The Voice of a Leader: Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is most recognized for her Civil Rights-inspired poetry. Though she is much more than just a poet, she was a play-write, actor, professor, singer and dancer (Gillespie, M., Butler, R. J., & Long, R. A., 2008). She held many positions in her life and in all of them she stood out as a leader. In a time when women, like her, were not meant to do much of anything, Maya Angelou stepped out from the crowd to become an inspiring activist and recognized icon. After reflecting on the impact she made, there are several leadership concepts that individuals can learn from the way she lived her life.
Traits
To begin with, different Trait Models use different characteristics to identify who a leader is (Moore, 2017). When describing a leader by traits most people would say tall, affluent, white, males, basically describing masculinity. In fact, Mann (1959), as well as Lord DeVader and Alliger's (1986), used masculinity in their trait models as a way to define a leader (Northouse, 2016). Although this trait excludes leaders like Dr. Angelou, who was a black woman, she still possesses the Major Leadership Traits: "intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability" (Northouse, 2016, p. 23-25). One factor of intelligence is a "strong …show more content…
In her autobiography, Maya Angelou (2004) recounted a time when she could not trust a white woman who offered her friendship and a job. Maya Angelou could not sit back and enjoy this moment of good fortune because of how easily she could have been taken advantage of. If any trouble would have happened in the store, she would be blamed. Due to the prejudices of society, no one would believe her over her white boss. However, racism, among other threats, was just a part of being a black woman of the
Maya Angelou is most recognized for her Civil Rights-inspired poetry. Though she is much more than just a poet, she was a play-write, actor, professor, singer and dancer (Gillespie, M., Butler, R. J., & Long, R. A., 2008). She held many positions in her life and in all of them she stood out as a leader. In a time when women, like her, were not meant to do much of anything, Maya Angelou stepped out from the crowd to become an inspiring activist and recognized icon. After reflecting on the impact she made, there are several leadership concepts that individuals can learn from the way she lived her life.
Traits
To begin with, different Trait Models use different characteristics to identify who a leader is (Moore, 2017). When describing a leader by traits most people would say tall, affluent, white, males, basically describing masculinity. In fact, Mann (1959), as well as Lord DeVader and Alliger's (1986), used masculinity in their trait models as a way to define a leader (Northouse, 2016). Although this trait excludes leaders like Dr. Angelou, who was a black woman, she still possesses the Major Leadership Traits: "intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability" (Northouse, 2016, p. 23-25). One factor of intelligence is a "strong …show more content…
In her autobiography, Maya Angelou (2004) recounted a time when she could not trust a white woman who offered her friendship and a job. Maya Angelou could not sit back and enjoy this moment of good fortune because of how easily she could have been taken advantage of. If any trouble would have happened in the store, she would be blamed. Due to the prejudices of society, no one would believe her over her white boss. However, racism, among other threats, was just a part of being a black woman of the