Poet Rudyard Kipling opens his “If” poem speaking directly, almost as an interpellation, to his reader.

Composed over four stanzas of eight lines each, the author’s verses, only spreading over two lines in the
first stanza, gradually increase to measure the entire length of the stanza, by the last stanza. Arranging
his lines so, Rudyard Kipling creates and entertains a momentum all throughout the poem, culminated
by the delivery of an interesting exclamation to his son. On the merits, “if” could be read as a theory
about the qualities and attitudes one should cultivate in order to become a good man, as an experienced
loving father would most honestly try to give them to his own son. Recognizing the leadership functions
father historically serve, especially to their own progeny, “If” is therefore connecting to leadership for
attempting to serve its maintenance functions. Indeed, carefully creating such an intense momentum,
only to release it with such exhilarating paternity, the poem fulfills all social emotional, support and
harmony roles naturally devoted to leaders.

Walt Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain” is a poem composed of three octets. Ode to his vessel captain,
the poet organized each stanza in two separate sections, contrasting, each time, longer verses
describing a ship entering port, with shorter ones announcing, then mourning the Captains death.
Consistently opposing, thus, a ships port pompous entrance to short livid and solemn references to the
captain’s death; Whitman’s poem connects strongly with leadership concepts of gatekeeping and
recording. On its content, readers may assume it were written to mourn the departure of a much
beloved person, be it a captain, therefore naturally hierarchal assuming the role and functions of
leadership.

“The Road Not Taken”, written by poet Robert Frost, is organized over four quintets. Introducing his
message with descriptive imagery setting himself as a traveler standing at the crossing of two different
paths in the very first stanza, Frost declines the next two in describing their appropriate difference and
culminates with a hypothesis aimed at justifying his choosing of one path over the other. In bringing
much attention to the physical similarity of the two paths before closing on a decision motivation
rationale only to himself in abstract reference, the poem could be coined to exhibit or exemplify
characteristics of self-centered leadership roles.

To me, the most Effective, but also the Best leader would be Olivia Pope. Indeed, in character, Olivia
Pope is portrayed as fulfilling all qualities expected of a leader. Not only is she capable of delivering life
changing words to both clients and staff in the spark of the moment, but she has reportedly intervened
in her employees’ lives at moments they couldn’t have been more helpless, offering them ways to
redemption they may have never anticipated themselves. While demanding, she is also reliable,
dependable and apparently loving.