is useless. In the case of Oprah, the work ethic and the multiplication of projects reinforces this dimension. 

One of the most prominent aspects of Oprah’s leadership style is her prowess in communication. 

More broadly, Oprah Winfrey is an example of the junction of the two qualities, namely the ability to be emotionally expressive, but also to control this expression in order to serve its communicative purposes, considered so naturally as having a personal charisma that allows her to achieve cultural icon status (Porterfield & Kleiner, 2005). Leading means taking risks, daring to be at the forefront, demonstrating emotional stability in the face of adversity, powerfully consolidating emotions to lead the way. Leaders use nonverbal communication to strengthen the verbal message and create a visual message that touches people who are the recipients of the communication. 

As can be seen in the elements described above, there are a number of aspects related to non-verbal communication. All these aspects will be visible when analyzing the leadership style and competence of Oprah Winfrey. Furthermore, the Oprah Winfrey Show can prove the presence of all these signs, which often go unnoticed to the general public, and that really makes the difference between communication excellence and lower efficacy or quality (Lofton, 2011). 

TV personalities like Oprah Winfrey surely have all these aspects in mind mainly because they are in front of a far wider audience. There must be preparedness to implement the program, and all aspects must be reviewed in detail, although the bulk of the television message from occurring at the time which leads the program, in this case, Oprah, beckons guests and starts conversations and interviews. Oprah dominates without any doubt all non-verbal and verbal techniques to conduct interviews, for example, although this domain was something acquired and improved throughout her career (Lowe, 2001). 

Needless to say, this is one of the reasons why her program attracted large audiences for several years. This was what the Oprah viewers wanted to see - an empathic connection, complicity, and friendship. Through this friendly audience that Oprah has created on her own accord, she has used potentiated transmission and internalization of the message as a powerful tool. And as I mentioned before, the power of the transmitted message is very interconnected with the way the person who transmits it is seen or perceived. Oprah cultivated, throughout her television career, the right image to solicit an audience, a loyal following, and respect, while creating an aura around her, expanding her presence that stretched to the homes of so many Americans who adored her (Klenke, 2002). Oprah could unite in sync so much so that she commands the loyalty of her supporters or customers. 

People like Oprah act and behave similarly; live through the nonverbal communications of success, are attentive observers of the world around them, read the people they deal with accuracy and discern many things before others. They are also fully aware that they are to transmit non-verbal information and use it to their advantage. What allows these people to stand out is exactly what they transmit through aspects such as attitude, competence, the speed of action, conduct, judgment, and confidence. In the work of these people, the signs of success are constantly being transmitted, thus showing those who hear and see that they are reliable people. However, this is not based primarily on what is said, but rather the reliability of what the individual does. 

Oprah Winfrey is a communicational phenomenon in the US and across international borders. She manifests a level of very strong communication skills. She plans with focus and high levels of authenticity (Krohn, 2008). The congruence that expresses the level of integrated, verbal and nonverbal communication, is of high caliber and has a capacity unusual to respond verbally to nonverbal cues that realize in their guests. With excellence in communication, Oprah grew on par with the level of emotional maturity that has been reached and has been expanding, as the result of hard work, constant public exposure and training/reflection on her performance on television. As mentioned, the communication capability accompanies the emotional state of those who communicate, and this is affecting, among others, the confidence level achieved at all times. The level of confidence that Oprah acquired developed over time, with the natural positive consequences in terms of integrated communications. Anyway, there is a set of signals that facilitate the creation of a charismatic relationship with the public. 

Further, having been an excellent student with recognized oratorical skills early on, Oprah Winfrey set life goals, which were probably conditioned by experiences that she had to adolescence (she managed to reverse the situation, overcome obstacles and, contrary to what would be expected, overcome everything and everyone) to get to work and to be recognized for her own work (especially radio). Her ambition did not let stagnate and led her to always look for something else, something that materializes her dreams (one of the main being an actress). 

Using her leadership skills, Oprah Winfrey showed a great ability to overcome barriers, whether motivated by race, gender or class (Miller, 2004). She is effectively a communicational and sociological phenomenon, which marked American society, not only through communication but also for being a global phenomenon. 

Oprah was able to establish an intimate dialogue with the audience without being intrusive, and in a seemingly natural way, whose evolution can be observed specifically through programs addressed in this study. We can understand that also Oprah Winfrey, herself as a person, went through a visible evolution over the decades. She opened public space on television for someone like her to show herself in all her brilliance. She secures a huge highlight and at the same time used the social intervention. 

Oprah Winfrey was able to pick up a power considered almost uncontrollable and, in this sense, was extremely intelligent and intuitive to use her experience in the best possible way. Oprah Winfrey became unlike anything is previously seen on television through what she offered to her audience. We can speak of representation and representation, returning one of the initial sections of this study, stressing that these representations were built and legitimized by their audience. It was the public who gave her power, credibility, and status. It was the social relationships she built that positioned her on a higher status (Hsu, 2005). However, these relations were not imposed. They were accepted and absorbed by an eager audience, and Oprah used this opportunity to consolidate a brand by reaching to all people. 

Oprah Winfrey has always tried to innovate and meet the expectations of her faithful companions and friends: the audience. It should be understood that Oprah utilized her experience over time to influence an entire industry, a highly developed cultural industry that is recognized worldwide. Oprah Winfrey has created an allure all around. With the introduction of new items in the program, Oprah Winfrey brought happiness to many homes, many dreams materialize and changed many lives. Became, so, too, one of the best-known philanthropic women in the world especially with the construction of its known Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in 2007, in addition to numerous solidarity actions promoted by it over the years. 

Oprah thus became an associated mark here to personal branding where the persona built for it can encompass a number of features that make today, in 2015, continue to be known around the world simply as Oprah. Obviously, the fact of being a woman and African American has a different and appealing precisely because of this difference because it did not match the stereotype created woman to be a television presenter. In my view, this was also one of the reasons for its success: being different. But this difference would not be enough if she had not a proper charisma, great professionalism that cumulatively presented as genuine, informed, proactive and, moreover, the ideal confidant. If there is a charismatic leadership, Oprah Winfrey seems to be its prototype (Kariuki, 2008). Therein is a charismatic personality, which she controls very well, combined with her personal style. From the communication point of view, the ability to be seduced by her personality is increasingly valued. 

In a world that is often empty, if anyone can polarize attention through her leadership skills, it is because it has something charismatic. That's how she became an opinion leader to demonstrate their opinions and justify them, regardless of racial, gender or class. Clearly, to become one of the most influential women in the world, being very professional in all that was involved, after the program has reached a certain level of audience and with a great financial capacity, all culminated in its worldwide success and consequently in their status as an opinion maker. During her program, Oprah Winfrey not only guided the interviews, as opined on the issues in question, influencing and shaping attitudes of the public. Television influences the masses, as messages are conveyed to many millions, thus shaping opinions and changing ways of thinking and facing certain situations of daily life, so banal to some and as relevant to others. Oprah Winfrey early on proved to be a model of self-assertion in a largely white society and where the power, even at the professional and business level, was mainly in the hand of the male sector. Perhaps it was this challenge that she proposed to overcome. 

In dropping her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, I think that above all there is a place and a time for everything and Oprah Winfrey knew she had gotten her moment to stop. This stop did not mean that she would abandon or relent any contact with the viewers as they could continue to accompany her through the Oprah Winfrey Network, and she asked them that. But everyone knew that it would not be the same thing, including her own. But it was an option, a decision that obviously created certain consequences, including financial challenges. While OWN at first was somewhat stigmatized by the low ratings and meagre profits, Oprah and all her team were able to work around the situation and, as in 2014, newspapers announced the turnaround in the company's fortunes. Changes had to be made and new feasible ways of doing things adopted. Oprah remains a constant presence with her programs, mostly dedicated to interviews, an activity for which she has a special flair. I think the OWN is now entering a new cycle with a relatively significant and visible progress thanks to the leadership skills of Oprah Winfrey. But I think Oprah has harmonized her abilities in planning, organizing, directing and coordination to realize stabilization of the company, programs, and employees (Peck, 2015). 

Oprah Winfrey, at her disposition, decided it was the right time to change, and change everything, even her life that until then had always been so conditioned by the responsibility of leading a talk show with the relevance and impact she had developed. Oprah Winfrey did not give up anything but just decided to embrace a new project that would allow her to achieve what she always said in her program: to be the best version of herself through self-realization and self-perfection. 

Oprah Winfrey is a communication phenomenon. She has been and continues to be an excellent communicator, and this has contributed to a successful television career. Nevertheless, apart from her television style, it has been her leadership qualities that ensured her continued domination in entertainment and business. I conclude with an overall assessment. I consider Oprah Winfrey a remarkable leader and cultural phenomenon. Finally, I would like to point out that I consider to be Oprah Winfrey largely heir to a leadership tradition marked by positive attitude and not only by the desire to improve the lives of everyone but the desire to persuade others of the need to follow this route in their search of something better for themselves and all. 

References 

Hsu, C. (2005). Entrepreneur for social change.  US News & World Report ,  139 (16), 63-66. 

Kariuki, W. (2008). Daring to lead: The logic behind the leadership practices of a successful female leader.  Advancing Women in Leadership ,  27 , N_A. 

Klenke, K. (2002). Cinderella stories of women leaders: Connecting leadership contexts and competencies.  Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies ,  9 (2), 18-28. 

Krohn, K. E. (2008).  Oprah Winfrey: Global Media Leader . Twenty-First Century Books. 

Lofton, K. (2011).  Oprah: The gospel of an icon . Univ of California Press. 

Lowe, J. (2001).  Oprah Winfrey Speaks: Insights from the World's Most Influential Voice . John Wiley & Sons. 

Miller, L. E. (2004).  The changing nature of celebrity from entertainer to entrepreneur: Oprah Winfrey as tastemaker (Doctoral dissertation, Georgetown University). 

Peck, J. (2015).  Age of Oprah: Cultural Icon for the Neoliberal Era . Routledge. 

Porterfield, J., & Kleiner, B. H. (2005). A new era: Women and leadership.  Equal Opportunities International ,  24 (5/6), 49-56. 

Wilkins, K. G. (2015). Celebrity as celebration of privatization in global development: A critical feminist analysis of Oprah, Madonna, and Angelina.  Communication, Culture & Critique ,  8 (2), 163-181.