Oprah Winfrey Biography Book Review
Media personality, actress, and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey is one of the most influential people in the 21st century. These are just but a few of the descriptions that come to mind when one mentions the name Oprah Winfrey. She is so outstanding that all across the globe, whenever the name Oprah is mentioned, one automatically knows who she is. Winfrey, 64 years, ran a quarter of a decade-long television series, The Oprah Winfrey Show. During that time, the queen of talk shows, as she was referred to by the media industry, built a global audience and an empire worth $2.7 billion in net worth. Oprah transitioned from network TV and went to cable TV before pulling the curtains down on the show. At the time the show was coming to an end, Oprah had already started her own production company, Harpo Inc., and the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
Oprah’s success story is one that details hard work, vision, and determination. She is well known for surpassing all her rivals in daytime talk show television programs. This can be attributed to her natural style of engaging with her guests as well as the millions of viewers across the continents. This paper will discuss the unique leadership that Oprah portrayed throughout her career in media and as the CEO of OWN. More specifically, the four leadership frames by Bolman and Deal (1991) will be used in analyzing Oprah’s leadership style and influence.
Oprah Winfrey’s Background
Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29th, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Her mother, Vernita Lee, raised her as a single parent after her father Vernon Winfrey walked out on the family. Oprah’s original name was Orpah, like in the book of Ruth (Bible), but because it was difficult to pronounce, she was known as Oprah. After her parents separated, Oprah went to live with her maternal grandmother.
As a teenager, Oprah was facing a difficult life in the urban Milwaukee ghetto, where poverty was an everyday life experience. Her problems were further compounded by repeated sexual abuse by family members. Her mother, who worked odd jobs to raise Oprah, did not have the caution or time to supervise her daughter even as she went through the rape ordeals from the age of 9 years.
Oprah states that her father was instrumental in saving her life. She described her father as very strict and who offered her books, rules, structure, and guidance. Her father placed high demands on her and expected her to complete a book report every week. He also expected her to learn five new vocabulary words every single day, failure to which she would go without dinner. To that end, Oprah excelled in her academics, including extracurricular school activities such as debate club, drama club, and the student council. She won a full Tennessee State University scholarship at a speaking contest at the Elks Club. She was invited to the White House Conference on Children and Youth the following year. The WVOL crowned Oprah as the Miss Fire Prevention and proceeded to hire her to read the afternoon newscasts.
In January of 1984, Oprah moved to Chicago, Illinois, to anchor the A.M. Chicago morning talk show. The show was consistently last in the local ratings. Oprah decided to change the essence of the show from one that discussed women’s issues only to a show that discussed debatable and current issues. Following the September 1985 production of The Colour Purple movie, Oprah’s popularity soared. In 1986, the Chicago Academy for the Arts awarded Oprah with special recognition for her contribution to the artistic community in the city, while the National Organization of Women gave her the Woman of Achievement award.
The Oprah Winfrey Show won a number of Emmy awards as the Best Talk Show. Oprah was also awarded several Emmy awards for Best Talk Show Host. In 1986, Oprah started Harpo Inc. Company, a production company that focused on topics that she believed were of significance to her audience. Although Oprah is one of the wealthiest women in the US as well as among the highest-paid entertainers worldwide, she is known for her philanthropic acts. Notably, Oprah has made contributions to institutions such as the Tennessee State University, the United Negro Fund, the Harold Washington Library, and the Morehouse College, among others.
In March of 2015, Harpo Studio Inc announced through their CEO, that it would consolidate its operations with OWN headquartered in Los Angeles. Oprah’s television was launched at the studio and was home to the show until its last airing in 2011. In 2017, Discovery bought 24.5% of shares in OWN while Oprah retained 25.5% and remained the CEO under the new terms of the agreement.
How Personality, Leadership Style, Influence, and Motivation Factored into Oprah’s Success
Strategic selection of team members: A true leader knows that success does not need to be a solo pursuit. When Oprah forms a team, she hires talented persons and supports them even as she believes in them. Some of the team members she has recruited and supported include Liz Dolan, Sue Orman, and Dr Oz among others. In return for boosting Oprah’s brand, the team gets exposure.
She places a high value on mentorship: Oprah credits her success at the onset of her career, to her long term partnership with Jeff Jacobs, a lawyer. She also made mentor relationships with experts in the industry and, more so, in the initial years of her career. Oprah did not believe that as a leader she needs to lead without getting a mentor.
She places a high value on her customers: Customers bring profits to a business, and hence, excellent customer service is critical for the sustainability of a company. Oprah is aware of the value of her customers and, therefore, generously gives out gifts to her audience. In addition, Oprah listens to her audience and viewers as well and has, on very many occasions, read out letters during numerous shows written to her by her viewers. Oprah not only reads the letters but also responds to them with actions as well.
Oprah extends her brand strategically: Oprah started out as a television brand before branching to radio, movies, magazines, as well as subsidiary TV shows and later owning her own network. This is a clear example of strategic expansion that made her a celebrity and a media mogul. Oprah is focused and has mastered what she is good at doing, talking to large audiences. She excels in media, and that has enabled her to dominate the industry.
She is considerate of her employees: Employees are an organization’s pillars who make the business run smoothly. Oprah is known to lavish her employees with vacations and gifts. She goes to the extent of handpicking gifts for her top staff. This considerate nature that she extends to her employees motivates them to be more productive.
Oprah dreams big and communicates her vision: Oprah came from a very humble background but had big enough dreams to make her a force to reckon with. She built a platform for herself and proceeded to dominate in it to become exceedingly successful. She moved from just being a talk show host to own an entire network. Oprah also goes ahead and communicates her dreams to her team. She communicates with clarity and inspires her team to see the vision and dream it into reality.
She cares for the community: Besides her focus in media, Oprah is dedicated to doing charitable works. Her social conscience has made her be lauded for charity, self-improvement, and positivity. These traits have allowed Oprah to gain loyalty with her followers and sustain the same from the community.
How Oprah Functions within the Structural Frame
The structural frame focuses on how a change needs to be made within an organization. It is task-oriented and concentrates on the creation of procedures and systems, agreeing on deadlines and metrics, reporting lines and responsibilities, clarifying tasks; setting goals that are measurable, and on strategy.
In 1983, Oprah moved to Chicago to host the AM Chicago morning talk show. The show was performing dismally in ratings. Her first show aired on the 2nd of January,1984. In only three months after taking over the show, Oprah moved the ratings from the last position to overtake the leading talk show, Donahue. At this time, Ebert, the movie critic, convinced Oprah to sign a King World syndication deal. Ebert forecasted that Oprah would yield 40 times more in revenue from the TV show, At the Movies. Starting September 8th, 1986, the AM Chicago show was renamed as the Oprah Winfrey Show. The syndicated show doubled the national audience pulled in by Donahue and took first place as the leading talk show in Chicago. The Oprah Winfrey Show ran for 25 years until 2011. The show was placed on 120 channels, with more than 10 million people viewing it. By the end of its first year, the show had grossed an impressive $125 million.
By 1994, talk shows had taken an exploitative and trashy turn. However, Oprah chose a different approach and pledged to her viewers and audiences that she would keep her show free from all topics related to the tabloids. This declaration saw a decline in the show’s ratings for a while, but nevertheless, Oprah gained viewer respect and, eventually, an increase in the show’s popularity.
Oprah also realized that an empire is built through teamwork. With that, she has built relationships with industry mentors, extended her brands to markets outside of the television show, and continuously demonstrates resilience, focus, ambition, and drive. At OWN, teamwork is critical, and that is exemplified by the current leadership structure. The OWN company has two co-presidents; Erik Logan and Sheri Salata, who joined the company in 2008 and 1995, respectively. The two became co-presidents in 2011 when the network made its first debut. Although initially, the business had a difficult time cutting through to the market, it has grown to an 85 million household name. Logan and Salata have perfected the way they work, allowing themselves to complement and support each other in the television industry.
How Oprah Functions within the Human Resource Frame
The human resource frame emphasizes the needs of people. It looks at giving employees the opportunity and power to perform better in their jobs while simultaneously addressing their need for job satisfaction, personal growth, and human contact. According to Antonakis & Robert ( 2013), a transformational leader inspires employees to embrace change by fostering the organizational culture of workplace autonomy, ownership, and accountability. A transformational leader, therefore, motivates, inspires, and encourages workers to create and even innovate change that helps in growing and shaping an organization’s future success.
Oprah is a transformational leader in many ways. She has a clear mission and vision; in her talk show, she has influenced millions of people to dream big and fulfill their dreams. Time Magazine named Oprah among the most influential people in the world from the years 2005-2009. Oprah’s communication skills are of such a high level that they enable her to engage with people from all walks of life. Her viewers are able to easily identify with her because of her background and the fact that she entered a male-dominated field and succeeded enormously.
In her interview with LinkedIn (2015), Oprah stated that everyone has one major need, regardless of their background, and that is the need to be heard. Every argument has a basic angst, which is the fact that those arguing feel that the other party does not listen. When a leader understands this need, then such a leader can create lasting relationships with the employees. Oprah stated that when an employee perceives that a manager does not listen, the employee will not engage in an argument but, instead, will disengage from their work and eventually resign in search of greener pastures. Conversely, a leader who takes time to listen to the employees will engage the latter and create a strong working team. Oprah has adopted this in her businesses.
Additionally, in the video series Time Firsts, Oprah takes her viewers to the time when her talk show had just begun airing. In those days, she explains that she had to fight for women working at the show to get equal pay to their male counterparts. In the video, she states that:‘ I built this show around myself and the producers. We were young women in our 30s trying to figure it out and find our own way. I was making a lot of money, and my producers were still getting the same salary. I went to my boss at the time, and I said, “Everybody needs a raise.” And he said, “Why? Oprah threatened to boycott the show until the pay was equalized among male and female employees. The producers had to oblige, and a just pay was implemented.
Lastly, Oprah is concerned about her employees inside and outside of work; she personally picks out Christmas gifts for her top staff: ‘She has taken those close to her on trips and on sensational cruises. She loves to surprise people, as she has done many times, with exquisite gifts’ (Garson, 2011, p.181). Giving gifts to her staff makes them feel valued and appreciated. This appreciation, in turn, improves employee retention and satisfaction and, consequently, employee productivity.
How Oprah Functions within the Political Frame
The political frame focuses on the problems that individuals, as well as interest groups, face when they have hidden or conflicting agendas. This frame is characterized by coalition building, power-base building, and conflict resolutions. Oprah has a power that enables her to make things happen. She is able to effect change in her society and around the world.
In 1997, Oprah requested her audience and viewers to join her in making a difference in the world. Oprah created the Angel Network, a charitable organization that aimed at helping those in need across the world. Initially, the donations contributed by the viewers totaled $3.5 million. The money was used to provide 150 students with college scholarships, each worth $$25,000. In another example, 15,000 viewers volunteer their skills and time via the Angel Network to build new homes through Habitat for Humanity for persons in need of shelter. In 2000, more than 50 community organizations were identified by the Angel Network and received donations in support of their local communities.
In 2002, Oprah visited South Africa to spread the Christmas cheer. Inspired by her visit, viewers donated $9 million that went to helping more than 50,000 South African children living in orphanages and also aiding rural schools to purchase toys, books, school supplies, shoes, clothing, and food. In 2007, the Angel Network built and restored 300 homes that had been destroyed by hurricanes Rita and Katrina. The Angel Network had built 60 schools across 13 countries as of 2008.
Additionally, Oprah has demonstrated social conscience to the community, as in the case of opening a school in South Africa for impoverished girls. Oprah’s objective was to overcome the poorly equipped, crowded, and dangerous schools that the girls attended prior to joining the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa. The teachers and administrators of the school were selected ‘from among the most outstanding in the country, with the hope that within a few years of studying at the academy, the girls could “live the dream . . . of Harvard and winning a Nobel Peace Prize. (Garson, 2011, p. 145)”
Oprah played a significant role in exposing the beef industry in the US for selling products unfit for consumption to unsuspecting consumers. Because of her influence, the revelation via television regarding the meat industry in the US had a major impact on the industry and the economy as well. ‘Oprah’s involvement in revealing the dangers of eating beef that could be tainted brought on a firestorm from all segments of the industry: the economy was affected, cattlemen were enraged, lobbyists were perturbed, and, in Amarillo, Texas, the industry’s lawyers brought suit against Oprah ( Garson, 2011, p. 161)’ Eventually, the beef industry saga died down after a series of court battles and Americans went back to consuming beef as usual.
Lastly, Oprah’s endorsement of Barrack Obama in the 2008 election period was linked to 1 million of his votes during the primaries (Parti, 2011). This gave Obama an edge over his closest rival, Hilary Clinton. Oprah’s contribution extends further than the Obama endorsement. Besides contributing the maximum allowable $2,300 as an individual in Obama’s 2008 campaign, she has supported other Democratic candidates. Since 1992, Harpo Inc staff has donated more than $60,000 in political candidates’ support.
How Oprah Functions within the Symbolic Frame
The Symbolic frame focuses on addressing the needs of people with regard to their feeling a sense of meaning and purpose in their jobs. It looks at creating a vision that will motivate employees as well as recognizing excellent performance through employee recognition. Oprah shares her vision with her employees and business partners. She believes in living the dream through hard work. Several people have had their careers boosted to significant heights after appearing severally at the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Oprah has demonstrated servant leadership as well (Wimmer, 2014). She encourages and helps people to do their best and reach their goals, even if it means that such people will move away from her organization. A servant leader empowers people to become leaders in their own right. Oprah has helped several known personalities become leaders, such as Dr. Phil, Gayle King, Dr. Oz, and Nate Berkus, among others. Each one of these people had their individual careers while consulting with Oprah. With time, Oprah enabled the said people to become leaders who went on to start their own TV shows as well as make regular appearances in other shows (Garson, 2011, p. 166).
As a servant leader, Oprah is a good listener and exhibits empathy, persuasion, and community building. These qualities have enabled Oprah to grow her business into an empire, as well as create loyalty among her employees, resulting in a low employee turnover rate. One of Oprah’s philosophies that she lives by is ‘not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.’
More recently, Oprah structured OWN so that it can be independent of her constant oversight. This has allowed her to have more time to pursue other projects. To that end, Oprah recruited Sheri Salata and Erik Logan as co-presidents of OWN, and the trio refers to themselves as a ‘three-legged stool.’ Logan handles operations and business, Salata heads creativity, and Oprah steers the brand. Oprah states that she surrounds herself with professionals and gives them the autonomy to run the business. Both Salata and Logan oversee a team of leaders, and there are more than 200 employees under them.
How the Four-Frame Interacted, Impacted, and/or Influenced Oprah’s Perspective
Oprah is arguably the most celebrated and influential talk show host as well as an impactful transformational leader. Her leadership skills supersede the silver screen and are also evident in the philanthropic world. She leads by example, involves people in realizing her vision, and motivates them to be their best. The four frames of leadership come into play in describing Oprah’s leadership both within and without her career.
Oprah exudes a power that no one can compare in the media industry. She not only motivates her employees by engaging them and listening to them but also through acts of appreciation. The same goes for her viewers and audiences. She engages her viewers, who are her customers, and rewards them on several occasions. By engaging employees, Oprah increases their sense of worth in the organization, which in turn lowers employee turnover, increases job satisfaction, and increases productivity. By engaging customers, Oprah ensures that their loyalty remains to her show, impacts their decision-making process, and creates a society that is motivated to fulfill its dreams.
Oprah has exhibited political influence in the US. Most notably, she endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 election primaries. Her endorsement can be linked to 1 million votes that Obama received during the drive up to the final elections. Additionally, Oprah has gone beyond her home borders to influence the lives of the less privileged. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa is one such example where Oprah’s empathetic nature and need for a just society are exemplified. The school caters to the academic needs of young South African girls and is a deviation from the norm in the country. This is because it offers a high-quality education that positively impacts the girls. Oprah’s objective is to ensure that the girls get to live a better life than she did when she was a teenager.
Oprah does not shy away from dreaming big, sharing her dreams, and working at achieving them. She engages professionals who form part of her working team to realize their dreams. The teams she works with are fully engaged as Oprah ensures that she not only shares her vision with team members but also motivates them to work toward realizing the vision both at an individual and corporate level. She is not afraid to change the structure of a business if the change is set to bring profitability and value. This trait was best observed when Oprah changed the topics that were discussed during the AM Chicago show to those that were more appealing to her audience. This change from business-as-usual resulted in a soaring of the talk show ratings, placing it at the top in the city of Chicago. Oprah was also bold enough to start her own network and discuss debatable and current issues while avoiding all topics linked to the tabloids. The last move she made was to relinquish some of her authority as CEO of OWN and, instead, delegate the duties to Logan and Salata. Having two vice presidents at OWN was a strategic move that saw an increase in consumer viewership rise to 85 million households.
Conclusion
The best way to describe Oprah’s leadership skills is transformational servant leadership. A transformational leader motivates, inspires, and encourages workers to create and even innovate change that helps in growing and shaping an organization’s future success. Oprah has over the years, motivated her employees to work toward achieving their personal dreams as well as turning the company’s vision into a reality. Oprah has also motivated her audiences to dream big and work toward achieving their dreams. Her story of rags to riches is a motivation in itself and has inspired many across the globe to pursue their dreams. A servant leader empowers people to become leaders in their own right. Oprah has enabled several professionals to soar to greater heights in their careers. Through frequent appearances in her show, some of these people, including Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil, have gone on to start their own talk shows, garnering a significant number of viewers worldwide. Oprah has also demonstrated social conscience to the community. As a philanthropist, she has mobilized people to give back to society and support the needy. In summary, Oprah implements all four of the leadership frames in executing her business strategies.
References
Antonakis, J., & Robert, J. (2013). House (2013).’The Full-Range Leadership Theory: The Way Forward’, Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (Monographs in Leadership and Management, Volume 5) (pp. 3-33). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (1991). Leadership and management effectiveness: A multi‐frame, multi‐sector analysis. Human resource management, 30(4), 509-534.
Garson, H. S. (2011). Oprah Winfrey: A Biography: A Biography. ABC-CLIO.
LinkedIn (2015). Oprah on Acting with Intention. https://www.linkedin.com/learning/influencer-interview-oprah-winfrey/oprah-on-acting-with-intention
Parti, T. (2011). he ‘Oprah Effect:’ Winfrey’s Influence Extends Deep Into Politics. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/05/the-oprah-effect-winfreys-influence-extends-deep-into-politics/
Time Firsts (201). Women Leaders: Oprah Winfrey. https://time.com/collection/firsts/4898535/oprah-winfrey-firsts/
Wimmer, K.D (2014). Oprah Winfrey: A Transformational Servant Leader. https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2014/04/07/oprah-winfrey-a-transformational-servant-leader/
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Question 
Oprah Winfrey Biography Book Review
When you have finished reading the biography on your selected leader, and with the help of your guidance outline (Submitted in Week 9), complete your paper that analyzes the person through the four frames of leadership: structural, human resources, political, and symbolic. Address how personality, leadership style, influence, and motivation factored into the successes and failures of the person. The structure of your paper should be as follows:
1. Introduction: Who you selected and why (remember this is not a first-person paper).
2. Background of the person.
3. Explain how personality, leadership style, influence, and motivation factored into the person’s success or failure (these points may not be explicitly addressed in your biography, but you should have enough information based on our coursework to make some logical determinations about these aspects of your selected person).
4. Analyze how the person functioned within the structural frame.
5. Analyze how the person functioned within the human resource frame.
6. Analyze how the person functioned within the political frame.
7. Analyze how the person functioned within the symbolic frame.
8. Explain how the four frames interacted, impacted, and/or influenced the person’s perspective.
9. Conclusion
Remember that your final paper submission is not a question-and-answer document. You are to analyze the information you find, organize it, and present it in a paper that is 12-15 pages in length. Your paper should be written at the college level, adhere to APA guidelines, and include a reference list. Any sources used must be cited properly, including the biography, using in-text citations and a references page.