Leadership and Team Management as depicted in the movies
By Folarin Osibodu
Lean On Me
It began when Joe Clark, the center point of this inspirational true tale, was teaching his History/ English class. He was given a notice that the Board of Education wants to transfer Joe Clark out of East Side High School to “School 6.” The Board wanted to change the curriculum in which Joe Clark had an active participation in. After a heated argument with the Union Executive Board of the school, he got out of the meeting room angry and while walking away, he said, “They can go to hell, this place deserves exactly what it gets.”
Twenty years later, East Side high school transformed from being among the finest High Schools in America, to become what an official report called a terrible “cauldron of violence.” Fights broke out everyday, students as well as teachers got hurt, some so hurt that paramedics had to be called. The students bought and traded drugs everyday in the cafeteria and everywhere in the school. Pistols were also sold among these students; even the females harassed other vulnerable girls by tearing their blouses and exposing them to the public eye. The height of violence came in a scene when one of the male teachers, in trying to break a fight between two boys got beat so badly, he bled from his head and was immediately rushed to the emergency room.
“Somebody help… somebody help….” East Side High was in a hopeless and desperate need for a savior to redeem them from total destruction. As the saying goes, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” This is where Joe Clark comes in…again.
As I watched this awe inspiring film, Joe Clark’s measures of discipline reminded me a lot of Coach Carter’s except for one thing that I would illustrate with a simple math equation.
Joe Clark = (Coach Carter)3
His first day in East Side, when he stepped into the staff meeting, he commanded his now vice principal to sit down saying, “You think you can run the school? If you can then I wouldn’t be here, would I?”
Since the teachers did not enforce discipline on themselves as well as their students, when Mr. Clark decided to treat them just the way he treated his students. As the new H.N.I.C, oh excuse me, leader, he demanded for all the names of hoodlums, drug dealers and miscreants and that very same day, dismissed about 300 students from the school. That was the first radical demonstration of discipline that Joe Clark displayed. He realized that before he could do the job, he had to throw out not just one bad apple that was spoiling the rest but a bunch of bad eggs.
He set a few other rules with his staff and made a few other changes.
- Clean the whole building including all graffiti.
- Tear down the cages in the cafeteria, saying, “You treat the students like animals, that’s exactly how they’ll behave!”
- He appointed a new Dean of Security.
- He demoted the head football coach, making the assistant coach the new head
- He demanded for a new weight program
Joe Clark new that in order to get the students to pass the basic skills test in one year, he needed to set new boundaries and laws enforce them so strictly, he did. He realized that they were in a state of emergency.
East Side High was an institution of learning and if the teachers could not control the students, how could they teach them?
Discipline is not the enemy of enthusiasm.
Joe Clark took interest in all his students. Despite the fact that he was harsh on them, he had a soft spot for them. He always encouraged them to always come to him whenever they needed to talk or had problems.
On his first meeting with the students, he dismissed, as mentioned the miscreants. He informed the students that the goal was that 70% of the students had to pass the Basic Skills Test in which only 30% passed the year before and later on only 38% passed the next practice test. But it wasn’t just about the test scores, the test was to prepare them for the future, for the American dream and for life. Their main goal of being in school was to learn how to succeed in life.
He laid out the ground rules: no smoking, no drug dealing, and no fighting. He made it clear that if they did not succeed in life, they should not blame their parents or the ‘white man,’ they should blame themselves because they are responsible for their own actions.
There were three main pivotal points in the movie Lean on Me that paralleled Coach Carter.
- The first scene was the meeting with the parents after the radical decision of throwing out so many students.
- The second scene was when he chained the doors of the school to keep the hoodlums out
- The third scene was when the kids made a conscious independent decision to support their principal when he was incarcerated and could do no more.
Self respect permeates every aspect of our lives and that includs the way we talk, dress and act. He enforced discipline and dignity in an institution where the lingering modus operandi was violence.
Joe Clark made it a point that every student learned the school song. He put that priority over learning Mozart and other classical music saying, “We are being crucified by a process that is turning black into a permanent underclass.”
Another pivotal point in the movie that demonstrated a high level of leadership and humility was when Ms. Levias, the vice principal had to criticize Mr. Clark on not appreciating his staff of over 300 that helped transform the school for the better. She made him realize that they were all in the same boat together and instead of saying, I , I , I…, it was and still was a team effort. The next day in auditorium, Joe Clark publicly acknowledged that criticism and made a change in his behavior.
It takes a great leader to accept constructive criticisms.
Here are a few quotes by Joe Clark:
- “You’re trying to con a con man”
- “Because you [teachers] are failing to educate them [students], this is the posture [70% of teachers hands up high] that many students will wind up in; only they’ll be staring down the barrel of a gun!”, after 70% of the entire student body failed the practice Basic Skills Test.
- We sink, we swim; we rise, we fall; we meet our fate, together.”
- “They used to call me Crazy Joe, well now they can call me Batman”, holding a bat when the Fire Chief was not allowed in the school after the doors were chained.
A scene that would be classified by many who have seen this movie as one of the best scene in the movie is shown below with supporting pictures.
Clark: They say, "One bad apple spoils the bunch." Well, what about 300? Rotten to the core! Now, you're right, Mrs. Barrett: This is a war. It's a war to save 2700 other students, most of whom don't have the basic skills to pass a state exam. Now, if you want to help us, fine. Sit down with your kids and make 'em study at night. Go get your families off welfare.
Barrett: How dare you talk to these people about wel --
Clark: Give our children some pride. Let 'em get their priorities straight. When Dr. Napier came to me offering this job, I saw the lightening flash. I heard the thunder roll. I felt breakers, crashing, swamping my soul.
Barrett: We are not in church, Mr. Clark!
Clark: I fell down on my knees. And I cried, "My God, why has thou forsaken me?" And the Lord said, "Joe, you're no damn good." No, now I mean this more than you realize. "You're no earthly good at all, unless you take this opportunity and do whatever you have to." And he didn't say, "Joe, be polite." "Do whatever you have to to transform and transmogrify this school into a special place -- where the hearts and souls and minds of the young can rise, where they can grow tall and blossom out from under the shadows of the past; where the minds of the young are set free."
“And I gave my word to God!”
“And that's why I threw those bastards out!“
“And that's all I'm going to say.”
Boyz N The Hood
This is a very real story of four boys who lived in a very violent, very dangerous South Central Los Angeles. It begins when Tre Styles, son of Furious Styles, had to move out of his mother’s house to his father’s house after breaking up the contract, signed by him and his mother, not to commit another act of violence in school.
When he went home to live with his father, the ground rules were laid down the very first day.
Rules:
- Clean bathroom, sink, and floor
- Clean your room and water the lawn
His father was the only one on the community that exemplified leadership. Instead of filling his son’s mind with trash, he called his son a prince, “You’re the Prince, and I’m the King”
A few days later, when a burglar attacked the house, Furious attempted to shoot the burglar in the head but missed as the burglar fled for his life. When his son Tre said he should have killed the burglar, Furious’ response was, “I would have just been contributing to killing another brother.”
Even cops in South Central didn’t care for their black citizens for if they got the chance to shoot any of them, they would do that in a heartbeat. When the cops arrived at Furious’ home and the black cop said, “Too bad you missed him.” Furious gave him a disappointing look.
Cop: “Is something wrong?”
Furious: “Is something wrong?...Yes. It’s just too bad you don’t know what it is.”
There was a lot of violence in this movie. This is supported even before the film started when it stated:
“One out of every twenty-one Black American Males will be murdered in their lifetime. Most will die at the hands of another Black male.”
This was the wrong situation that Furious was referring to. Leadership was displayed in this movie through the eyes of Furious Styles. When he asked his son, “Are you a leader or a follower?” and his sons reply was the former, Furious asked him for the characteristics of a leader. The reply:
- Always look a person in the eye - they respect you better
- Never be afraid to ask you [dad] for anything
- Stealing isn’t necessary
- Never respect anybody who doesn’t respect you back
In an environment where teenagers became moms and dads, Furious taught his son about sex saying, “Any fool can make a baby, but only a real man can raise kids.” Even though Furious himself had Tre when he was just 17 years of age, he made sure that his kid did not make the same mistake. In John Maxwell’s book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, The Law of Influence stated that “The True Measurement of Leadership is Influence – Nothing More, Nothing Less.
When Tre grew up 7 years later, about 18 years old, he too was also looked upon as a leader. One of his childhood friends, Rick already had a baby with his girlfriend, while Rick’s brother, Darin (Doughboy) just got out of jail. Sadly enough, a party was thrown for Doughboy on his release from jail. During this party, Dough’s mother asked Tre to talk some sense into Dough’s head.
She realized that sometimes, peers are the best people to help each other out morally for the reason that they can relate to the same things and the same circumstances of that time.
In one scene, a recruiter from USC (University of Southern California) came over to Rick’s house to talk to him about a football scholarship. The recruiter showed some leadership when he asked Rick what he wanted to major in. Rick had not even thought about that until then because he had always been believed that he would play in the NFL (National Football League) after college. The recruiter encouraged Rick that he could do anything he put his mind too. This word of advice or inspiration again is something that the young minds of South Central hardly heard, not even in their lifetime, therefore the recruiter made a great impact in Rick’s life during just a short 10 min visit.
When I was a young kid in Nigeria, my father would frequently ask us children what profession we wanted to pursue in life. At first, we would just give any answer such as Doctor, Lawyer or Engineer. After a few weeks, he would ask us the same question. He did this continually to make us think about our future. He did not just put words into our mouths, but gave us time for us to figure out what we were passionate about, and then we would follow up on our passions. That act gave us a sense of long-term thinking and planning. It made us the strong adults that we are today. In Nigeria there was no such thing as an “undecided” major. It was until I got to the United States that I heard of such a thing.
How many parents give their kids today a sense of direction in life? More especially, how many black parents? The father of the director of John Singleton, represented by the character, Furious Styles made sure that his son did not fall prey to this grand mistake.
Cash for Your Home
“What is Gentrification?,” asked Furious. “It’s what happens when the property value of a certain area is brought down. They bring the property value down so they can buy the land at a lower price and then they move the people out, raise the property value and sell at a profit.”
“Why is there a gun shop on almost every corner in this community? It’s for the same reason that there’s a liquor store on almost every corner in the black community. Why? They want us to kill ourselves. The best way to kill a people is if you take away their ability to reproduce themselves.”
This was one of the most important moments in Boyz N the Hood because it made the kids think more about life, about the American economy and about the cunning and crafty American system that could enslave a people without even them even being aware.
Rick asked Tre if his father used to be a preacher. His response was that he just read a lot. There is an old saying that Knowledge is Power. Well, I say to you, improving on that saying: The use of knowledge is power. We can know everything there is to know about education, law, finances, physics or marriage, but if we do not put that knowledge to good use, of what benefit are we? Furious Styles was not the main focus of this movie, but he was the anchor. He was the mentor. He was the compass that tried to show the black people of South Central Los Angeles the way. However, he did not enforce it on anyone but his son. In The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell stated in the 7th law, The Law of Respect, that people naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.
The final scene that I will talk about where at this point, everything Furious taught Tre came into play here is the scene just after Rick was murdered. The angry spirit that Tre had as a child apparently was invigorated again and he wanted revenge. Fortunately, Furious was there to stop him but he could not do enough as Tre escaped through the bedroom window. While Tre was on his way to join the crowd to ‘kill another brother’ he made a very difficult decision to turn back and head home. This not only prevented him from ending up in jail, but also ending up dead.
Who would have thought that a 22-year-old director, just six months after graduating from college would write and direct a black-centered urban movie to become the youngest director and first African-American director ever to be nominated for Best Director Oscar. He was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
Boyz N The Hood amidst all the violence found subtle ways of portraying Leadership in a crime/gangster drama which was why it got a lot of commendation.
Mr. Holland’s Opus
When Mr. Holland got to his new school, Helen Jacobs, the principal’s first words to him was “You look lost Mr. Holland.” This was a deliberate line that would later educate him that a teacher has two jobs.
- To fill young minds with knowledge
But more importantly,
- To give those young minds a compass so that the knowledge does not go to waste.
Mr. Holland always addressed his students by Mister or Miss as the “circumstances allow[ed]”, teaching them the first thing being courtesy.
John F. Kennedy High School, unlike East Side High from Lean on Me, was not a violent school with riff raffs or miscreants but the students still needed direction.
Mr. Holland originally thought of teaching as a ‘fall back’ job but soon realized otherwise after his first class when he exclaimed, “I think this is going to be a lot rougher gig than I originally thought.”
He also took the initiative to attend specially to the kids who needed extra time after school to practice with their playing instrument. While unfortunately, one of them died in the Vietnam War, another went on, thirty years later, to become the governor of that state.
Mr. Holland teaching a student how to get in sync with music
Mr. Holland teaching music even after school time
Mr. Holland taking extra time to teach a student music
When an issue came up from the vice principal accusing Mr. Holland of teaching students Rock & Roll - devil music, as they called it, his response was, “I am teaching music, and I will use anything from Beethoven, to Billie Holiday to Rock & Roll if I think it’ll help me teach a student to love music.” Mr. Holland realized that if people did not enjoy what they do, they will quickly lose interest in it.
The unexpected baby bereft of hearing
The first of Mr. Holland’s challenges was the unexpected arrival of a baby. When Mr. Holland had a child, for the first few months, he did not realize that the child could not hear at all until during a band parade when a fire truck blew a loud noise and the baby did not react to that stimulus. Giving birth to a sound impaired son was a tough point in Mr. Holland’s life because he had to learn sign language despite his long hours spent in the school. He spent more time in school rather than with his son. It got to a point when he got into an argument with his wife and he defended himself by saying that he was trying his best, his wife replied, “Your best is not good enough.” John Maxwell said in his 17th law, The Law of Priorities, “Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment.” Mr. Holland realized this and had to set his priorities straight among his wife, his son and his students.
The crush
Mr. Holland found the fact that his wife having a crush on her music teacher as a teenager funny. He never imagined that the same would happen to him. This time, he did not find it hilarious at all but he knew that he had to handle it as delicately as he possibly could and with every ounce of maturity he had in his being. In handling Rowena Morgan, the talented young lady with the most beautiful singing voice and appearance, he guided and inspired her life until she made her decision to going to New York to begin her career while avoided breaking a young girl’s heart.
The whole movie was about Mr. Holland setting an initial timed goal for himself of composing a score that was intended to make him rich someday. He had to delay this musical composition for dedicated thirty years of teaching and leadership for the minds of the future only to get fired in the end. But his students did not let him go that easily. They have all been secretly practicing this Opus and they surprised him with a heart warming debut of the finished score that would be led by him. One of his former students who was very poor at playing the clarinet was now the governor gave a speech saying,
“…But Mr. Holland isn't rich and he isn't famous, at least not outside of our little town. So it might be easy for him to think himself a failure. But he would be wrong, because I think that he's achieved a success far beyond riches and fame. Look around you. There is not a life in this room that you have not touched, and each of us is a better person because of you. We are your symphony Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life.”
Sometimes in life riches are not the true measurement of success. It can be measured by the impact of success that one has made on other people’s lives.
The Matrix Reloaded
Matrix Reloaded opened with an action packed scene with Trinity, a woman in a black cat suit, scaling a building on a black motor bike then fighting with some security guards and an Agent. This scene was just an insight/ dream of Neo into the final act of this science fiction/ philosophical movie.
This was the beginning of the strong team work portrayed because we would find out later in the movie that even when Trinity was asked to wait behind for her protection, she took on the dangerous but necessary will to help out.
Leadership requires that even when danger is imminent to a people, they can be told the truth regarding that danger and yet, still be inspired to stand their ground. Morpheus, even though was asked to keep secret the information that the ‘machines’ would attack, still decided to let the people know in a speech given by him. That speech was so inspiring that the people sung and danced for joy – ironic isn’t it
Sentinels, the machines
Sometimes, leadership qualities include good oratorical abilities which Morpheus possessed. Another quality that Morpheus had was Hope. Hope is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of our greatest strength and our greatest weakness.
The members of the crew of, “The Nebuchadnezzar” were: Neo (the One), Morpheus (the leader who recruited Neo), and Trinity (Neo’s love). Link was a new member who joined as the pilot of “The Nebuchadnezzar” which was actually a Hovercraft.
The Nebuchadnezzar
Just when the team arrived home, another call was received that required them to leave again. Team management requires a great deal of co-operation.
Comprehension is not a requisite of co-operation.
This begs the question. Who is the real leader? In the scene where the three, Neo Morpheus and Trinity, went to see the Merovingian (a dangerous program/man) in order to free the Keymaker, he challenged them if they knew why they came to see him at a lunch table.
Morpheus: You know why we are here.
Merovingian: Yes but do you?
Morpheus: We are looking for the Keymaker.
Merovingian: Oh yes. It is true. The Keymaker of course. But this is not a reason, this is not a why. The Keymaker himself, his very nature is a means, it is not an end. And so to look for him is to be looking for a means to do…what?
Neo: You know the answer to that question
Merovingian: But do you?
Here comes my point.
Merovingian: You think you do, but you do not.
I ask you again, who is the real leader? Is it the person that leads the pack? Or is it the person that gives information to the other person who leads the pack? This is where the fact of “choice” comes in.
What is choice?
Merovingian: Choice is an illusion created between those with power and those without.
Merovingian: You are here because you were sent here. You were told to come here, and then you obeyed [cynical laugh]. It is of course the way of all things. You see, there is only one constant…one universal. It is the only real truth. Causality. Action, reaction. Cause and effect.
This is a very good point. Before the team came to see this man, an old lady (a fortuneteller) called the Oracle informed Neo to go and see the Merovingian to get the Keymaker. So who is the real leader here? Is she one with the real power? Why do they even need the Keymaker? The team did not understand the ‘why’, they just followed. Oh…wait, did I just call the team followers?
The Oracle giving Neo info about the Merovingian to get The Keymaker
At this point in the movie, the Merovingian did not give the team what they wanted because they could not give him a reason to do so.
Merovingian: …and this is how you come to me, without why, without power. Another link in the chain. But fear not. Since I have seen how good you are at following orders, I will tell you what to do next. Run back, and give the fortuneteller this message: Her time is almost up.
Trinity escapes with the Keymaker
What does this all mean? Why did I just spend minutes typing up a scene that just went by in seconds when watched? What was said by the Merovingian was trying to show what separated the leaders from the followers – whether those in question are good or bad.
Basically, in the Merovingian’s mind, the leaders of both sides are himself, and the Oracle. Everyone else in between are just followers. Ironic isn’t it? The character Morpheus was played by Lawrence Fishburne who played Furious Styles in Boyz N The Hood. Remember when he asked his son, Tre, “Are you a leader or a follower?”, when trying to teach him to be a leader.
At this point, I would make another Math/ Calculus analogy.
The peaks are called relative maxima (or maximums) while the very highest peak is called absolute maximum. What does this mean? There may be many leaders (relative maxima) but there can only be the one leader or the absolutely maximum leader. Since this paper is both about leadership and Team management, we will focus on our “relative leaders” namely Neo, Trinity and Morpheus.
Neo took on the challenge to fight his enemy, Agent Smith and other enemies. He was not forced to do this, but according to the prophesy, he was the One…to do the job.
At first, he did not know that he was capable of doing this ‘impossible’ task, but he took the responsibility nevertheless and did it.
Neo, thinking about the task that lied ahead of him
Neo beating up Merovingian’s guards
Neo fighting with hundreds of Agent Smiths
Armageddon
When an asteroid the size of Texas was about to destroy planet earth so much that not even living things as small as bacteria will survive, the fate of the free world was handed into the hands of a bunch of a misfit oil well drill team lead by Harry Stamper. NASA discovered this danger just 18 days before the asteroid was about to hit its target. This called for desperate measures from NASA because they had very little time left. Because of this, NASA thought of a plan to fly to the asteroid, land on it and drill a 800ft hole into the asteroid and then drop a nuclear weapon into it. This was the reason that they needed the best drill team in the world and after a few research calls, the name Harry Stamper was always mentioned.
This brings up my first point, leaders always want to be the best that they can do. They always strive to be better and better until they are Number 1. Harry Stamper took on a task that most people would have declined. He took a job positioned in n location with conditions with a temperature range of -200°F to 200°F, canyons of razor sharp rock, meteor showers, unexpected eruptions and unconditional gravitational conditions. Even if one does not know what that means, something will definitely tell you that it does not sound like Christmas. Harry took the job because he did not trust anyone else to do it. He took the job for Love, for Honor, “For All Mankind”.
Leaders always take uncomfortable but necessary risks for the benefit of others especially when it does themselves no good.
One very small section of the movie which was one of the most inspirational was when the president of America gave a speech when the mission to space was about to launch.
“I address you tonight not as the President of the United States, not as a leader of a country, but as a citizen of humanity. We are faced with the very gravest of challenges. The Bible calls this day 'Armageddon' - the end of all things. And yet, for the first time in the history of the planet, a species has the technology to prevent its own extinction. All of you praying with us tonight need to know that everything that can be done to prevent this disaster is being called into service. The human thirst for excellence, knowledge; every step up the ladder of science; every adventurous reach into space; all of our combined technologies and imaginations; even the wars that we've fought have provided us the tools to wage this terrible battle. Through all of the chaos that is our history; through all of the wrong and the discord; through all of the pain and the suffering; through all of our times, there is one thing that has nourished our souls, and elevated our species above its origins, and that is our courage. The dreams of an entire planet are focused tonight on those fourteen brave souls traveling into the heavens. And may we, citizens the world over, see these events through. God speed, and good luck to you.
As I mentioned in The Matrix Reloaded, in a time of great peril or danger the leader is looked upon for encouragement. That is why one of the recommended attributes of a leader is eloquence. Many presidents possess or learn this skill. Ronald Reagan was such a great speaker that he became known as “The Great Orator”.
Now, let us talk about Team Management. As I said these drillers weren’t the law abiding citizens like you and me. Some had unpaid parking tickets in over 7 states while some had even done prison time. One of the crew members, A.J. was one of the best but he was arrogant which made him difficult to deal with. During a practice drill session A.J. decided not to listen to Harry’s orders and went “with his guts”. This caused the team to fail that mission. Harry reprimanded him, but because he knew how good he was, during the real drill session on the asteroid, the team was at a tough spot and needed to make a quick decision. A.J. assured Harry that he knew what to do while Harry ordered otherwise. Nevertheless, A.J. kept reassuring Harry. Harry took a close look at his face and told him to make his decision which turned out to be the right one. A team leader must always know the strengths and weaknesses of his team. He/ she must know when to encourage, praise or criticize the members. This is very important always striving to making the right choices in decisions. Only a secure leader give power or responsibility to others as John Maxwell stated as the 12th law: The Law of Empowerment.
After the 800 ft was dug, someone had to stay behind on the asteroid to detonate the nuclear weapon manually because the remote control was broken. Harry Stamper volunteered. He volunteered to sacrifice his life in order that 6 billion other people, in 193 countries might have theirs. The Bible says “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends” (John 15:13). John Maxwell stated in his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, in the 18th law: The Law of Sacrifice, that a leader must be willing to give up certain things to advance. Of course many leaders will not have to give up their lives but it is definitely one of those sacrifices that are made everyday especially in the armed forces.
Conclusion
In our world today, leadership has really been taken very seriously as can be seen on college campuses and through scholarships that are mainly focused on leadership and community service. In addition, a leader is not a leader if he/ she does not have followers or a team therefore, Team Management is also as important. Whether leading a small class team of four, or leading an entire country, motion pictures have given us a window to teach us more about educating our young ones, sacrificing for others, courage and bravery, and above all, setting a good example.
