Reagan Strengths And Weaknesses

As mentioned before, Reagan was highly recognized for his communication skills and his professionalism. However, there were times in which his behavior showed his frustration and lack of sleep. Although, these were very few and far between, he was recorded telling someone to shut up during one of his speeches at the White House on October 6th, 1982. Reagan was very frustrated by someone in the crowd that accused him of abandoning conservative principles. In this situation, the president used rhetoric that probably shouldn’t have been used while in such a high leadership role. However, it seemed to work in his favor this time, as the crowd laughed it off, knowing he has always had good intentions and is a highly honorable person (Clines). …show more content…
One of the most famous of his on the spot assertions was when he said that “Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do”. After this he also maintained that sulfur dioxide emitted from Mount St. Helens was greater than that emitted by cars over a 10-year period. In reality during one day, cars emit 40 times what Mount St. Helens released in a day even at its peak activity. Also in 1985 Reagan praised the P.W. Botha’s apartheid regime of South Africa for eliminating segregation. After this the then-Press Secretary Larry Speaks had to correct the statement a few days later (The Enduring Lies). When false statements have been made over and over it can become easy to question the trustworthiness of a leader. A leader should inspire trust by being trustworthy. Our book says that honesty refers to truthfulness and nondeception. The book goes on to say that “Honesty is absolutely essential to leadership. After all, if we are willing to follow someone, whether it be into battle or into the boardroom, we first want to assure ourselves that the person is worthy of our trust. We want to know that he or she is being truthful, ethical, and principled. We want to be fully confident in the integrity of our leaders” (Daft …show more content…
He acted for the good of all, and for the sake of the nation. It is very obvious that he showed little to no self-interest during his presidency and credited his success to his team. He used his strengths to lead people into advancing the ideology that the country was founded on. President Reagan was highly respected because he embodied the values of a family man and saw people for their personal worth instead of their political views. Reagan exemplified values-based leadership, which influenced his followers through shared and internalized values that support the common good. On top of having common values, Reagan also led through spiritual leadership. Reagan’s kindness, integrity, patience, courage, and appreciation spoke miles about how he enabled his followers and created a movement throughout the United States. Rarely, did Reagan use destructive or negative emotions in his leadership. Instead, he focused on the positives of every individual which led to many of his