All leaders differ in the way they implement their leadership. Two leaders selected for a comparison are Margaret Thatcher, the first woman Prime Minister in the United Kingdom, and Fidel Castro, the President of Cuba who led the first guerrilla movement

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

Leadership and Management

BUSM3120

PART A: LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS

A common definition of leadership is the ability to inspire and influence others to reach a common or set of goals. It is the principle dynamic force that motivates and coordinates in order to reach objectives (Bass 1993). All leaders differ in the way they implement their leadership. Two leaders selected for a comparison are Margaret Thatcher, the first woman Prime Minister in the United Kingdom, and Fidel Castro, the President of Cuba who led the first guerrilla movement in Latin America to defeat the military. Key aspects concerning their leadership will be discussed. This will include charisma and transformational leadership qualities. Charismatic leadership is a component of transformational leadership and is the ability to influence major changes in the attitudes and assumptions of other individuals to achieve objectives (Yukl, 1994). Transformational leadership is effectively ‘changing the status quo’ (Dubrin et. al, 2006). The traits, motives and characteristics of Thatcher and Castro will be discussed to distinguish qualities that made them who they were and how they used theses qualities to lead and influence society. The final aspect that will be discussed is power, politics and leadership. Both leaders were surrounded by politics and required power to fulfil their position as leader of their country. These factors influenced how effective each was as leaders. Thatcher and Castro were selected for analysis as both were involved in politics in two very different countries. The similarities and differences of these leaders will be further looked at.

Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926 in Cuba’s eastern Oriente province. He grew up in wealthy circumstances amid poverty. He is best known as leader of the Cuban revolution and served as the president for 49 years from January 1959 until his retirement in February 2008. Since 1959, he ruled Cuba out of crisis, leading the nation through social reforms, US attacks and barricades while holding onto a clear idealistic policy.

In 1953, Moncada barracks in Santiago, the second largest guerrilla in Cuba, was a well-known resident of the government. In July of that year, amongst hundreds of fighters, Castro attempted to overthrow the Moncada barracks, which aimed at seizing weapons. This set off against the Batista dictatorship struggles and opened the prelude of armed seize power. Castro’s involvement in the attack landed him in prison in 1953, but made him famous throughout Cuba. In court Castro based his own defence speech: "History will absolve me." He denounced the brutal regime of the Batista dictatorship and defined the main policy of the Cuban revolution.

Released in 1955, Castro went to Mexico and continued to organize the domestic resistance and trained a small invasion force. In December 1956, that invasion took place with eighty-one men on the yacht Granma, but was easily defeated, most killed. The survivors fled into the Sierra Maestra Mountains along the south-eastern coast. There, they mounted a full-scale attack in 1958, forcing Batista to flee the country in January 1959. Castro became the president of Cuba, responded to internal, popular, and external pressures, and to his own radical and nationalist agenda.

In the late 1990s, the state of Castro's health became a subject of much discussion. While numerous health problems had been reported over the years, the most significant news came on July 31, 2006 when Fidel had surgery for gastro-intestinal bleeding. Due to his ill-health, Fidel appointed his brother, Raul Castro, as the country’s temporary leader.

Conger & Kanungo (1988, cited in Dubrin et al. 2006, p.92) define charisma as a special quality of leaders whose purposes, powers, and extraordinary determination differentiate them from others. Key characteristics of a charismatic leader, as illustrated by Fidel, are his communication skills and the ability to inspire trust. Fidel’s charisma was particularly evident through his superior verbal communication towards his followers. He won their loyalty which enabled him to take control of the numerous chaotic situations which he faced as Cuba’s president. His public speaking skills were so powerful in influencing those who listened, that Batista government allowed him to publish his words, but was not allowed to speak them in public.

Castro displayed a transformational leadership style as he was able to influence his followers’ values, ethics, standards and long-term goals at a deep emotional level. He has led over transformational changes in Cuba to social conditions such as literacy and health-care. Castro was able to influence his followers to accomplish more than what was expected of them, as he held great personal power, which included: expert power, referent power, and prestige power. These attributes are derived from the person rather than the organisation (Dubrin et al. 2006, p.209).

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Castro ultimately changed Cuba’s entire social and economic structure. A contemporary source has proven Castro’s constructive impact on Cuba. Erikson (2004), for instance, claimed that even Washington thinks that Cuba’s influence in Latin America is on the rise, thanks to Castro’s leadership.

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Important personality traits of an effective leader which Castro showed were determination, a great level of self-confidence, and persistence. Despite being called stubborn and labelled as practicing "Fidelism", he still lead with an “iron fist" (Erikson, 2004, p.32). In particular, he projected a public image of self-confidence and strong will. He showed a high level of intelligence, which is another important factor for leadership success. Even opponents admit that Castro was bright, insightful, and well-read. His devoted followers also viewed him in a similar light, as a man of integrity, personal courage and selflessness. "Commandant, whatever may be the task, wherever it may be, whenever it may be" is not an uncommon slogan (Valdes, 1993).

Task-related personality traits which he imposed were courage, motivation, resilient and empathy towards the underprivileged people of Cuba. He had an enormous drive, developed an imposing posture, and displayed resilience whenever his missions failed. He would improve his strategy and try again. His determination as a leader was evident when he spent two years in jail after attempting to overthrow Batista’s dictatorship, expanding his knowledge studying political philosophy, history and literature while in held in prison. This strengthened his policy of change from corruption to social equality. His motivation came from his determination to continue his mission to take over as Cuba’s president once set free.

Castro has been the unquestioned political and ideological leader, as he usually made significant decisions in regards to the important policies made. He appears to be at the centre of politics and economy. One of the many formal titles which Castro holds is Maximum Leader of the Revolution. By the late 1940’s, Castro knew the methods, images and stakes of Cuban politics. After becoming the leader of an anti-Communist nationalist group that promised major social, economic and political reforms, he expected to win the presidential position through electoral politics.

He was the first guerrilla movement in Latin America to defeat the military. He proved to be a skilful political and military strategist. In 1959, Batista’s government was perceived as unpopular among the Cuban people. This created a great opportunity for Castro to capture the chance to take power as a hero. His empathetic approach toward the underprivileged soon made him an icon in his country. On January 1, 1959, the Cuban revolution began under his leadership with the largest popular support of any political movement in the history of the country. He equally participated in the process of changing Cuba’s political climate, as a member of the guerrilla troops and created an environment of respect, understanding, and empathy between himself and his allies. It was these troops who were responsible in ultimately shaping the change of Cuba’s political change.

Once in power, Castro proved to be a persuasive and moving speaker, and a man who had the support of the population. He was an important figure in defining the future direction of the revolution and developed this establishment. He was able to organize, even to delegate authority. On July 31, 2006, Fidel Castro delegated his power to his younger brother, Raul Castro due to his health decline. Delegation is an important part of empowerment. Mr. Castro temporarily handed over power to his brother and a collective of other high-ranking officials during his recuperation (Depalma & McKinley, 2006)

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, the politician and former British Prime Minister was born on 13 October 1925 in Lincolnshire, England. She was a revolutionary leader of the 20th century and became known as the ‘Iron Lady’. She served as the first female Prime Minister of England between 1979 to 1990.

Early on Thatcher was introduced to conservative politics by her father who was a member of the town’s council. She attended Oxford University from 1943 to 1947 and earned a degree in Chemistry. She stood as a Conservative candidate in the 1950 and 1951 elections. Thatcher practiced tax law and qualified as a barrister in 1953. But she did not stay away from the political arena for too long. Thatcher won a seat in the House of Commons in 1959, representing Finchley. Her first ministerial appointment came in 1961, when she became a front-bench spokeswoman for her party, and member of the Shadow Cabinet.

When the Conservatives returned to office in June 1970, she was appointed secretary of state for education and science, becoming famous as "Thatcher, milk snatcher", after her abolition of the universal free school milk scheme. In 1975 she was elected leader of the Conservative Party and became the first woman to serve in the House of Commons.

In May 1979 she became Britain's first female prime minister. The three consecutive elections were won by Thatcher; two were landslide majorities which saw her in office for a total of 11 and half years. It was not until November 28th 1990 that Thatcher stepped down. In 1992, she was appointed to the House of Lords, as Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.

Thatcher was a cautious Prime Minister who has been described as daring to do what her previous successors never had the courage to do (Martino, 1999) she bought about change in Britain which is a quality of a transformational and charismatic leadership. Thatcher demonstrated both referent power; influence with desirable traits, and expert power; influence from knowledge, skills and abilities (Dubrin et. al, 2006). She recognised and emphasised traits that were desirable to the people. Thatcher was charismatic as she had a vision of improving the economy and goals to bring about major changes to the United Kingdom. She used language that was inclusive of society, “on my side, supporters, our people” and used this as a persuasive technique and make people feel they belong to a group.

‘Thatcherism’ was soon recognised, it encompassed the notion of “romanticising risk” (Dubrin et al, 2006) under charismatic leadership. It was described as a powerful collection of values of human capacity in a political society (Martino, 1999). These ideas were not new, only outlined and put into operation by the “Iron Lady”, which added to people’s perception of her charisma and courage.

Thatcher easily communicated with her audience as Churchill-MacMillian (1979) once observed about Thatcher, “She is an actress. She is very conscious of the impression she’s making”. By appealing and engaging with audiences Thatcher was able to gain support and ultimately undertake objectives. Thatcher is also a transformational leader, she restored Britain economy and recognised that what the nation needed in order to thrive. She identified the need for dramatic changes and communicated them to the people, whom she got her support. She had a vision and that is basically what encompasses charisma as well as transformational leadership qualities as seen with Thatcher.

Thatcher had many traits and motives that appealed to the public. Although she was dubbed early on as the “Iron Lady” and was described as a tough minded leader who would “make men’s toes curl” (Baird, 2008) she did appeal to the public by juxtaposing her stereotypical image of the “Iron Lady” with that of a regular housewife which emanated her warmth, which helped develop relations with the public as outlined by Page (1991), “warmth comes with territory”.

During her time as Prime Minister, Thatcher exuded self-confidence and enthusiasm as seen by her authoritarian style of leadership and how she changed Britain. The authoritarian style of leadership exercised by Thatcher indicated she made decisions with little involvement of others and preferred to do things herself. She was known to delegate tasks only if she was certain of the consequences and the outcome would benefit and be to her liking (Wright, 1995). This right winged style of leadership proved to be effective for Thatcher due to the state the Conservative Party and the devastated economy when she entered office.

Her ability to walk the talk only increased her effectiveness and trustworthiness. Trust is a person’s confidence in another’s intentions, motives and sincerity of word (Lewicki et. al 2006). Thatcher was consistent between her actions and words and delivered outcomes that were favourable that increased Britain’s trust in her. Thatcher has been well known for her “sharp tongue, impatience, abrasive and intelligent nature” (William, 2008), and this proved to be effective with the British people. People appreciated her honest and outspoken nature and she was perceived to be trustworthy and assertive, both recognised traits of effective leaders (William, 2008). Task related traits were demonstrated was passion for her work, as she was always in the spotlight voicing her goals, something that very few politicians did (Boyson, 1999). Thatcher was a patriotic leader; she was “instinctive...she was a powerful leader who stood up for Britain” (Boyson, 1999) and once quoted by Thatcher herself, “I want certain things for Britain”.

Thatcher was also keyed in with her locus of control, she believed in her innate ability to take control, took responsibility for her actions and was able to change unfavourable conditions (Dubrin et. al, 2006). Thatcher demonstrated that she was internal as she made significant changes in Britain, one of the most prominent was the privatisation of state owned utilities (William, 2008), which was the beginning of rebuilding Britain’s damaged economy which lead to a popular capitalism and a shareholding democracy (Martino, 1999). Thatcher’s traits, motives and characteristics made her the effective leader she was, she may have been right winged but at the time it appeared to be what the country needed in order to rebuild and establish itself again economically.

Margaret Thatcher was regarded one of the greatest political leaders of all time due to her ability to influence decisions; this is known as power. The main power used by Thatcher was legitimate power because she had the lawful right to make decisions and expect compliance (Zand, 1997). She was adamant about where the nation was headed and persuaded her colleagues in order to set by example and lead to reach her objectives. During her time in office Thatcher didn’t just chair government discussions, but rather actively participated which assisted in persuading the people to agree with the direction she thought would be best.

The “Iron Lady” was very power driven and due to fear, ministers would often not consult with her on a regular basis in case they were found to be incompetent and possibly dismissed if she thought them to be weak as she was known to do. Tom Peter (1994) identified power can often be abused, but it can also benefit many people, this is true in Thatcher’s case as she maintained the support of her followers for three consecutive elections due to the fact that she was a transformational leader.

When she was elected head of the Conservative party Thatcher was definitely in the right place at the right time, she capitalised on the opportunity and acted accordingly in proposing things that appealed to the people. Thatcher was surrounded by a political environment and found means to gain power in her position by making contacts with others who held a powerful status, the perfect example being her relations with the current US President, Ronald Reagan. She was also recognised internationally and gained praise from other leaders one being Gorbachev, the Soviet leader of the time. Thatcher also gained political power as she controlled all vital information and was kept well informed on all events.

Furthermore, her image was a political tactic aimed at establishing relations with her people. Through managing her impression and behaviour she drew on her femininity to make her more popular and to counteract her image of the “Iron Lady”. As she stated in a speech in 1976 about her appearance “my green chiffon evening gown, my face softly made up, my hair softly waved” (Thatcher, 1976). She was also rarely presented without wearing pearls. Thatcher knew that impression was a vital aspect of gaining power and she played this part very well. Thatcher has been described as seeking to be in command by appearing to be in command (Wright, 1995). She controlled her gestures, regulated her smile and adjusts the pitch of her voice according to the topic of discussion. (Wright, 1995). Power and politics play an integral role in Thatcher’s leadership as Prime Minister from how she gained power through communication, knowledge, conducted, influential contacts she made and the impression she sought to make on her followers.

All leaders differ in the way they implement their leadership. Margaret Thatcher and Fidel Castro are two leaders who have proven this statement true. Despite the fact that both leaders were dubbed with what may seem as negative nicknames, Thatcher with Iron Lady, and Castro as practising in Fidelism which relates to being stubborn, they were both great leaders. As been reviewed in this essay, Thatcher and Fidel shared more similarities than differences. Thatcher was the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and Fidel was the president of Cuba. When analysing their charismatic and transformational leadership, a range of similarities emerged. In particular, the similarities were that they both demonstrated referent and expert power. This aided their personal power amongst their followers. Both were transformational leaders in the charismatic sense in that they appealed and engaged with their audiences and demonstrated skills to influence their followers. Also, they both improved the economic state of their countries. Another similarity was found when analysing their power and politics. By holding respective positions as prime minister and president, Thatcher and Castro held legitimate power. Besides making decisions and expecting compliance, they both actively participated with the decisions they made. In return, they had gained respect, understanding, and empathy between themselves and their followers. Reviewing their traits, motives and characteristics found more similarities. It proved that both leaders demonstrated certain task-related traits that are closely linked with task accomplishment. However, each leader showed different sets of traits. Thatcher showed passion and patriotism towards her people, while Castro showed courage, motivation, resilient and empathy towards the underprivileged people of Cuba. Another difference between Thatcher and Castro was in terms of delegation. Due to his health decline, Castro delegated his authority in dire circumstances when he passed on his presidency to his brother and vice president, Raul Castro. However, Thatcher would only delegate authority if the outcome was known or favourable to her.

PART B: KEY SUMMARY

Through the analysis of Fidel Castro and Margaret Thatcher we’ve learnt that despite the fact that autocratic style of leadership, in this day and age, is perceived as undesirable by subordinates and modern leadership practices, in their time and situations it was. They were effective as leaders due to the fact that they were task orientated, which is a key trait of the autocratic leadership style. By being task orientated Castro and Thatcher demonstrated the effectiveness of setting standards or goals and finding a means of achieving them. Thatcher aimed to bring the economy out of bankruptcy among other activities, while Castro recognised the need to assist the underprivileged by bettering their right to employment, proper health care and education. Both parties stepped into their leadership position, at a time when their countries were vulnerable and in need of an influential and effective leader. They improved the functions of their government and living standards of their people.

Although they had qualities that would generally be perceived as undesirable in today’s leadership and management practice, they proved to be effective for both Castro and Thatcher. During the time before they took leadership, both Cuba and Britain were in need of a decisive, passionate and instinctive leader. A leader to bring about positive transformational changes that would ultimately benefit their countries in the long run was in need and occurred when Castro and Thatcher stepped in. During their time as leaders, they both acquired their own leadership style, although criticised by many Fidelism and Thatcherism came to rise. It was the way they believed was the best way to lead their country. They were recognised through their styles, traits and characteristics.

Being determined and showing passion towards your goal would eventually allow you to reach your desired outcome. This was evident by both Castro and Thatcher as they were highly motivated and filled with drive and determination to become the leader of their country and make an impact for the better.

In conclusion, it is evident through Castro and Thatcher that in politics while holding government leadership positions that the autocratic leadership style was effective, although perceived as undesirable.

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REFERENCES:

Boyson, R., Martino, A. 1999, what we can learn from Margaret Thatcher, Heritage Lecture.
Depalma, A. & McKinley J.C. 2006, ‘Castro’s Younger Brother Is Focus of Attention Now’, New York Times, viewed 18 May, 2008,
Dubrin, A., Dalglish, C. & Miller, P. 2006, Leadership: An Australasian Focus, 2nd edn. Milton: John Willey and Son Australia Ltd, Qld.
Erikson, D.P. 2004, ‘Castro and Latin America: A second wind?’, World Policy Journal, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 32-40.
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Wright, H., (1995) Wilhelm Roscher and English Christian social thought: From Frederick Maurice to Margaret Thatcher, Volume 22, Issue 3/4/5, pp. 149-158, MCB UP Ltd.