Anglo Leadership Profile

This was in the reading last week and I thought that it was interesting:

Anglo countries want leaders to be exceedingly motivating and visionary, not autocratic, and condsiderate of others, team oriented, and autonomous. They believe that it is ineffective if leaders are status conscious or prone to face saving.

Dave and I talked about how this reflects on Barak Obama and how citizens choose their presidents. We look for someone who has a vision for the United States and can motivate themselves and others to follow the vision. Barack Obama is very motivating, getting the citizens involved in volunteering, he has a vision for America, he is considerate of others and is team oriented.

This is just a little reflection on the reading, hope you enjoyed it!

Week 6-Elizabeth

The movie that I selected to watch for this week's blog was Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The movie focused on the Golden Age at the time of the Spanish invasion.
A transformational leadership focuses on the following aspects: empower the people, raise consciousness, create a vision, social architects, and building trust and fostering relationship.
I do remember learning about Queen Elizabeth many many years ago but based on the movie I would agree that she models the transformational leadership approach. Transformational leadership embodies a concern for the common good or followers. The Queen in her reign created a vision and a country were freedom existed and established laws protected the countrymen. The Queen on the verge of a Spanish attack went out to the battlefield and charged her troops to defend the land of England. She said that “We would meet the enemy face to face...together no invader will pass...they will not pass....and we will meet in the field of Victory. The Queen was somewhat of a social architect in this challenge to the soldiers-as she provided the troops with an idea for the future and an hope for victory.
The movie opened with a quote from the Queen, “The impossible is far more interesting.”To be this is the idea of raising consciousness or the ability to be different. To me the Queen in the movie showed that she would not conform to the norm or settle for a husband simply based on the fact that she did not have one.
Did the queen empower her people? Yes. I believe that the Queen led my example and those that followed her possessed qualities similar to her: dignified, strong, brave, and full of pride. In class we identified leaders who we thought we transformational leaders: Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa....well I think that Queen Elizabeth could be part of this crew.

Good movie! I would suggest renting it.

Week 6- 12 Angry Men

I really do love this film. It says a lot about the nature of our judicial system both good and bad. I always want to know how often we actually have a jury of our peers that weighs the case put before them like the one in this film does.

For those who aren't familiar with this film, the plot is very simple. There is a murder trial about a boy who might have killed his father. The film begins with the 12 jurors being dismissed for deliberation. The jurors next take a vote to find out where they stand, and Juror Number 8 (Henry Fonda) is the sole juror who claims a decision of "Not Guilty." The movie then progresses with juror after juror moving their decision from "Guilty" to "Not Guilty" for varying reasons.

To start, juror number 1 comes out attempting to lead the group through his attempts to create order out of the mess by calling for votes and creating a system for arguing points. He does more policing than leading. In the end, juror number 8 is mentioned as the "leader" of the group after persuading several others of the reasonable doubt in the case.

The interesting point of this story is that juror 8 stands up for what he believes and in doing so begins to make individuals out of what seems to be a pressured mob. The first vote was cast by show of hands, which psychologically forces many people to side with the visual majority. The second vote was done by secret ballot, requested by juror 8, allowing people to be more honest about their view. The process seems to be the most important aspect for juror 8. He is not really challenging due process, rather he is forcing the jury to remember their obligations to the process.

Juror 8 takes on a transformational leadership role by slowly creating doubt in person after person which allows each one to cone to their own personal terms of the situation and, in turn, lead the arguments against those that find the accused as guilty. One after another, jurors flip their decision after various doubts in the case presented. Each juror also switches to the side of not guilty by putting aside personal politics and reason.

The story also creates interesting circles or groups within the 12 people. As the story goes along, three or four people on the side of guilty are choosing so for various personal reasons that make them very strong and vocal. The majority are quiet and logical, and then there are several that seem to be of differing social classes and race which makes them pull together in their arguments. Though this is a room of 12 white males, the differences between them are striking, and it was juror 8's intention to play on those differences by approaching his point in as many different angles as possible, but each relating to the specific personalities he was contended with.

I also found several side notes to the story quite interesting. Little nuances such as juror 8's occupation as an architect. Could this be a relation to the concept of a leader being a social architect?

Dead Poets Society - Transformational Leadership

There are many movies that capture the true essence of Transformational Leadership. Movies that come to mind are the Great Debaters (Denzel Washington), Coach Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) and Dangerous Minds (Michelle Pheiffer). However, the movie that I chose for this assignment was Dead Poets Soceity.

"Oh Captain, My Captain"!

Dead Poets Society was an exceptional movie. Set in the late 1950's, it is set at a prestigious boarding school for men, with rigid traditions and standards. Professor John Keating (Robin Williams) is introduced as the new English Professor.

Transformational leadership is defined as having the ability inspire and motivate. It has five components; idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectural stimulations, individual consideration and trust/collaboration.

Keating was inspirational, dynamic, and energenic! He also injected humor into his teaching which stimulated his students to think differently and creatively by suggesting news ways of looking at things.

In the movie, one could say that one can see many types of leadership styles. From the opening scene in which Keating comes to class, you can see him invoke his leadership style. His passion for poetry, his students, and teaching them to look at the world in a different light.

Professor Keating from the opening class appears to want to move his students in a new direction. He teaches them to look at poetry differently and to seize the day. Professor Keating "became their inspiration, he made their lives extraordinary". ( A tagline from the movie).

Keating's leadership was compelling, sympatheic, and eloquent. He focused on each student invidually and assisted them in facing both their strengths and weaknesses. Keating broke tradition, but still maintained professionalism, although his teaching style was being noticed by other professors and school administrators.

Professor Keating involved his students in making decisions, they developed a bond of trust. And while he was very influencing and thought provoking, he was not intruding. The culuture of the school was rigid. The school director Mr. Nolan had a profound influence on all of the students. However, his style is nothing like Mr. Keatings, in fact it clashes. Nolan is straight by the book, whereas Keating uses his style to invoke confidence and transformation.

In the movie, Transformational Leadership is so noted as Professor Keating coaches his students through their situations and issues. Futhermore, he uses his influence and skills to listen, learn and develop new and innovative ways to inspire his students. According to Northouse (2001), "This factor is represenative of leaders who provides a supportive climate in which they listen carefully to the individual needs of the followers." You see this demonstrated throughout the movie.

Keating's most profound teaching lesson in my opinion was having his students face conformity! He does an excercise where he tells them to find their own walk, swim against the stream. Keating challenged the process and taught his students how to confront new traditions.

An outstanding movie that shows you leadership skills and methods from beginning to end.

SEIZE THE DAY!

Gandhi

Gandhi was, most certainly, a transformational leader. I use the Kouzes and Posner model of transformational leadership to describe why.

MODEL THE WAY: Gandhi's best exemplifies this through fasting. His first fast (at least as it is shown in the film) was after violence had broken out during the noncooperation campaign against British rule. Gandhi, a proponent of nonviolence, was deeply troubled by the way the violence by Indians against police and British soldiers was perceived by the British and portrayed in international news. He believed that violence only amounted to revenge which leads to more violence. Thus in order to stop violent behavior, Indians must remain noncompliant with British laws that were dehumanizing, but turn the other cheek when faced with violence. Gandhi's willingness to put his life on the line through a hunger strike was perhaps the greatest nonviolent act of resistance which he kept up until, as it was said in the movie, that Indians were offering garlands to British soldiers and Indian police.

INSPIRE A SHARED VISION: In an early part of the movie, Gandhi explained how buying clothes from the British rather than from Indians was making India poorer. He had moved to a small rural village in modest home and chose to wear clothes made from local materials. He then inspired other Indians to get rid of their British garments at a rally and burned them all as a public demonstration of Indian solidarity. Gandhi connected directly with the poor although he was a highly educated man by listening to their concerns about their inability to maintain a livelihood that was taken away under British rule.

CHALLENGE THE PROCESS: Gandhi initiated a salt making campaign. The British had a monopoly on salt making, even the India had its own ocean from which they were able to produce their own salt. Considering that salt is a necessary to sustain life, Gandhi saw it as another way to keep India dependent on Britain. Gandhi led a march to the sea where he and many others began producing their own salt in an act of defiance.

ENABLE OTHERS TO ACT: Once the British learned of the salt making in India, they discussed means by which to encourage violence in India in an effort to lessen the following of Gandhi. Gandhi was arrested, however his absence did not lead to violence. Muslims and Hindus stood together while being beaten, one by one, never lifting a hand to hurt the ones who struck them. Gandhi's followers had the courage to do this in his absence because they felt they were strong enough to do this on their own.

Week 6- Elizabeth

"I may be a women but I have the heart of a man. I am my father's daughter and I not afraid of anything". The movie Elizabeth showed many examples of Transformational Leadership. Elizabeth showed that she had a concerned for her people when she went in front of all the bishops and started that their needed to a "Single Church of England". In order to make her point stronger she practice and try to find the best way to stressed that this act was going to help her people. The biggest ideas that was expressed through out was making sure that Elizabeth married someone. Throughout the movie she would talk about her nation rather than a man for herself. At the end of the movie she made a transitions and declare that she was now married to England.
In order to be a good leader she asked her people what they feel about a certain situation and what they would if they needed to make a decision.

When thinking about the movie, I remembered the speaker and the themes in Leadership which are Reflective,Ethics, and Diversity. I do not see Ethics and Diversity falling into this situation because of the power a queen holds, but there was a lot of time taken to her to reflective on many of the decisions that she had to make. The speaker take about going with your gut feeling which is something that the Queen did. When all the people stated she had to get married, she knew that she did not want to be married but respected her people and welcome in the idea to think about if she would.

The movie showed that many people did not want Elizabeth to be the queen and some even tried to kill her, but she did everything that she could to be the best leader she could and in the end she was known as a great queen.

Week 6: Dead Poets Society

We watched bits and pieces of the Dead Poets Society in class and discussed how Keating, one of the main characters, was a transformational leader. Since we have already discussed Keating, I would like to take this time and talk about the other leader that I see in this movie. Keating is the main leader of the students, he is in a leadership poistion by being appointed the english teacher. I also believe that Neil Perry, a student of Keating's, is another major leader within the story. Perry is the leader of a group of students, whom happen to be the group of students that are most influenced by Keating. I believe Perry is the leader of the group due to the fact that he is the one that everyone goes to for study groups, he is the one that actively seeks out Mr. Keatings old annual, and is the one who wants to bring back the Dead Poets Society and encourages others to join him.

While watching the movie, I kept noticing how natural it came to Perry to be a leader. How he easily could encourage his peers to join his causes, others looked to him first, and how he naturally cared for his peers. Todd, his roommate and in his first year at Welton Academy, also notices how Perry by stating to Perry that he is a person who says things and people listen. While noticing that being a leader seemed to naturally come to Perry, I wondered if he would fit into the "great man" theory.

Neuroticism: Perry's strained relationship with his father plays into his Neuroticism and is also the reason for his committing suicide.

Extraversion: Perry is very sociable and is well known among his classmates, I would say he is one of the more popular kids in the school. He is able to see the positive and is encouraging of his schoolmates.

Opennes: Perry is curious about the Dead Poets Society, Keating is able to open up his creativness and gives him a space which he can express his creativity.

Agreeableness: Perry is trusting of his school mates and Keating, he nurtures Todd who is new and shy by taking him under his wing and accepting him

Conscientiousness: Perry is the student you know will be where he is suppose to be, teachers and classmates would be able to depend on him

According to the Traits Theory, Perry would be seen as a leader. He also has the major leadership traits which are: intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociabilty.

When Neil passes away, the question I had was who out of the group of students will emerge to be the next leader or even will there be another leader?