Effective Leadership Practices: Ted Turner
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Background Ted Turner who was born as Robert Edward Turner III, born on November 19, 1938 in Cincinnati, Ohio, is known as a media mogul, philanthropist, and billionaire two times over. It is well known from many sources that Teds’ father was abusive towards him, when he was young. His father who was bipolar killed himself in 1963, which led to Ted becoming president and CEO of Turner Advertising, which later he changed to Turner Broadcasting (Turner, The Biography.com web site, 2015). Later, Ted went on to create the Cable News Network (CNN), which first aired in 1980. With the profits from CNN, Ted purchased Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Continuing to grow his company, he later created Cartoon Network, Turner Network Television (TNT), and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). As the leader in television and the internet, Turner Broadcasting was sold to Time Warner for $7.5 billion dollars. Ted did continue to run Time Warner’s cable networks, this included Home Box Office (HBO) and America Online (AOL) leading him to be the media mogul he is known for today (Turner, The Biography.com web site, 2015).
What is your chosen leader's definition of leadership? In an interview with Oprah 2015, Ted stated that in order to be a leader you have to be an expert in many areas. Ted is known to be an autocratic leader, very strict, does not share anything with his followers, and takes all the risks himself (Abir, n.d.). As strict, as he may be he also works hard and is a visionary leader. "The way to lead is with infectious enthusiasm, get everyone enthusiastic about what we're doing (Kahan, n.d.)."
How does your chosen leader demonstrate the five practices of exemplary leadership?
Model the Way Model the Way is the practice of leading by example, discovering what values you share with your team, and practicing what you preach (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). Ted is known for his anti-religion antics. He has never been one to commit to a religion, and often making snide remarks about Christianity. In order, to model the way, you must practice what you preach (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). Ted does this by recently announcing that he is “joining in a $200 million effort to fight malaria in Africa with Methodist and Lutheran organizations”. According to Carey, (n.d.), Ted is finally putting his money where his mouth is. "The religious community is huge and has a very good reputation for being able to mobilize resources," Turner told the Associated Press. "Why not use them and be thankful?" (Carey, n.d.). Overall, Ted as a leader has been loud and outspoken about his beliefs, but admitting that he can change to align with organizations he once did not have belief in to better the world, is a good example of sharing values and following your words with actions. Ted has “reached out to others, stands up for what he believes in, and follows words with actions, showing that he “model’s the way” as a great leader (Kouzes & Posner, 2012).
Inspire a Shared Vision Inspiring a shared vision is an easy to define when it comes to Ted Turner. Once asked Ted Turner stated, “The way to lead is with infectious enthusiasm, get everyone enthusiastic about what we're doing." (Kahan, n.d.). Ted had many visions for the future, creating a broadcasting network that can compete with existing networks was a vision he had and accomplished. He takes risks and stands by the risks, which has led to great rewards. If people see that you are willing to take the same risks they are, then people are more willing to share in the vision.
Challenge the Process I believe that Ted Turner’s empire is built on challenging the process. Ted who is described as a visionary, started with CNN. This was a vision, a chance to challenge the three networks ABC, CBS, and NBC who had a monopoly going on showing football games (Kahan, n.d.). "The broadcasters had carved up the games," Ted said, dividing the NFL, AFL and Monday Night Football between them. "Everyone paid the same prices and made the same profit. All three networks were happy, but I wasn't happy" — customers were not being served, and incumbents had no incentive to change (Kahan, n.d.).” Ted thought that this was not fair and after reading an article about satellites many years earlier; he realized that he could put an antenna in space and broadcast to all of North America. He found a way the “challenge the process” (Kouzes & Posner, 2012).
Enable Others to Act One of the ways that Ted has “enabled others to act” is through “fostering collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships” (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). This is proven through his philanthropy efforts. One of the ventures he has poured money into is renewable energy. In a partnership with “Southern Company”, he has built multiple large-scale solar projects, in which he uses in his own companies as well. (Ted Turner, n.d.). This partnership paves the way for clean energy. Fostering these relationships, will help to build trust, because he follows his own philosophy and ventures, in other words, Ted “puts his money where his mouth is”.
Encourage the Heart (Kouzes & Posner, 2012) Encourage the heart is based on the principle of recognizing others who have helped you along the way. No one person can accomplish great things by themselves; they need others to help them do it (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). So how has Ted recognized others for their contributions? In most of my research, I found negative things about Ted Turner and the way he attacks things he does not believe in with words. He further, has made many apologies for comments such as "Christianity is a religion for losers" (Carey, n.d.). It is very difficult to find any information about Ted Turner going out of his way to recognize employees. Most of what is available in the research, states that Ted Turner is a hard worker and this is what motivates the people around him, he leads by example, speaks what is on his mind, and if he is wrong he admits it. Ted on the other hand is generous in his later years. He pledged one billion dollars to the United Nations, which he has met 965 million of that billion so far. He gives to causes he supports and believes in and help humanity, better, or world, and protect our environment. Ted Turner has a personality that is sometimes out there, hence his nicknames “Captain Outrageous” or “Mouth of the South”, this probably is driven somewhat by his manic depressive disorder, his need to do the opposite of everything his dad has taught him, and the fact he is very rich and can get away with it (Carey, n.d.). Perhaps, now in his life he is encouraging the heart by allowing others to be part of his giving calmer side. People are not always encouraged by monetary things, or comments, but sometimes just being part of something bigger than them or that is great is encouraging enough to feel rewarded.
What challenges and opportunities does your chosen leader face? The challenges that Ted Turner faces now that he is in his 70’s is a short life span and an image, created by himself, as an outspoken, foul-mouthed billionaire. It appears he has had to reinvent himself, his lifetime of saying what is on his mind and an autocratic leadership style has caused him to rethink his strategies. Aligning with a religious organization for the greater good is a great example of this. However, the opportunity for him to leave a legacy of good, even if demonstrated in his later years, is already relevant. His contributions are enormous to charities and humanitarian efforts. It is my hope that Ted Turner in the end will be remembered, as a giving philanthropist, more so than the “mouth of the south” or “Captain Outrageous” (Turner, How Ted Turner Defines a Good Leader, n.d.). Even if his leadership style is autocratic he does lead by example, this gives his followers the opportunity to trust in his endeavors.

References
Abir, Z. T. (n.d.). Analysis of Entrepreneurial Cases: A Compare and Contrast Ted Turner & Richard Branson. Retrieved June 10, 2015, from academia.edu: http://www.academia.edu/2584466/Analysis_of_Entrepreneurial_Cases_Ted_Turner_iii_and_Sir_Richard_Branson
Carey, J. (n.d.). The Enlightenment of Ted Turner. Retrieved June 10, 2015, from The Christian Broadcasting Network: http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/biblestudyandtheology/perspectives/carey_ted_turner.aspx
Kahan, S. (n.d.). Ted Turner on Vison Over the Horizon. Retrieved June 10, 2015, from Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/1457913/ted-turner-visionary-leadership-how-see-over-horizon
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2012). The Leadership Challenge (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Ted Turner. (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2015, from Turner Enterprises, Inc: http://www.tedturner.com/turner-family/ted-turner/
Turner, T. (2015). The Biography.com web site. Retrieved June 10, 2015, from Biography.com : http://www.biography.com/people/ted-turner-9512255#personal-life
Turner, T. (n.d.). How Ted Turner Defines a Good Leader. (Oprah, Interviewer) Master Class. Retrieved June 14, 2015, from http://www.oprah.com/own-master-class/How-Ted-Turner-Defines-a-Good-Leader-Video