Charismatic Leadership within the Media Industry

     Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Jennings Grant, a current employee of Fox News. Jennings official title is Director of Development at Fox Nation. For those of you who are not familiar with Fox Nation (I was unfamiliar as well) it is an online streaming service that is similar to Netflix or Hulu. Fox Nation mostly consists of politically charged shows or documentaries but is beginning to make the switch to more entrepreneurial shows or series. Jennings has worked in the Media Industry since graduating from UVA in 2011. She started her career at Fox Sports where she was a Production Assistant/ Freelance Reporter and has been quick to move up the ladder of success within Fox. 

     While I was impressed with Jennings job description, I was even more impressed by her charismatic personality. I have known Jennings for quite some time and love how energetic and passionate she is. As we all learned about in Theories and Models, charisma is a very important aspect of leadership. Charismatic leaders use their energy and passion to create power and authority. Charisma is thought to be rooted in an aspect of someone’s personality that is thought to be extraordinary. For Jennings, her charisma comes from her ability to be excited about anything and to never give up. During times of crisis she finds a way to connect with her colleagues and lead them effectively. She treats everyone with respect and has formed a personal connection with everyone on her team. While Jennings main job is within Fox Nation, she has been helping other teams prepare for the upcoming Presidential debates. Organizing these debates have been more time consuming than ever before, given the current pandemic (and political climate overall). While Jennings could have simply stayed in her Fox Nation bubble and refused to help her colleagues plan the debates, her energy and dedication allowed her to go out of her way and help when her company needed her. Although I have known Jennings for a while, it was amazing to talk to her about her role at Fox Nations and dive deeper into her type of leadership. Overall, Jennings’ energy and passion about her job is inspiring and I hope one day to find a job that I can feel just as passionate about.