Journal of Leadership and Organization Studies, 2002, Vol. 9, No. 2

Cinderella Stories Of Women Leaders: ConnectingLeadership Contexts And Competencies

Karin Klenke, Ph.D.Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA

This paper illustrates central themes of theCinderella fairy tale in the leadership of threecontemporary women leaders, Ruth Simmons,Mary Kay, and Oprah Winfrey, who exercisetheir leadership in three different contexts,academia, business and the media, respectively.It then describes the leadership of these womenin terms of specific competencies, which thethree contemporary women leaders share andthat are their defining leadership attributes.Cinderella themes, context and leadershipcompetencies are linked in a conceptual modelthat treats these as antecedents of leadershipeffectiveness.

For hundreds of years, stories and fairytales have played an important role in Westernand Eastern cultures. Stories are harbingers ofchallenges and crises that call for our attention.They are conveyors of problems that begsolutions; they are vehicles for gaining insightsinto relationships, making decisions,implementing policies, and overcomingproblems of morale and injustice. Stories andfairy tales provide a moral compass for what isright and wrong and serve as a barometer forchange.

Most of us are familiar with the Cinderellafairy tale. It is the story of a beautiful girl ofhumble upbringing, a powerless father, wickedstepmother, her daughters and their anxiousjealousies who subject the heroine to one ordealof domestic drudgery after another to preventher from going to a ball where the prince islooking for his bride. Each night, Cinderelladances the night away with the prince but fleesbefore he could make her acquaintance. On thethird night, the prince had the staircase coated

with black pitch and Cinderella, in her nightlyflight, loses one of her slippers, which the princeuses to locate his mystery bride. Despite radicalmeasures such as cutting off toes and heelsattempted by the stepsisters to prove that the lostslipper belonged to one of them, they could notpass the test. The prince found his beloved andthey lived heavily thereafter.

While the Brothers Grimm's version is themost popular one, the fairy tale is told aroimdthe world, focusing on the unbearable familysituation produced by the father's remarriageand persecution of the heroine by an evilstepmother. Cinderella stories from manycultures identify these themes and often re-writethe fairy tale to reflect culture specific values.Sometimes, Cinderella is kind andcompassionate as in the Brothers Grimm'sversion; at other times, she is cruel andvindictive as in some cross-cultural renditions ofthe fairy tale. For example, an IndonesianCinderella forces her stepsister into a cauldronof boiling water, then has her body cut up,pickled and sent to the girl's mother as "saltmeat" for the next meal. A Filipino variantshows the stepmother and her daughters "pulledto pieces by wild horses". And a Japanesestepsister is dragged around in a basket, tiunblesover the edge, and falls to her death (Philip,1989). Despite the elasticity of the Cinderellacharacter within a given culture, the fairy tales'central themes focus on universal issues suchperseverance in the face of obstacles, dignityand self-determination

An earlier version of this paper was presented at theSecond-Biannual Storyteiling Conference of the Americas,Brock University, St, Catharines, Ontario, Canada, August30-September2, 2001,

Cinderella Stories Of Women Leaders Volume 9, No. 2, 2002 19

There has been a growing interest in theleadership, management and organizationalbehavior literature in storytelling, both as aqualitative methodology and a vehicle fororganizational change and transformation.Storytelling is a powerful tool that gives usaccess to the living part of an organization.Stories can be used to rally leaders and followersaround a specific social, political or culturalissue or cause. They can be placed in the serviceof change efforts that will initially be seendiflficult, even impossible, upsetting and strange.Storytelling allows the best of what we are tocome together - reason and intuition, emotionand intellect, empathy and understanding.

Denning (2001) coined the termspringboard story to refer to narratives thatenable a leap in understanding by the audienceso as to grasp how an event, organization,community or complex system may change. Aspringboard story has an impact not so muchthrough transferring large amounts ofinformation but by catalyzing information intoaction congruent with the personal experience ofmembers of the audience. The teller of aspringboard story tells her tale in such a way asto allow some mental space for thelisteners/readers to forge their own thoughts,with the explicit objective of having them inventanalogous stories of their own, in parallel to thestoryteller's explicit story.

Organizational Stories and CorporateNarratives

Organizational stories are a medium forcommunicating an organization's central mythsto insiders and outsiders and infuse them intoeveryday decisions, policies and practices(Bohnan & Deal, 1991). For example, Nike'sco-foimder. Coach Broverman, after decidingthat his team needed better running shoes, wentto his workshop and poured rubber into thefamily's waffle iron and that is how Nike's

famous "waffle" sole was bom. It is a storyabout innovation, courage and out-of-the-boxthinking. It is part of the story of Nike's heritageand the first item on the agenda of thecompany's orientation program for Elkins (Nikespelled backwards, meaning new hires). Like allgreat stories, Nike stories offer archet3q)es suchas commitment, trust and innovation.

Stories emphasize the non-linear, irrationalaspects of organizational life, the part often notconsidered by scientists or organizationalscholars. Management textbooks rar(;ly talkabout organizations as complex, fuzzy, irregular,asymmetrical, random systems, which are incontinuous disequilibriimi and chaos. In theintellectual tradition of logical positivism, whichdominates management and leadership theoryand research, these are all seen as bad things.The good things in organizational life are clear,simple, clean, orderly, and neat. Yet intuitivelywe know that the world is not quite this way.Our world is full of complex adaptive systems.Anywhere we look - people, organizations,economies, politics - anything of value is acomplex adaptive system.

The purpose of this paper is to apply thecentral themes embedded in the Cinderella storyto three contemporary women leaders whoovercame adversity, poverty, and illness in thepursuit of their visions and goals. LikeCinderella, the women leaders discussed herewere mistreated in their youth by members oftheir families, ridiculed, exposed to scrutiny andpainful experiences but live happily thereafter.The paper treats the experiences of RuthSimmons, Mary Kay, and Oprah Winfrey asspringboard stories, - inspiring, eye-opening,and gripping, and springboards to newpossibilities - and invites the reader to tell theirown stories of the three contemporary womenleaders in the context of the conceptualframework suggested in Figure 1.

20 Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies Klenke

Conceptual Model Linking Cinderella Themes to Leadership OutcomesThrough Leadership Attributes

CINDERELLA

THEMES

SPRINGBOARD

LEADERSHIPCOMPETENCIES

LEADERSHIPOUTCOMES

TRANS-FORMATIONAL/CHARISMATICLEADERSHIP

EMOTIONALINTELLIGENCE TRUST

RUTH SIMMONS: A BEACON OFHOPE

Ruth Simmons' Cinderella StorySimmons was bom in rural Texas, the

youngest of 12 children of Isaac and FannieStubblefield. She moved with her family toHouston when she was seven. Her father was atenant fanner who raised cotton. Later on, inHouston, he worked in a factory and as a pastorof Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church;her mother worked as a domestic and took inironing while tending to her children. Poverty inextremis, the family barely eked out a living.Simmons told People Magazine that while hersisters and brothers were picking cotton all dayshe was too young to do so and kept her head inbooks. In such a large family, Simmons says, "Ihad to fight hard to be heard, so that's why I talkso much and why I'm so assertive now. I wasquite an annoyance to everybody."

Her parents' stories about "what matteredin one's life," Simmons told Massie Ritsch forthe Daily Princetonian (April 5, 1995), taughther that "decency and concern for other people"were of paramount importance. From her mother

she also learned that whatever you do, "even if itis scrubbing floors in other people's houses, (asher mother did), do it well, and do itthoroughly." Simmons' mother influenced herbecause she was a strong person who taught herto work hard at everything she tried. Herteachers were also very important; they helpedher believe in herself. An extremely talkativechild who was an independent thinker, Simmonsrefused to abide her parents' warnings that,outside of their home, she should be"obsequious" and "stay in the background". As ayoungster, she realized only dimly, if at all, thatin the segregated milieu in which she was raised,most blacks and whites assumed that only whitepeople could ever hope to get a collegeeducation, gain membership in the middle class,or even attend a theatrical performance. "Thefact that there was definitely a really low ceilingfor me did not enter my mind," she told MassieRitsch.

At Grapeland's all-black elementaryschool, Simmons intelligence and naturalinterest in learning brought her to the attentionof Ida Mae Henderson, her kindergarten teacher,who encouraged and nurtured her in the

Cinderella Stories Of Women Leaders Volume 9, No. 2, 2002 21

conviction that with help, she would eventuallymake a difference in the world. Indeed, wellbefore entering high school, Simmons becamegripped by the desire not only to make adifference but also to "achieve somethingspectacular". Simmons credits a kindergartenteacher for encouraging her to overcomeobstacles. "What made the difference with her, "Simmons said, "was, never in her instructions tous, never in her vision for us, did she say, "Youcan do this, but you cannot do that."

Having grown up in a large family, thehome in which she was raised, and the variety ofexperiences she was exposed to, make it easy forher to understand the needs of other people. As aresult, Simmons grew up with an enduringrespect for the dignity of work. "Any work doneout of love for one's family and out of obligationand duty is noble work", she says. "The fact thatyou have a lawyer's or a doctor's degree meansthat you can do work that is satisfying to you,but it's not more valuable work. All the workthat is done to make society function is valuablework."

Ruth Simmons earned her bachelor'sdegree from Dillard University in New Orleans,where she graduated summa ciun laude in 1967.Upon graduation from Dillard, Simmons won aFulbright and studied in France for a year. Shecompleted her doctorate in romance languages atHarvard University in 1973. Her administrativecareer began at Princeton University as ActingDirector of the Afro-American Studies programand as Associate Dean of the Faculty. AtPrinceton, she was widely credited withrevitalizing the university's African-Americanstudies program, attracting to Princeton suchnoted scholars as Toni Morrison and CornelWest. She also served as a Dean of GraduateStudies at the University of Southern California,before moving on to Spehnan College to becomeProvost there. Among the faculty and staff of theuniversities she was affiliated with, she wasregarded as a first rate scholar and a wise,knowledgeable, and fair administrator.

Ruth Simmons continued to make historywhen she became President of Smith College in1995. She was hailed as the first black presidentof one of the most selective women's collegescalled the Seven Sisters. Smith College had areputation as one of the more conservative of theSeven Sisters schools; its graduates include

Nancy Regan and Barbara Bush. Educatorscalled Simmons' appointment heroic and Smithstudents cheered.. While at Smith, Simmonsgained national attention for establisliing thefirst engineering program at the ^vomen'scollege and instituting a curriculum wide focuson public speaking. She provided a paidinternship for every undergraduate intern.During her tenure at Smith, the school'sendowment nearly doubled to $900 million.

Last year, Ruth Simmons made historyagain when she was named President of BrownUniversity and became the first African-American to head an Ivy League School. OnJuly 2001, she began her duties as the firstfemale president of Brown University, the firstblack president of an Ivy League institution andthe first black woman to lead a national researchuniversity. The appointment represents abreakthrough in terms of the recognition ofpeople for their ability, "says Shirley AnnJackson, president of Rennselaer PolytechnicInstitute in Troy, N.Y. "Because of Brown'sposition," she says, "it takes on addedsignificance and hopefiiUy leads to broaderthinking, not just higher education, but across allsectors of American life."

Throughout the academic world,Simmons's appointment has generatedenthusiasm bordering on the ecstatic. It is a verysignificant milestone in a much longer journey, "says Stanley Ikenberry, president of theAmerican Council on Education, noting thatnow about 20% of college presidents arewomen, twice as many as a decade ago. "But thereal message is that Ruth Simmons is a verysophisticated academic who has had aremarkable background, and so she is a seasonedacademic and administrator. Simmons is also apassionate educator and an outspoken advocatefor diversity in higher education, a topic that"will continue to be a higher intensity issue inthe next ten years at it has been in the last 10years," Ikenberry says.

It is a new moment, a new age, a new era,and Simmons is the personification of that. Sherepresents opportunity for women, opportunityfor minorities, and opportunities for people bomof humble experience. The message embeddedin her leadership is that you can transcend thesein the new millennium. According to Simmons,it is this particular time in history when these

22 Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies Klenke

kinds of barriers are prone to come down.Through her own hard times, she came to realizeher strengths. "I had pivotal experiences thathelped me understand, epiphanies if you will,throughout my education," she says. They were"moments when I had to struggle, and bystruggling, I came to imderstand what I coulddo."

MARY KAY: A TRAILBLAZER FORWOMEN IN BUSINESS

Mary Kay Ash's Cinderella StoryMary Kay Ash, was foimder and

chairwoman emeritus of Mary Kay Cosmetics.Once-divorced, twice widowed, Mary Kay wastwice-born. From the age of seven, she kepthouse in Hot Wells, TX and cooked and caredfor her father who was bedridden withtuberculosis. After her first husband left her foranother woman, she dropped out of premedcourses she was taking at the University ofHouston and began selling full-time to supporther children. Her second husband, an executivein the vitamin industry, collapsed with a heartattack a month before she launched her owncompany. According to Mary Kay, he just fellinto his plate, his face turned purple. Her thirdhusband, Mel Ash, a retiring manufacturingrepresentative, died in 1980 after 14 years ofmarriage. Before Mary Kay started her businesswith $5,000, she worked for 25 years in a malecorporate world. Underpaid and repeatedlypassed over for promotions, nothing made herangrier than training a man only to see himbecome her superior. She gambled her $5,000life savings to launch Mary Kay Cosmetics froma 500-foot square foot Dallas storefront, agamble that paid off big time.

Mary Kay Ash is what Harvardpsychologist William James (1902) called twicebom. She, according to Zaleznik (1977) whocommented on the twice bom concept, "grewthrough mastering painful conflict during thedevelopmental years. Leaders are twice bomindividuals who endure major events and crisesthat lead to a sense of separateness andestrangement from their environment". In MaryKay Ash's case the twice bom encounters camefrom her childhood and significant relationshipswith people close to her. Instead of beingtraumatized by these experiences, never to

recover, Mary Kay mastered her personaltragedies.

Mary Kay had a vision based on theemerging needs of women in the 1960s and1970s which offered women an appealing careeras beauty consultants, not salespeople, theycould pursue in their homes. Today, Mary Kaybeauty consultants are foimd all over the world.Recently, Mary Kay discovered that Russia is afertile market since women there have limitedcareer opportunities. Mary Kay Russia now hasover 5,000 independent beauty consultants,many of whom are highly educated women suchas former lawyers, doctors, and teachers whoeam $300-400 a month, about three or fourtimes the average salary they made in theirformer professions. Worldwide, the companyprides itself in having more women earningmore than $50,000 per year than any otherorganization. A complimentary pink Cadillac forhigh performing consultants serves as atrademark, sales incentive, and status symbol.

One of the important leadership tasks MaryKay took very seriously was building,transmitting, and nurturing corporate culture,which is manifested in the ubiquitous use of thecolor pink. The organizational culture is obviousat corporate headquarters in Dallas, the annualsales convention and the stories about thecompany that circulate among new recruits. Thefirst fioor of corporate headquarters is a shrinededicated to Mary Kay. Also on display at MaryKay headquarters are larger than lifephotographs of the company's sales directors,which, according to Kotter (1990), say moreabout corporate strategy than many firms areable to say in their annual reports.

Similarly, the annual sales meetings inDallas, to which thousands of beauty consultantsfiock every year, make a powerful statementabout corporate culture. Correspondent KristineMcMurran (1985) captured the spirit of theconvention when she described the beautyconsultants as assembled in

"full plumage with brows arched, falseeyelashes afiutter, and cheeks abloom. Enmasse they bristle with enough flawlesslypolished, razor sharp fingemails to puncturea Goodyear blimp and tear it to tatters" (p.58).At these meetings, Mary Kay Ash

promoted the vision and mission of her company

Cinderella Stories Of Women Leaders Volume 9, No. 2, 2002 23

and motivated her sales force. Top saleswomenare lavishly praised and rewarded with diamondbaubles, mink coats, and pink Cadillac's. AndMary Kay stood out as a "sort of Moses leadingher chosen people to a promised land brimmingwith personal pride and her trademark pinkCadillacs" (McMurran, 1985, p. 58).

The culture of Mary Kay is also transmittedthrough stories about the company, which arerouted and shared among the beauty consultantsand headquarter staff. At Mary Kay, successfulbeauty consultants are rewarded with a twelve-carat pin shaped like a bumblebee. The story thatgoes with the bumblebee is that the bee has abody that is too large for its wings and thereforeshould not be able to fly. But it does. And so it iswith women. They were not expected to succeedin the workforce, but have done so. Mary Kaywas committed to selling women on themselves.She had strong ideas about women's roles in theworkforce and has gained a national reputationas a forceful supporter of women's rights.

The culture of Mary Kay Cosmetics restson commitment to customer satisfaction, a pillarbuilt through quality, value, convenience,innovations and personal service (Ash, 1981). Itis transmitted through company symbols,motivational seminars, pep talks at Mary Kay'shome, birthday cards for each consultant,diamond studded bumblebees, generousincentives, and an organizational structure thatpromotes individual achievement, economicindependence for women, and treats thecompany as an extension of the family. Thecompany's leitmotif, another visible symbol of astrong organizational culture, is the GoldenRule, "Do unto others as you would have themdo unto you". Not only is this rule takenseriously in company decisions, but it also wasthe way Mary Kay motivated and led. She led byexample. The statement, "the speed of the leaderis the speed of the gang", was often heard atdirectors' meetings.

OPRAH WINFREY: MEDIA MOGULAND PERSONAL COACH

Oprah Winfrey's Cinderella StoryBom to unwed teenage parents in

Kosciusko in rural Mississippi, Oprah spent herearly years in poverty on a farm in extremepoverty with her Bible-thumping grandmother.

She moved in with her mother in Milwaukee asa preteen when she was 12. A 13-year old cousinraped her and she gave birth to a baby whichwas bom prematurely and died when Oprah was14. As a youngster, she was constantly introuble. Once Oprah said, "the fact that someoneas poor as I, as black as I am, from the South,from rape, from confusion, could move to hope,to possibility, to victory is amazing to me."

Moving to Nashville to live with her father,Vemon Winfrey, tumed her life around. Withstrict rules and the structure of a good valuesystem, Oprah landed her first job as a radiostation reporter while still in high school. Sheenrolled in Tennessee State University andswitched to television broadcasting at age 19,anchoring the news at Nashville's WlfVF-TV.One of the first black women in college as wellas in varsity, Oprah was edging her way into awhite man's, appearance-obsessed world andbecame the youngest person and first Afro-American woman to anchor the news atNashville's WTVF-TV.

In 1984 Oprah moved to Chicago to host"AM Chicago", facing the national talk showhosted by Phil Donahue as her competition.Donahue's shows were focused on providingviewers with lots of infonnation; however, thediscussions were rarely personalized. Oprah'sstyle, on the other hand, was different. Utilizingwhat Deborah Tannen (1995) terms 'rapporttalk' - that back and forth talk that Tarmenbelieves is the basis for female friendships -Oprah shares her heart, passions, and secrets.Said Winfrey in a 1996 interview, "thedifference between Donahue and me is me. He'smore intellectual in his approach. I appeal to theheart and relate personally to my audience". Inless than a year, the show was expanded to anhour and renamed " The Oprah Winfrey Show".Not a bad career path for someone who enteredthis world with almost every major obstaclestacked against her.

In 1994, eight years into her successfulshow, Oprah took a bold step that could haveseriously threatened her ratings. In an era whentalk shows were frercely competing to presentthe most controversial topics with peoplerevealing the most intimate, often disgustingdetails of their lives on national T\', Oprahdecided to leave sensationalism to others. Sheexplicitly rejected 'tabloid television' and

24 Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies Klenke

became one of America's most well-known andeffective advocates of a host of social andeducational causes. She pledged to use her showto discuss and focus on meaningful subjects thattouch the lives of all of her viewers. In 1996,Oprah began Oprah's Book Club, an on-airreading club designed to get the country excitedabout reading. Each of the books selected forOprah's Book Club has become an instantbestseller.

Oprah's financial savvy is amazing. Sheestablished Harpo Productions in 1988, built ahuge production facility in downtown Chicagoand bought her show, "The Oprah WinfreyShow" outright from Capital Cities/ABC. She isinvolved in Oxygen Cable Network, served asboth star and executive producer for the featurefilm "Beloved" and launched her own magazine,"O, the Oprah Magazine", a monthly circularthat is a personal growth guide for the newcentury. Oprah's magazine is credited as beingthe most successful magazine launch in recenthistory. The magazine is another mediumthrough which Oprah can connect with herviewers and provide possibilities fortransforming their lives.

In 1997, she formed Oprah's AngelNetwork, a campaign to encourage viewers tomake the world a better place. In announcingthis initiative, Oprah said, "I want you to openyour hearts and see the world in a different way.I promise this will change your life for thebetter." Oprah's Angel Network has collectedover 3.5 million dollars to create scholarshipsand has funded nearly 200 Habitat for Humanityhomes. The Network now gives $100,000 everyMonday on the Oprah Winfrey Show to peoplewho are using their lives to improve the lives ofothers.

Oprah did not believe that being poor,black, overweight and female in Mississippi washolding her back to pursue her dreams. She hasbecome one of the most powerful people ontelevision, a super celebrity who translated hersuccess into a thriving business empire, whilemaintaining a persona that makes people feel sheis their own best friend. Being black is part ofwho she is, but it is her spirit that defines hertotal being. Oprah shares her fortune of millionswith numerous charities and friends. The largestrecipients are educational institutions, includingher ahna mater, Tennessee State University, and

her own "Family for Better Lives Foundation".She is a children's rights activist, and stoodbeside President Clinton when he signed intolaw a 1994 bill to create a national database ofconvicted child abusers, which Oprah hadproposed. Oprah Winfrey has already left anindelible mark on the face of television. Herlegacy has established her as one of the mostimportant figures in popular culture. In January2001 she was dubbed Newsweek's "Woman ofthe Century."

LEADERSHIP IN CONTEXT

The three women leaders presented hereexercise leadership in significantly differentcontexts: academia, corporate and the media.Context, in the most general sense, refers to thesetting in which leadership emerges and ispracticed. Klenke (1996) set forth the premisethat leadership is largely determined and shapedby the parameters and dynamics context. It is thecontextual superstructure in which leadership isenacted and in which specific leadershipperspectives evolve. Therefore, examiningwomen's' leadership from a contextualperspective means isolating the salient featuresof three contexts in which we find Simmons,Kay, and Winfrey.

Ruth Simmons's world is the world ofacademia and education where intellectualleadership, academic freedom, and collegialityare some of the hallmarks of this context. MaryKay Ash led in an entrepreneurial environmentwhere business acumen, innovation and concernfor the customers make all the difference. Priorto foimding her own company, Mary Kayworked for many years in a formal organization,a context that at the time was openly hostile towomen. At the time, the business worldreverberated with the great male saga ofconquests (new markets, new products) andsports metaphors such as "play hard", "crunchthe enemy", and "don't show your trump card".

The media, which provide the context forOprah Winfrey's leadership, is a setting, whichhas romanticized leadership successes andfailures. The romanticized conception ofleadership suggests that leaders do or shouldhave the ability to control and influence the fatesof the organizations in their charge. Ultimately,this assumption of control and responsibility

Cinderella Stories Of Women Leaders Volume 9, No. 2, 2002 25

engenders a double-edged sword: not only doesit imply giving leaders credit for positiveorganizational outcomes, but it also entailslaying blame for negative ones. The romance ofleadership (Meindl, Ehrlich, and Dukerich1985), pervasive in Western cultures, suggeststhat people believe that individual leaders aredirectly responsible for organizational outcomes.Chen and Meindl (1991) suggested that themedia develop "constructions of leadershipregularly and widely for our consumption . .These images feed and expand our appetites forleadership products, appealing not only to ourcollective commitments to the concept butfixating us in particular on the personas andcharacteristics of the leaders themselves (p.522)." Meindl, Ehrlich, and Dukerich (1985)concluded that the social construction oforganizational realities has elevated the conceptof leadership to a lofty status and level ofsignificance. The imagery, mythology andstories associated with the concept are evidenceof the mystery and near mysticism with whichleadership has been imbued (p. 78).

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES:UNKING PINS BTEWEEN CONTEXTS

AND OUTCOMES

Beyond differences in context, Simmons,Kay, and Winfrey exemplify three attributes thatplay a focal role in current leadership research:transforming/transformational leadership, emotionalintelligence, and the ability to build trust.

Transforming/TransformationalLeadership

Transformational leadership is a popularand widely researched topic in the contemporaryleadership literature. However, foundationprinciples of transformational leadership appearin the work of Max Weber (1923/63) oncharismatic leadership and Bums (1978) whowas the first to specify the distinction betweentransactional leaders who attempt to satisfycurrent needs of followers by focusing attentionon exchanges and transforming leaders whoattempt to elevate the needs of followers andpromote dramatic change in individuals, groups,and organizations. Instead of, or in addition to,catering to the self-interests of their followers bymaking and keeping promises of rewards for

compliance or threatening them fornoncompliance, transforming leaders move theirfollowers to transcend their self-interests for thesake of the common good. These leaders,according to Bums, contribute to themotivational maturity and moral development oftheir followers. Ultimately, transformingleadership is a moral exercise that is intended toraise the standard of human conduct.

Bass (1995) built on the work of Bumswhen he proposed that the transformationalleader articulates a realistic vision of the futurethat can be shared, stimulates subordinatesintellectually, is likely to become charismatic inthe eyes of their followers. Followers want toidentify with leaders and their visions; they viewtransformational leaders in an idealized manner,often describing them as innovators, visionaries,and exemplars. Followers of transformationalleaders also develop strong feelings for andabout their leaders because of the leader's abilityto transform them as they accept and intemalizethe key values and beliefs that the leader hasidentified in her vision. This, in tum, allowsfollowers to become more capable of enactingtheir own visions. Recent research has shownthat charisma is an important component oftransformational leadership (Bass, 1985) andthat charismatic, transformational, and visionaryleaders create lasting impacts on theirorganizations.

Ruth Simmons, Mary Kay Ash and OprahWinfrey, are women leaders who possess theelusive quality know as charisma.. According toWeber, charisma includes any authority thatderives its legitimacy not fi"om rules, positionsor traditions, but fi"om a "devotion to the specificand exceptional sanctify, heroism or exemplarycharacter of an individual person, or thenormative patters or order revealed or ordainedby him (Eisenstadt, 1968, p. 46). The threewomen leaders singled out here illustrate severalspecific charismatic attributes such as atranscendent vision and/or ideology, the abilifyto inspire and build confidence, rhetorical abilityand a "powerful aura." Their visions areinspirational, optimistic, and future oriented andthey articulate a sense of purpose that attracts,motivates and energizes followers to take ondifficult challenges.

26 Joumal of Leadership and Organizational Studies Klenke

Our three contemporary leaders establishclose relationships and connections with theirfollowers, be they faculty, students andadministrators as in the case of Ruth Simmons,female cosmetics consumers as in the case ofMary Kay, or TV audiences around the world asin the case of Oprah. They also stand out fromother kinds of leaders because of theextraordinary effects they have on theirfollowers. They commimicate values (Simmons:equality in education; Mary Kay: equalify in theworkforce, and Oprah: personal and spiritualgrowth) that have ideological consequences fortheir followers and transform their needs andvalues from self-interests to collective interests.

Emotional InteiligenceThe concept of emotional intelligence

gained popularity with the publication ofGoleman's (1995) book entitled Emotionalintelligence. It has been defined by Copper andSawat (1997) as follows:

"emotional intelligence is the ability tosense, understand, and effectively apply thepower and acumen of emotions as a sourceof human energy, information, connections,and infiuence".Reduced to its simplest description,

emotional intelligence (El) can be defined as agroup of mental activities that help peoplerecognize their own feelings and those of others.El refers to an array of non-cognitivecapabilities, competencies, and skills thatinfiuence a person's ability to succeed in copingwith environmental demands and pressures. It isalso known as "street smarts".

The hallmarks of emotional inteUigence areself-awareness, self-regulation, empathy andoptimism in the face of failure, openness to andeffectiveness in leading change, tmstworthinessand comfort with ambiguity. Models ofemotional intelligence are emerging as aninfiuential fr-amework in the study of leadership.One reason for this penetration is that theconcept of emotional intelligence offers alanguage and framework capable of integrating awide range of research findings in leadershipstudies. Studies suggest that emotionalintelligence (and related aspects of practical-creative intelligence), not IQ or raw brainpoweralone, provide the underpinnings for many of thebest decisions effective leaders make and the

successful performance of dynamicorganizations. Moreover, Goleman (1995)suggested that emotionally intelligent managersmay be more successful in developingemployees, dealing with diversity, andcoordinating group efforts than managers wholack this quality.

The relative significance of emotionalcompetencies compared to cognitive abilities hasbeen bom out in Boyatzis's classic 1982 studyof more than two thousand supervisors, middlemanagers and executives of twelveorganizations, which foimd that all but two ofthe 16 abilities setting the stars apart from theaverage performers were emotionalcompetencies. Similarly, research by the Centerfor Creative Leadership foimd that the primarycauses of derailment in executives involvedeficits in emotional competence. The threeprimary deficits were difficulty in handlingchange, not being able to work well in a team,and poor interpersonal relations. No wonder thenthat emotional intelligence is finding its way intocompanies,^offering employees a way to come toterms with their feelings and to perform better.For example, a few years ago, American Expressimplemented a program when faced with anapparently insolvable problem - more than two-thirds of American Express clients weredeclining to buy life insurance, even thoughtheir financial profiles suggested a need for it.As it tumed out the problem was not theproduct, it was emotional. Clients reported allkinds of emotional issues involved in buying lifeinsurance - fear, suspicion, (Schwartz, 2000).To help their financial advisors deal with theseemotions, American Express implemented atraining program that used techniques to maketheir salespeople more aware of their emotionsand gave them tools to change negativeemotions into positive ones. Advisors, in short,became more emotionally competent. Researchon emotionally intelligent leadership suggeststhat it is a key to creating a working climate thatnurtures employees and encourages them to givetheir best, which, in tum, pays off in terms ofimproved business performance. Research hasalso shown that emotional intelligence not onlydistinguishes outstanding leaders but can also belinked to strong performance as shown by thethree women leaders profiled here.

Cinderella Stories Of Women Leaders Volume 9, No. 2, 2002 27

Emotionally intelligent leaders likeSimmons, Kay, and Winfred demonstrate theirability to motivate themselves, persist in the faceof frustration and make lasting commitments tothe common good. They are driven to performbeyond expectations and are motivated by adeeply embedded desire to achieve.Achievement motivation in these womencombines with self-regulation that helps themovercome frustrations and setbacks. InSimmons, Kay, and Winfrey we also see theintegration of emotions and intellect. Asexemplary leaders in their respective contexts,these three women integrate emotional realitiesinto their perceptions of the contexts in whichthey lead and inject meaning and purpose intotheir business strategies. As emotionallyintelligent leaders, they effectively manage theirrelationships with others and build bonds andteams as the basis of their collaborative work.They create an atmosphere of openness in theorganizations they lead, deal with difficult issuesstraightforward, hsten well and shareinformation fully. On numerous occasions,Simmons, Kay, and Oprah have shown theiroutstanding conflict management andnegotiation skills as they build symbioticrelationships between their multipleconstituencies.

Building TrustFew aspects of a relationship are more

important than trust. Without trust, you cannotlead. Without trust, people become self-protective and controlling. Likewise, when trustis low between leaders and followers, people arelikely to distort, ignore and disguise facts, ideasand feelings. A trusting relationship betweenleaders and their constituencies is essential inorder to accomplish extraordinary things.Therefore, it is not surprising that trust hasbecome a central competitive issue. Saysmanagement guru Tom Peters, "technique andtechnology are important, but adding trust is theissue of the decade." Without trust, innovationfalters and vanishes. According to Manfred Ketsde Vries, professor at INSEAD, "if there is nosense of trust in an organization, if people arepreoccupied with protecting their backs . . .creativity will be one of the first casualties(Cooper, 1997).

In contemporary organizations, trust isoften equated with social capital and isbecoming an increasingly critical and visiblepredictor of success. A recent nationwide surveyby the New York Times indicated that a largenumber of American workers feel that trust andloyalty within their firms are decreasing whileinternal competition among coworkers isincreasing. Growing evidence confirms that trustis a vital resource, a form of "collaborativecapital" that can be used to great advantage.Trust, according to Bennis and Nanus (1997), isthe force that keeps leadership rolling because itimplies accoimtability, predictability, andreliability.

As historian Francis Fukuyama has pointedout, the freewheeling, ad hoc organizations ofthe new economy can exist only if theirmembers are willing to trust each other.Trustworthiness is built and sustained on afoundation of honest and appropriate disclosure,believability, and credibility. Leaders andmanagers appreciate the value of trust and thecost of mutual suspicion or mistrust. Trust is atime-honored social engagement, which is adefined and shaped, in social circumstances andcultural context.

After a decade of chaos and fesar whichresulted in massive layoff, mergers andacquisitions, major structural changes inorganizations, broken covenants, lost loyalty,and distrust, the American workplace isestablishing trust as an imperative to create workenvironments that are governed by honesty andmutual respect instead of power and fear. Someof America's most successful companiesincluding Southwest Airlines, Nordsti'om, andWal-Mart are now building their market strengthand profitability on a foundation of trust,integrity and credibility. As Simmons, Kay, andOprah illustrate again and again, trust, honesty,and integrity are something no single personowns but are shared by people. They are notwhat leaders give to their collaborators but whatpeople must exemplify and practice together.

Our three women leaders, in theirrespective contexts, have built trust among theirconstituencies through caring, competence, andcommitment by establishing tnistworthyrelationships with students and faculty,consumers, and TV audiences. Their trust comesfrom character and integrity and their

28 Joumal of Leadership and Organizational Studies Klenke

willingness to accept accountability for theirpersonal and public lives. For them, the issuesare not blame or fault when it comes tosocial/societal problem, but about learning,improvement and growth. For Simmons, Kay,and Oprah, there are no shades of gray whenhonesty and morality are at stake and integrityare not an option. Their leadership shows thattrust is emerging as a complex construct withmultidimensional causal conditions that deserveattention in future research. Causal conditionsthat require consideration include competence,consistency, discretion, loyalty, honesty, andintegrity (Butler, 1991; Ross & LaCroix, 1996).Research is needed to investigate the dynamicsof these antecedents of trust in leadershipsituations and to explore how they contribute toleadership outcomes such as effectiveness,follower performance and satisfaction.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The fairy tale of Cinderella served as thespringboard to provide a bridge between thecentral themes of the story and the experiencesof three contemporary women leaders, RuthSimmons, Mary Kay and Oprah Winfrey whobring significant, personal, cognitive andemotional competencies to their leadership. Likemany successful leaders, these women have astrong set of core values, a relentless drive forprogress, and a remarkable ability tocommunicate their visions. They are charismaticpersonalities who also possess the ability tosense, understand, and effectively apply thepower and acumen of emotions as a source ofinformation, energy, tmst, creativity andinfluence. The three female leaders displayenthusiasm and optimism and form bondsamong their respective communities of followersand motivate them into collective action. Ascharismatic leaders, they hold strong emotionalconvictions regarding their values and beliefsand have displayed confidence, determinationand persistence in the face of adversity, as theheroine in the Cinderella fairy tale did.

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