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President Carter 's Leadership Style

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Leadership: Jimmy Carter, The President President Carter, while in office, was seen as perfectionist and always looking to find something wrong with a project. He possessed deep mistrust for career politicians and believed that only an outsider, like he was, would be a good moral leader. In assessing his leadership style, President Carter would fit into the directive style as explained by Van Wart. A directive style leadership “is exhibited when a leader lets subordinates know what they are expected to do, gives direction and guidance, asks subordinates to follow rules and procedures, and schedules and coordinate activities” (Van Wart, 2012, pg.37). This description might not fit someone as powerful as the President of the United States, but the case of Jimmy Carter is different. He held a firm grasp on all the activities that went on around him. Carter inherited a very troublesome office; the Cold War was at its peak, energy crises were getting worse, and economic inflation did not help the newly sworn in president either. He believed that lifetime Washington politicians were deeply imbedded with corporations and organizations that put them there, thus he resorted to an “autocratic decision making” (Vroom and Jago, 1988) type of leadership. When time came to select his cabinet and appoint position he “ignored major interest groups that make up the Democratic Party – blue collar labor unions, city leaders, and white ethnic groups” (Haas, 1992, p. 51). This style has

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