With the following weekend being the Super Bowl, I was feeling the football fever. My friends and I decided to watch one of the greatest football movies of all time (In my opinion) the day before the game. For those of you who haven’t seen Any Given Sunday, It is a great football classic that shows many aspects and characteristics of leadership.
One of the most influential leaders in the film is Tony D’Amato who is portrayed by Al Pacino. He is the head coach of the Miami Sharks and is well respected by his team. As I watched the movie, it became apparent the reasons why he was such a great leader. The leadership that Tony used in the film is closely related to the Style Approach. His behaviors with the tasks at hand for this football team are just as effective as the relationship behaviors he has with everyone affiliated with the organization.
His task behaviors are top notch in the film about accomplishing the ultimate goal of the team. The main goal in the movie is for the team to make the Associated Football Franchises of America playoffs. He eventually leads them to the playoffs and his credited to his knowledge of the game and his 30 year coaching career. He handles many injuries with his team and always finds a way to put the most effective players on the field. He also handles many off field struggles with not only himself but other many other players and keeps everyone focused on the goal.
The relationship behaviors of Tony in the movie are what stuck out the most to me. The film goes into great depth with the relationships he builds throughout the film with players, coaches and personnel. The starting quarterback (Dennis Quaid) looks at Tony as more of a father figure than a coach. He helps him with his marriage and family issues, more than a normal coach would do. The coaches in the film look up to Tony with his play calling ability and football knowledge. The only person in the film that Tony doesn’t have a strong relationship with is the owner (Cameron Diaz) for the struggles that the team faces early in the season. Despite this rough start, she comes to admit the success of the football team is credited greatly to Tony and thanks him personally.
Another reason I decided to blog about this movie and leadership theory is due to the highly praised halftime speech that Al Pacino gives during halftime at the final game. Some people say it is one of the best portrayals of leadership speeches in the history of film. I provided the link to the video below for those who are interested in watching it. Overall, I feel that this movie was a great portrayal of leadership and the role Tony D’Amato played. Many leadership theories were depicted in this film but the Style Approach stuck out the most for me due to the wealthy of knowledge of the task at hand and the strength of the relationships he had with everyone.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkVdDpPQGJM&feature=youtu.be Campbell McWilliams. Tony’s Speech from Any Given Sunday (1999). Youtube. Web. 4 Feb. 2013.
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage