Question:
Your task is to critically evaluate the leadership of Derice Bannock and his role in the team’s achievements. The following questions should guide your assessment.
- What leadership traits did Derice Bannock display which developed the team?
- Sanka Coffie tells Derice Bannock “the right foot for us is not the Swiss foot”. Did Derice Bannock always demonstrate effective leadership behaviours?
- What leadership skills were instrumental in the team achieving their goals?
- Was Bannock the right person to lead the team? Would he be the right person to lead the team into future competitions?
- Assess Bannock’s overall leadership, using appropriate models/theories
Each of the above 5 tasks will receive equal weighting when assessed.
Please remember that there is no right or wrong answer to the questions above. What we are looking for is both:
- A demonstration of knowledge and understanding and leadership, and
- An ability to utilise theory and analyse the complex issues portrayed in this case.
Answer:
Cool Runnings is a Disney movie about a Jamaican man who makes it to the Olympics. The film apart from a wonderful treatise on integrity and hard-work, teaches some of the essentials of leadership style. After watching the film one can have firm believe on the Democratic leadership style that Irv played by Joe Candy showcases in the film. Leadership involves defeating all perils and supervising the activities of an organized group to achieve both the immediate and log-term goals (Antonakis and Day 2017). It is due to his leadership style and unyielding involvement with the team that he fulfils the dream even in the face of adversity and odds.
Understanding of Democratic Leadership
In case of democratic leadership, the team possess the fundamental elements like equal participation, deliberation and inclusiveness. In the movie Cool Runnings, time and again we see how with the active usage of communicational and interpersonal skills within the team, the Jamaican bobsled team finally emerged victorious (Northouse 2015). Joe Candy displays the perfect example of Behavioral Theory which enumerates that a leader is crafted and made and not just born with leadership qualities. One of the essential qualities that democratic leaders share with laissez-faire leaders is that they are whole-heartedly involved in the decision making process (Chen and Rybak 2017). Due to the involvement of their leader with every strategic decisionthe team productivity increases. A democratic leader according to researchers, should strive best to work on team’s moral reasoning abilities which will give them the momentum to advance further. A democratic leader engages the group members with the aid of a positive approach and constructive participation.
Leadership Behavior and Style
Task-oriented Behavior:Effective democratic leaders are efficient in arranging resources and making best use of time in order to yield the maximum for the team.
Relations-oriented Behavior: an effective leader will work in collaboration with the team showing consideration, task and confidence to accomplish even the most difficult tasks.
Leadership Strategies
Unconventional Strategies:According to Conger and Kanungo, a charismatic leader who favors the usage of unconventional ways to achieve success is some of the well-esteemed leaders. In the film Cool Runnings, this particular quality enables the team to turn their disadvantages into greatest advantage (Chemers 2014).
Accurate evaluation of situation: in order to plan and incorporate unconventional strategies, a democratic leader will have a kaleidoscopic view of the immediate situation at hand. The person will make proper use of timing and available resources to their last potential.
These are some of the qualities with which Jamaicans players in Cool Runnings were able to make a complete analysis of environmental and personal constraints only to emerge victorious in the end.
Reference List:
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds., 2017. The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Chemers, M., 2014. An integrative theory of leadership. Psychology Press.
Chen, M.W. and Rybak, C., 2017. Group leadership skills: Interpersonal process in group counseling and therapy. SAGE Publications.
Northouse, P.G., 2015. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
