The Lengths of Leadership
The Lengths of Leadership
This Freshman Seminar displayed the power of leadership in all of its forms. There are many types of leadership skills and characteristics; however, they all are encompassed by a set of core values one must follow to be a leader. We explored what could be called the ten commandments of leadership during class discussion and how they applied to a series of movies including Apollo 13, Courage Under Fire, Norma Rae, and Cry Freedom. In each movie, every character showed a different type of leadership, rather it be negative or positive. In this seminar we also distinguished between transactional and transformational leadership. In this research paper I will examine each film by identifying the concepts of leadership found within them, if they demonstrate transactional or transformational leadership, and how they relate to my personal experiences.
Apollo 13 displayed how even under life threatening circumstances, it is essential to stay focused and work together. Ground control acted with strong leadership as well as the astronauts whose lives were at risk. Ground controls actions had the potential to destroy the mission, leaving the astronauts dead; however, they worked tirelessly to save their lives. They had to understand the consequences of each move they made, and how they could calculate them to get the astronauts home safely. They gained insight by researching and simulating all of the components they were working with. Ken Mattingly, an astronaut who was originally supposed to be in the space shuttle but was removed from the mission, put his feelings of resentment aside and worked non stop in finding a solution that would bring his friends home. Once the shuttle started to shut down, more and more issues arrived and it was ground controls responsibility to work through them.
Successful communication between ground control and the astronauts is what brought those men home. I believe that being able to convey a message is one of the
This Freshman Seminar displayed the power of leadership in all of its forms. There are many types of leadership skills and characteristics; however, they all are encompassed by a set of core values one must follow to be a leader. We explored what could be called the ten commandments of leadership during class discussion and how they applied to a series of movies including Apollo 13, Courage Under Fire, Norma Rae, and Cry Freedom. In each movie, every character showed a different type of leadership, rather it be negative or positive. In this seminar we also distinguished between transactional and transformational leadership. In this research paper I will examine each film by identifying the concepts of leadership found within them, if they demonstrate transactional or transformational leadership, and how they relate to my personal experiences.
Apollo 13 displayed how even under life threatening circumstances, it is essential to stay focused and work together. Ground control acted with strong leadership as well as the astronauts whose lives were at risk. Ground controls actions had the potential to destroy the mission, leaving the astronauts dead; however, they worked tirelessly to save their lives. They had to understand the consequences of each move they made, and how they could calculate them to get the astronauts home safely. They gained insight by researching and simulating all of the components they were working with. Ken Mattingly, an astronaut who was originally supposed to be in the space shuttle but was removed from the mission, put his feelings of resentment aside and worked non stop in finding a solution that would bring his friends home. Once the shuttle started to shut down, more and more issues arrived and it was ground controls responsibility to work through them.
Successful communication between ground control and the astronauts is what brought those men home. I believe that being able to convey a message is one of the
References: Concepts of Leadership. (n.d.). Colocation | Broadband Wireless | Dedicated Servers | Web Design & Development | DSL | Web Hosting | Infinity Internet. Retrieved October 29, 2012, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html Multiple Authors Cited on Website Ingram, D. (n.d.). Transformational Leadership Vs. Transactional Leadership Definition | Chron.com. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/transformational-leadership-vs-transactional-leadership-definition-13834.html Transformational leadership - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 29, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformational_leadership Multiple Authors Cited on Website