Inception (2010) Leadership Theories

  Lead 294: Leadership in Film Drs. Judd Pucella and McManus 29 July 2012 The Managerial Grid and Followership Million Dollar Baby allows for an excellent analysis on a variety of leadership theories. Frankie takes on a couple of leadership roles in the movie, with the most influential of his roles being that of Maggie’s trainer. Million Dollar Baby also allows for an interesting analysis of the importance of followership, seeing as the focal point of the movie is based upon the actions of the main follower, Maggie. The Managerial Grid can be used to analyze Frankie’s style of leadership while the idea of followership can help to understand Frankie and Maggie’s relationship from the unconventional view of the follower. The Managerial Grid is based upon two main factors: concern for production and concern for people. A concern for production is not as simple as it may initially appear. As Blake and Mouton point out, “production as used here is not limited to things” (Blake and Mouton 185-186). It involves whatever the purpose that the particular organization is trying to accomplish (Blake and Mouton 186). For example, a person in a position of leadership in an online product retailer such as Amazon would define production as product sales and a concern for production would involve an emphasis on meeting quarterly and annual sales and revenue goals. However, a person in a position of leadership in a breast cancer-related charity would define production as raising awareness for breast cancer and finding out how to eliminate the disease. A concern for people is the concern for those within the organization or the group, including the “degree of personal commitment to completing a job one is responsible for” and self-esteem and personal wealth (Blake and Mouton 186). To create the grid, concern for production and concern for people are plotted on the X and Y-axis, respectively. The magnitude of each of these concerns is rated on a scale of 1 to 9 with one being the least amount of concern and nine being the highest. A two number score is then given based on the particular leader’s actions. For example, if a leader is extremely concerned with a “friendly organization atmosphere” (Blake and Mouton 187) and sees that as a clear priority over production, that leader would be given a score of 1,9. But if a leader is completely results-oriented and “arranges conditions of work in such a way that human elements to interfere to a minimum degree” (Brolly 231), then that leader would be given a score of 9,1. With some simple math it can be seen that there are 81 different scores that can be assessed based on the ranging extremities of each particular leader’s stance on the two aforementioned concerns. However, it is important, as Max Brolley points out, that this is not a method intended to stereotype and give a “good or bad” declarations of those in leadership positions. It is rather intended to “provide a framework for the analysis of the assumptions that underlie various managerial styles and the kind of behavior that stems from these assumptions.” (Brolly 231). While the Managerial Grid breaks down how to classify leaders, Robert Kelley and Barbara Kellerman put an emphasis on followership, which in her presentation on followership Kellerman defines as the “relationship between superiors and subordinates, and a response of the former to the latter” (Harvard CPL). The idea behind followership is that leaders do not exist without followers and that typically followers make up the majority of any interpersonal or business organization. Good leaders combined with bad followers yields the same result as bad leadership: failure to achieve the goals laid out by the organization. While both Kellerman and Kelley classify followers into 5 different groups, the two classify them a bit differently. Kellerman classifies followers based on their level of engagement while Kelley classifies them based on the how well they utilize independent, critical thinking and on how passive/actively their actions are (Kelley 143). First, let’s assess the five different groups of followers Kellerman discusses in her presentation. The five different types of followers she depicts are isolates, bystanders, participants, activists, and diehards (Harvard CPL). As listed, they are ranked in ascending order based on how strong each type of follower’s level of engagement is ranging from complete detachment in isolates to a willingness to die for the cause in diehards (Harvard CPL). There isn’t necessarily a clear “best” type of follower in this case, as different types of leaders and different types of situations call for different types of followers, although it can be argued that there are very few situations where isolates and bystanders would be wanted due to their limited level of engagement. Kelley, on the other hand, categorizes followers into 5 different groups than Kellerman does. Sheep are followers that “are passive and uncritical” (Kelley 143), performing the absolute minimum requirements of the assigned task. Alienated followers are critical and independent as thinkers but carry out their actions passively rather than actively or assertively (Kelley 143). Yes people are those followers who to everything the leader says, without question, in a very active and assertive manner (Kelley 143). As Kelley points out, “bosses weak in judgment and self-confidence tend to like them” (Kelley 143) as they are very servant-like. Survivors are the last of the “non-ideal” types of followers, and do as their name suggests. They simply survive and advance in their organization, acting very non-critically and risk-free (Kelley 143). The last type of follower Kelley discusses is the effective follower. Effective followers are the ideal type of follower as they have a requisite amount of energy and assertiveness to not only carry out their leader’s plans effectively but to also think independently and critically, addressing discrepancies with their leader’s actions to progress the organization as a whole (Kelley 143). There are four “essential qualities” (Kelley 144) that are characteristic of effective followers: self-management, commitment, competence and focus, and courage (Kelley 144-146). It is worth pointing out that both Kelley and Kellerman emphasize energy as a vital characteristic of best followers and that this is also a characteristic that Kirkpatrick and Locke discuss as a trait of successful leaders, stating that “to sustain a high achievement drive and get ahead, leaders must have a lot of energy.” (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 50). It should not come as a surprise that successful leaders and successful followers have a great deal of parallels between their traits and characteristics. Million Dollar Baby presents an excellent platform to analyze leadership using the Managerial Grid. Frankie is a particularly good example because he actually changes his style of leadership throughout the movie, thus fluctuating his position on the Grid. Maggie also serves as an example of how followership is just as vital to the success of an organization, if not moreso, as leadership. Works Cited Blake, Robert, and Jane Mouton. "The Managerial Grid." (n.d.): 185-96. Print. Brolly, Max. "The Managerial Grid." Occupational Psychology 41 (1967): 231-37. Print. HarvardCPL. "Barbara Kellerman on Followership." YouTube. YouTube, 11 June 2009. Web. 29 July 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgLcAF5Lgq4>. Kelley, Robert E. "In Praise of Followers." (2001): 142-48. Print. Kirkpatrick, Shelley A., and Edwin A. Locke. "Leadership: Do Traits Matter?" Academy of Management Executive 5.2 (n.d.): 48-59. Print.