In 2007, when then-Senator Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States, the country was going through great turmoil and people were ready for a change of leadership. No matter which political party one aligned with, there seemed to be an overwhelming feeling that people were looking for a change in direction, especially in relation to the bad economic positions many Americans had found themselves in. All the challenges the country was facing was a sign that the next president should lead according to the social, political and economic context. This different demand was aligned with the more contemporary study of matching the leader's style with the demands of the task. To better ensure a leader's effectiveness, many high-profile leaders are identified as a way to correlate success with a leader's approach. As a contemporary leader, President Barak Obama's leadership style is constantly criticized. While many still debate the effectiveness of his presidency, most people agree that his transformational leadership approach was the prescribed style the country needed. Leadership Traits I believe that defining a leader by a set of traits can be difficult, if not impossible. It is very likely that when you research leadership traits you will come across various opinions; among these is Baker (2001) who believes that when leaders are defined, they should be defined based on traits associated with three systems. These systems (Baker, 2001) include the classical system, the equilibrium system, and the transforming system. Each of the systems (Baker 2001) has traits associated with it, with the exception of the transforming system. If we accept Baker's (2001) trait theory, the transforming system would be the group that would set the stage for defining the leadership needs that the United States was experiencing when President Obama took office. In the transformative system, the role of the leader cannot be defined a priori, but emerges from dissipative or transformative processes (Baker, 2001). As we see the constant introduction of challenges since President Obama took office, his leadership style has had to adapt to work effectively. Leadership Styles Just as the definition of what leadership traits are has evolved, so have leadership styles and how they are best used. Some of these styles include charismatic leadership, transformational leadership, transactional leader, situational leader, directive leadership style, coaching leadership style, supportive leadership style, and delegating leadership style..