Oprah Winfrey: Leader Success and Leadership Theories

Leader Success and Leadership Theories
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Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American talk show host born in 1954 and a leader in many aspects. Apart from being a talk show host, she is also an actress, a television producer, a philanthropist, and an author. What makes Oprah an admirable leader is that she was once dubbed the queen of all media and was the richest African-American of the 20th century. Also, Oprah was North America's first African-American multi-billionaire. Oprah was also labeled as the most influential woman in the world. Despite Oprah's wealth today, she was not born into riches and had to build her way to the top.
Oprah was born to a poor teenage mother in rural Mississippi before going to live with her father, a barber in Tennessee. Her entertainment industry journey began while she was still in high school when she landed a radio job (Deneberg & Roscoe, 2016). She then became a co-anchor for the local evening news at 19 before transferring to the daytime talk show arena. Oprah later launched her production company and began her show focusing on literature, spirituality, self-improvement, and mindfulness. She has gained many achievements over the years, including a presidential Medal of Freedom, honorary doctorate degrees from Duke and Harvard.
To add to Oprah's leadership roles, she revolutionized the tabloid talk show genre and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1994. In addition to playing many roles, Oprah has won many prizes in her career life, including two primetime Emmy Awards, 18 Daytime Emmy Awards, a Peabody award, a Tony Award, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. She formed Oprah Winfrey Network, a multinational basic cable channel, in 2008. Oprah's journey is full of experience and lessons, and therefore it is necessary to look at her through the lens of leadership theories that have made her an extraordinary person.
The desire to achieve more success drove Oprah into achieving all she has achieved to date. According to the Acquired Needs Theory, people derive motivation from their need for power, achievement, and affiliation (Lussier & Achua, 2016). Oprah came from a humble background, and she knew that she had to elevate herself out of poverty. Her desire led her to get a position in radio while still in high school. She wanted more and later transitioned into television in Nashville, then Baltimore, and later Chicago. She showed no signs of slowing down as she kept getting bigger and better.
She earned top ratings in Chicago for a talk show renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show and continued for 25 years through her resilience and continuous improvement. Oprah revolutionized the world of tabloid talk shows and continued to achieve more things (Allton, 2019). Oprah's desire for acting prompted her to open her production company, Harpo Productions, Inc. She also started developing by first acquiring ownership and production responsibilities for the Oprah Winfrey show. The company continued in the production of other movies and miniseries. The Oprah Winfrey Show became the most-watched show in American television history.
Oprah became a great leader who continued to break barriers, especially as an African...