LeadershipFIlmAnalysis.pdf - Remember the Titans, Assignments of Law

Download LeadershipFIlmAnalysis.pdf - Remember the Titans and more Assignments Law in PDF only on Docsity! Jamie Velez Elizabeth Hughes Paul Way EDUC 268 Remember the Titans - Five Step Analysis Plot Summary In April of 1971, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling that ended all state- imposed segregation in public schools. This was the same year that T. C. Williams High School located in Alexander Virginia was integrated. This is the setting for the movie Remember the Titans, staring Denzel Washington who portrays Herman Boone the head coach of the Titans. Herman Boone is brought in as an assistant coach to join the all white coaching staff. When Herman Boone is appointed head coach over a wining white coach he is reluctant to accept because the same things had happened to him when a white coach had been appointed over him in South Carolina. He finally accepts the head coach position when he sees that the black residents see him as a symbol of pride and respect that is lacking in their community. The movie starts with a riot after a white storeowner kills a black teenager. This incident underscores the racial tensions that exist as a result of the desegregation of the high school. Coach Boone has to overcome the racism within the team, the coaching staff, and the community to build a winning racially mixed football team. Leader Description In the movie we have four primary leaders: · Herman Boone, the black head coach · Bill Yoast, the white assistant coach · Gerry Bertier, the white unofficial leader of the White athletes · Julius Campbell, the black unofficial leader of the black athletes Racism and football is the backdrop for the clash of leadership styles and personal perspectives that each man must learn and understand from each other in order to become a winning team. Herman Boone presents a very tough exterior, had a difficult childhood, and is a seasoned civil rights activist. His background and experiences influence his behavior and his leadership style. When Boone first met the Titan coaching staff he knew that he was not wanted. He was pushed but he did not push back, he remained polite, respectful, and diplomatic. He made clear his agenda was winning football games. Once he becomes head coach he immediately seizes control and uses his authoritative power to set the tone for the staff and the team. During summer camp he made it clear, “This is a dictatorship, I am the law.” He relies heavily on his position of power to accomplish his primary goal of providing structure and order. Yukl (2006) “Initiating Structure". This category of behavior involves leader concern for accomplishing the task. The leader defines and structures his or her own role and roles of subordinates towards attainment of task goals. 1. Short-term planning 2. Clarifying roles and objectives 3. Monitoring operations and performance” (p. 51) Herman Boone did not have roots in the community. He was an outsider in every sense of the word. Most members of the white community were waiting for him to fail so they could say they tried and reinstitute Bill Yoast as the head coach of the Titans. Bill Yoast was a respected member of the community, a winning coach who cared about his players. His background and position in the community gave him a different demeanor and leadership style. Yukl (2006) “Participative Leadership". Effective managers used more group supervising instead of supervising each subordinate separately. Group meetings facilitate subordinate participations in decision making, improve communications, promote cooperation, and facilitate conflict resolution.” (p. 54) Despite having ten head coach offers from other high schools in northern Virginia he decided to accept the assistant coach position under Boone to support his players. He initially tries to control the situation as an assistant coach but Boone immediately asserts his power and makes it clear who is the head coach. He becomes Coach Boone’s conscious, and repeatedly warns him not to push the athletes too far. When he has a chance to get his team back he gives up his personal goal of making it to the hall of fame for the sake of the team. He did it without looking for gratitude or glory. He is even able to complement Coach Boone at the end of the summer camp for his fine work. Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell are the unofficial leaders of the white and black teams respectively. They fall into this position because of their athleticism, personal convictions, and need to protect their “brothers”. Gerry Bertier ultimately becomes team leader by learning to set aside his prejudice and focus on the team regardless of color. The relationship that develops between Bertier and Campbell lead the way for most of the team to come together. Yukl (2006) “Peer Leadership". Sometimes a manager asks a subordinate to share in performing certain leadership function and sometimes subordinates perform these functions on their own initiative.” (p. 55) you face are that you are laying it all out there for anyone to ridicule or use it against you. Yoast could have easily mocked the situation, or felt as the other members of the town felt and retaliated against Boone. The hostility of the times should be a factor in every decision that is made. There is no changing the world and it's dynamic in the span of a football season. Boone made a wise decision by not setting out to solve the problems of a city. He didn't ignore the problem of race; he just narrowed the gap of his reach. He realized that he needed to deal with the race issues on the team and not the city. It is good to have a reasonable grasp of what your goals are. The odds were against Boone and the success of the Titan football team. The school board was scheming against him, and the team was racially divided because of the times. As a leader your integrity needs to be kept in tact, by finding a way to overcome the negative plotting and scheming and still keeping one's value and belief system. Negative consequences are that people can talk about a leader and scheme against that leader even more because they know there will be no retaliation. Positive consequences are the respect you gain as a leader for always staying true to yourself and your vision. Leaders sacrifice a lot for their goals. A leader who has an intense responsibility that affects more than the small situations that they deal with is going to have large sacrifices. Even Yoast allowing his daughter to "hang out" with Boone's family made a social sacrifice, because he knew it was the right thing. Any time you are doing something high profile that affects more than the isolated situation there is going to be a great sacrifice emotionally, physically, and spiritually. The consequences of undertaking change in a society are great. Any leader who tries to change something in a substantial way is going to face situations in which they have to make huge decisions. The consequences of those decisions are what is going to affect whether the change happens or not. Societal change of the magnitude like we saw in Remember the Titans has great consequences for anyone who is assisting the change. The positive consequences are long term in that the greatest objective was met...desegregation and equality among all people. The negative consequences of decisions that people make are short term, in that they are normally harassed and ridiculed for trying to incite change. Leaders should be separated from the crowd. A leader's role is never easy, but when the ultimate goal is met it is such a satisfaction, no matter what the sacrifices. References Bruckheimer, J. Oman, C. (Producers), & Yakin, B. (Director). (2000). Remember the Titans Motion picture. United States: BVI Internet Movie Database. (2006). Remember the Titans. Retrieved June 12, 2006, from http://imdb.com/title/tt0210945/. Yukl, Gary. (2006). Leadership In Organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Prentice Hall.