Introduction
Otto von Bismark, a renowned statesman and political leader, once stated, “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” As developing leaders in a rapidly changing world, it is crucial we not only strive to learn from our own experiences but also the experiences of others. Every leader approaches leadership differently, with the most effective taking into account themselves, their followers, and the given context (Daft, 5). The best leaders adopt a proactive approach, striving continually to develop and grow both their abilities and that of their subordinates. As aspiring organizational leaders, we will use this essay to discuss the positive and negative leadership styles and principles emulated by various leaders from cinema, literature, and real-life.
Cinematic Leader
To begin with, much can be learned from the leadership and communication style of Miranda Priestly, the protagonist of the film The Devil Wears Prada. Priestly, who acts as the Chief Executive Officer of the popular fashion magazine Runway, utilizes a largely Machiavellian style of leadership. Under
Unfortunately, this is not a trait in which any leader should try to imitate: “Steve Jobs was a known bully and would often fly off the handle at those under him. He would publicly question the intelligence of anyone he found fault with” (Bob Sanders). Like Priestly, Steve was well known for being rude and condescending, and at many times he would publicly humiliate Apple staff. It created a culture in which many out groups formed and riffs could be seen within the company. As we discussed in class, the way in which a manager handles conflicting ideas and their subordinates can have a massive effect on an organization. In this case, Steve did not act in the way you would associate with a good
The role of a leader is often inaccurately defined as an individual who is in a position to give orders. However, there are enormous differences in the attributes of an outstanding leader, and one of mediocrity. An outstanding leader, above all else, is a role model for their peers. In doing so, a leader of the highest caliber is trustworthy in both their peer’s trust for the leader as well as the leader’s trust of their peers. A leader must also display exceptional skill in communication which transcends speaking and, more importantly, includes listening and consideration to the ideas presented to them. Furthermore, a leader must be supportive of and willing to help their peers build their own strengths. The attributes listed above represent only a small subset of what makes an outstanding leader. Yet,
Heroes and leaders have long had a popular following in literature and in our own imaginations. From Odysseus in ancient Grecian times to May Parker in Spider-man Two, who states, “We need a hero, courageous sacrificing people, setting examples for all of us. I believe there’s a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble” (Raimi, 2004). Organizations need heroes, too. We call them organizational leaders. The study of organizational leadership, then, is really the study of what makes a person a successful hero. Or, what processes, constructs, traits, and dynamics embody the image of a successful leader.
provides very important approaches to leadership and ways of dealing with dilemmas, negative feedback, and other management issues. Although it has a few minor short comings, the book is well-written and properly structured, making it easy for the target readers to understand its content.
The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner (2007) is the result of twenty years of research on the factors that influence and create great leadership. Through studies and stories from leaders with various backgrounds throughout the world, the practices and characteristics that create great leadership are delineated. Leadership is viewed not as a group of inherent characteristics, but as learned behavior that anyone can achieve. The goal of Kouzes and Posner’s book is to inspire and educate leaders through transformational leadership. As such, leadership is about mobilizing others to become and do extraordinary things.
The idea of what makes an individual a good leader; a manager or a worker is generally based on what are his/her perceived strengths. In Clifton and Nelson (2010) book “Soar With Your Strengths”, the reader is encouraged to focus on their strengths rather than their weakness to excel in school, in business, or in the workplace (p.19). In an organizational leadership role, management must understand the strengths and weakness of their subordinates. Successful organizations identify and improve upon their strengths. Simultaneously, effective leadership also acknowledges the existence of weakness while effectively isolating it. More often than not, unsuccessful organizations fail to achieve success because they focus on their faults rather than their strong suits.
As I have developed in my job, school, and as a person, I found that I enjoyed helping others and want to become a leader. This paper will further describe how my experiences and background have shaped the leader I am today.
In the movie, “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006), Miranda Priestly, the editor in chief and CEO of “Runway” fashion magazine, played by Meryl Streep. Miranda uses masculine and authoritarian ways to do leadership; she is competitive, surly, vindictive, impatient, dominate, direct, task-oriented, meticulous, demanding, and brilliant. She is viewed as a devil boss partly because she is a woman. She manages by intimidating, “Does she have to manage her staff in that manner? Is being nasty an effective leadership style?"
For this study, we were to examine the organization and individual employees of Runway in The Devil Wears Prada. Andy Sachs, a recent college graduate from Northwestern University, lands a job at a high fashion magazine as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, an arduous boss that expects above and beyond from every individual.
This book emphasizes on theories of becoming a leader, it is not a “how to” book by any means. Bennis states how leaders contribute to society and how crucial they are, along with the characteristics that come along with being a leader. He provides intriguing insight about leaders and emphasizes the integrity and authenticity that such people carry. In this reading, Bennis (the author) recognizes an immense amount of traits/characteristics a leader possesses which are: maturity, curiosity, trust, passion, guiding vision, candor, self knowledge, and daring. Bennis claims that people are not born with these traits, and that people gain these traits by pushing themselves to exceed others.
Leaders is an effective tool for summarizing and inspiring leadership, not in that it teaches tough strategies and manipulations, but that when looking at an overview of its content, Bennis and Nanus are essentially teaching human relations and human decency. All in all, this book highlights strategies for us all to be better in our lives and our everyday interactions.
Although there are many outstanding, albeit necessary qualities of a good leader, it is the leader’s beliefs in which greatness is given its first breath, fostered by action, and spread throughout the institution. A great leader believes in encouraging, not destroying; in setting the precedence instead of yielding to prominence ; in collaboration, not division; in giving, not taking; and in having high standards and volunteering to be the first of many to be held to them. A great leader does not take advantage of the people being lead, but instead, creates an advantage for the people by giving them the opportunities to lead. Only when people take ownership of an institution will passion be cultivated, action be taken, and greatness be achieved.
Leaders will no matter what have an influence on our world. They have missions, dreams and ambition, and with these things they are bound to go far. For leaders, what makes these dreams come true is having strong qualities such as leadership practices, values and strengths. If developed and learned how to use correctly, these are what take leaders to the next level and accomplish great things. In the following paper I will talk about leadership in our ever-changing world, explore my leadership practices, values and strengths as well as elaborate on the goals I have made to challenge myself as a leader.
In this paper I will look at the four major leadership styles, their characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and in what situations a particular leadership style is desired. Additionally, I will look at my leadership style and how I acquired this style throughout my career.
In this paper I will reflect on my person leadership style and practices. To get the ball rolling, I completed the “Seven Habits Profile” to get a better idea of what kind of leader I am. The first category is my “Emotional Bank Account.” This was eye opening for me because it is so easy to pick up on bad habits in this category.
It is often said that art will imitate life, and this showing of The Devil Wears Prada is a perfect example of just that. While some may look at this movie as purely entertainment, we can learn a massive amount of information on effective and ineffective leadership alike. While there is no one style that works best for every organization, there are styles that are effective and important to