Transformational Leadership and the Modern Presidency

This book seeks to analyze the leadership of three presidents: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, as well as to examine the impact of the presidents’ leadership had on the leadership of the advisers they worked with during their presidencies. Transformational leadership, a term first introduced by James MacGregor Burns, describes a process in which “leaders and followers help each other to advance to a higher level of morale and motivation.” In order to measure transformational leadership, Bernard M. Bass’s model - which includes four elements: an idealized influence, inspiring motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual treatment - is applied throughout. It is crucial to conduct an analysis of the relationships between the examined three presidents and their advisers in order to demonstrate if the subordinates excelled in leadership because of the presidents’ leadership skill.