The leadership styles of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin

Two of the most familiar names right now are those of Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their countries are neighbors in Europe but both are engaged in a destructive war that nobody wants except Russia. 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy became the 6^th President of Ukraine on May 2019, he exercises his presidential power using the democratic style of leadership. He allows free exchange of ideas, there is check and balance in government and everyone has the right to criticize him.  

When a leader uses democratic style of leadership he encourages growth in his organization. For the simple reason that there is free flowing traffic of ideas which benefit the leader and the organization that he/she leads. Leaders of first world countries such as the USA, Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, France and a lot more are using the democratic style of leadership no wonder why they are rich, powerful and progressive.     

Leaders who employ the democratic style of leadership are leaders who are confident in their practice of leadership. They know how to exercise their function of leadership without using the factor of fear to push their organizational objectives and agendas. And they exercise their leadership with transparency and openness. They also are sensitive to the voice of the people because they recognize that their temporal power to govern emanates from the people.     

On the other hand, Vladimir Putin is an autocratic leader. He became the most powerful man in Russia during December 1999 until this very day. In total he has been ruling Russia with an Iron fist for almost 23 years and counting. Putin is a dictator and when a nation is ruled by a dictator that nation becomes poor. Why? Because there is no check and balance in his/her governance. Hence, the government that he/she leads becomes a fertile ground for corruption and other abuses by those who are in power. The dictator’s word and rule are absolute no one can contradict him except himself.     

In this unprovoked war which was instigated by Russia we see how weak the leadership of President Putin. Despite of him being a dictator and despite of the gargantuan advantage of the Russian armed forces over the Ukrainian armed forces.  It’s a fact that after almost seven weeks now the Russian military might has not conquered Ukraine. This is attributed to poor planning and logistical shortcomings. 

Why did it happen that Russia was not able to plan and execute properly? Because there was lacking of inputs from the lower level Russian military planners. President Putin listened only to himself and to his select generals/advisers who thought that Ukraine will simply cower in fear once they invade. 

Dictators are actually weak leaders. Since they have to resort to their dictatorial/authoritarian powers to command respect and obedience from the people that they rule. They never consult the broad spectrum of their people when making important plans and decisions. Unlike democratic leaders who encourage people participation in their exercise of governance.    

Strong, effective and respectable leaders can easily command respect and obedience. Because they lead by example, they are loved by their people and they know how to respect the rights of their people. And this typifies the democratic style of leadership of Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenzkyy.  – Marino J. Dasmarinas