With all this talk about leadership lately, I’ve spent a significant amount of time reflecting on leadership examples in my life. Through doing this, I have found that the most prominent examples of leadership in my life stem from movies I’ve seen. While it’s evident that many of these movies are based in fiction rather than true stories, leadership styles have been conveyed equally as well in both instances. Movies such as Forrest Gump and 300 show us that leaders can come in all shapes and sizes, from being quirky and awkward to fearless and powerful.
Upon my reflection, I started to recap on the different leadership styles we have all been a witness to on the big screens. Along with Forrest Gump and 300, I immediately thought of Braveheart, Lone Survivor, Captain Phillips, Remember the Titans, and Saving Private Ryan. It’s incredible to think of the diversity of leadership in the aforementioned movies. For instance, Forrest Gump relies on leadership maxims to get his point across, sharing stories of his many successes as an influential person, a quality which is sought after in a leader. In 300, Leonidas passionately led his disadvantaged army into a battle of epic proportions, and he did so with such confidence and persistence. Although he ultimately failed to accomplish the objective, he was admired by his loyal followers and his legend lived on. On the flip side, in Braveheart, William Wallace led his troops into many successes. He was not assigned power initially, he simply emerged as a leader with his charisma, a leadership trait he shares with Leonidas.
According to the Psychodynamic model in the Northouse text, Leonidas and William Wallace could be defined as paternalistic leaders. A paternalistic leader is someone who gains complete loyalty and obedience from his followers. This style places a heavy emphasis on getting a job done efficiently, while building strong interpersonal relationships with followers. It’s evident that this commitment led to high levels of organization among the 300 soldiers, famous for their Phalanx, which was an arrangement of soldiers with shields and spears intended to thwart off enemy attackers from multiple angles.
When it comes to war movies, it’s evident that the three-skill approach of leadership also applies (Northouse, 2013). For instance, William Wallace and Leonidas didn’t become leaders by luck, while there were apparent situational factors which led them to their position, their skills in combat and organization definitely aided in their efforts. Additionally, their ability to conceptualize their ideas was a huge factor in their combat successes since battling against the odds requires a much more strategic approach. This is exemplified by the use of their limited cavalry in Braveheart to cut through the mass of enemy troops, and the use of the narrow pass by Leonidas to decrease the number of opponents at any given time. These skills emphasize the technical, human, and conceptualization skills mentioned by Peter Northouse (2013).
The movies I have mentioned are just a handful of my personal favorites, in reality there are hundreds of movies in which leadership styles are conveyed. It can be argued that each and every movie has a leader of sorts, whether it be an animated movie about princesses or a war movie. Leadership is so diverse and all-encompassing that it would only make sense for this role to be present in most movies, not only for the purpose of the storyline, but for the gripping of the audience as well. A movie without a leader, much like a corporation without a leader, is incredibly uninteresting and, in my personal opinion, would resemble a group of people standing around talking about great ideas, rather than accomplishing them.
Ultimately, my reflection on these movies made me realize how beneficial they were to my life. These movies are the type that send chills down your spine, the type that make you rethink your own lifestyle and leadership, the type that inspire you to be better, to be stronger.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2013) Leadership: Theory and practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Matthew Benjamin Allen says
Ever sense starting this class, I can’t watch a movie or TV show that depicts a leader and not try to tie leadership traits to them. Some leadership roles in the movies are easier to see, like Braveheart or 300. But are leadership situation in the movies similar to real-life? Yes I think so. Obviously in the movies the director and writers have all the control on the situation to make the leader look good. Both William Wallace and Leonidas possessed many leadership traits, like charisma and confidence. But just like in real life, they had goals and want their followers to perform at highest level. Also like leaders of today, these men had to influence and inspire the people the they lead. I think we can see a lot of similar between leaders in the movies and leaders in real life. Leaders in real life may not have to lead people into battle, but like leaders in the movies they both have a end goal in sight.
Brian Redmond says
This is an interesting conversation. Now the thing to think about, is this: are those movie/media leadership situations similar to real-life ones? And why?
James Richard Gaughan says
I too reference movies and documentaries while studying the theories behind leadership. I do this because these forms of media typically depict leadership in settings I’ve never been in personally. I found it interesting how you applied some of the course content to war movies, since certain types of leadership are completely necessary in such situations. Military leaders must approach certain situations in a diversified and flexible manner, yet must remain congruent in ways they were trained to lead. Its interesting how similar strategic approaches were used in films that cover such different time period such as “Braveheart” and “300”.
A leader in battle must have “social perceptiveness” and understand what their troops are feeling and how they may react to a situation. Northouse explains this as “insight and awareness into how others in the organization function” (2013, p. 50). If a leader has a strong grasp of his/her troop’s emotions, they can more effectively lead and hopefully succeed.
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, Inc