In The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda is the chief editor of a top-selling fashion magazine. Andy has become her assistant. Everyone thinks she is going to fail because of her looks. She gets a complete make over to fit in with everyone. She ends up changing her entire personality and becomes completely devoted to work and even sacrifices her relationship with her boyfriend for this job.
According to Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy women are expected to take risks, but not be consistently outstanding, be tough, but not macho, be ambitious, but know they will not receive equal treatment, and take responsibility, but follow others’ advice. Miranda, the chief editor of the magazine did not fit in to most of these categories. She was a very tough boss who took risk and continued to get outstanding results. She did not follow others’ advice because she knew what was best for the company.
In this movie, the producers even made Andy fit into these stereotypes. All women are portrayed a certain way therefore they are expected to act that way. There are not many women CEOs because of this. Women leaders can be just as effective as men if they were given the chance to prove themselves.
There need to be more women leaders like Miranda out there. Although she may be a little bit over the top and cruel at times, she does what she needs to do and gets the job done. She continuously proves why she is the chief editor.
Jayne, B. (n.d.). Lesson 13: Leadership and Diversity. Retrieved July 4, 2015, from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su15/psych485/001/content/13_lesson/03_page.html
Wayne A says
First, I loved this movie when it came out. I even own it. In fact it is currently sitting on the shelf behind me. What can I say; I am a huge fan of women in leadership roles and a sucker for any movie with an underdog. Second, regarding Bryan’s question of whether women have to be brash to be successful – I don’t think so. I have known plenty of successful women that have not been a Miranda Priestly and have still been successful. I also agree with him by saying that I think that the behaviors witnessed by Miranda can be attributed her personality and various external forces (perceptions included). Ultimately, Miranda loved being “on top,” anywhere other than that would have meant failure.
While I was thinking about Bryan’s last question however, I had another idea. A long time ago and a far away land, I had a supervisor I looked up to. She was everything that I thought a “good” manager embodied. She was empathetic, fair minded, and agreeable without being “soft.” Then I thought about the Devil Wears Prada. I was Emily. She admired Miranda as I admired my manager. Even though our supervisors were very much different people, it was their relationship that I understood. We were both part of the “in-group.” The difference however was the amount of those who had access to this inner circle. In the Devil Wears Prada it was exclusive to say the least. Where wearing the wrong belt or a color that was out of season could get you exiled to the “out-group,” which at Runway was akin to being fired. If you were not in Miranda’s elite inner circle, you were nameless, literally. As Northouse (2013) states, partnerships can be transformational (think of Andy’s changes through the movie).Miranda should have sought out ways to build trust and respect with her subordinates, not scare them into submission. Think of all of the people she could have transformed. Maybe in the end, she did.
Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Bryan Christopher Martin says
Much to my dismay, my wife has made me watch this movie more than I’d like to admit. Therefore, I feel like I have a really good grasp of what you’re saying. I would agree with you that Miranda is a really strong female leader and does well because of her leadership style in a cut-throat industry.
That being said, I don’t think the model Miranda set is the only model for successful leadership in women. I think Miranda was a product of corporate America. However, some of the greatest woman leaders I’ve ever met were that way because of their ability to empathize and think in a non-brash manor. I personally believe that women are more calculated, they understand people and are more compassionate then men and that’s what makes them so effective in leadership.
What do you think? Do you think that women have to be brash to be successful? Is it dependent on the environment? How do followers and employees fit into that mold?