We often create a false dichotomy to make sense of the world around us. We assume that you cannot be strong and also vulnerable or that you cannot be smart and also failing all of your classes. This concept of creating a dichotomy out of two things that are not mutually exclusive applies to leadership as well. Leaders are rarely just transformational or just transactional; they usually inhibit both qualities to create a duality in their leadership. Johnson, Brockovich, and Belfort all display different makeups of this duality in different ways as leaders.
Transactional and transformational leadership are different in nature. Kuhnert defines transactional leadership as “when one person takes initiative in making contact with others for the …show more content…
Even as a child Johnson was extremely gifted and even skipped multiple grades. As an adult she became a computer for NASA along with many other gifted women of color. Johnson was promoted to work on the team in charge of putting a man in space. She received this promotion because she was the only person working for NASA that had extensive experience with analytical geometry. Johnson became a leader for many other women of color because she was the first to receive a promotion like this. Johnson’s leadership is transformational in nature because she is directly fighting racism. Johnson is not trusted nearly as much as her white male coworkers. The data she is supposed to be examining is even blacked out due to “confidentiality.” One scene where this is evident is where Johnson request permission from her supervisor, Stafford, to be present in the meetings about the mission. She says, “Sir, if I could attend the briefings, I could stay current.” Stafford replies, “Katherine, we have been through this. It is not possible. There is no protocol for women attending.” Johnson counters with the statement, “There’s no protocol for a man circling the Earth either, sir.” This scene shows the hardship that Johnson is leading through. She is a transformational leader because she is working through these conditions for the future of other colored women working for NASA. Her work
Transactional and transformational leadership are different in nature. Kuhnert defines transactional leadership as “when one person takes initiative in making contact with others for the …show more content…
Even as a child Johnson was extremely gifted and even skipped multiple grades. As an adult she became a computer for NASA along with many other gifted women of color. Johnson was promoted to work on the team in charge of putting a man in space. She received this promotion because she was the only person working for NASA that had extensive experience with analytical geometry. Johnson became a leader for many other women of color because she was the first to receive a promotion like this. Johnson’s leadership is transformational in nature because she is directly fighting racism. Johnson is not trusted nearly as much as her white male coworkers. The data she is supposed to be examining is even blacked out due to “confidentiality.” One scene where this is evident is where Johnson request permission from her supervisor, Stafford, to be present in the meetings about the mission. She says, “Sir, if I could attend the briefings, I could stay current.” Stafford replies, “Katherine, we have been through this. It is not possible. There is no protocol for women attending.” Johnson counters with the statement, “There’s no protocol for a man circling the Earth either, sir.” This scene shows the hardship that Johnson is leading through. She is a transformational leader because she is working through these conditions for the future of other colored women working for NASA. Her work