Leadership Portrayed in the Movie Twelve O’ Clock High

Twelve O’clock High tells the tale of a bomber group in World War II. General Frank Savage is given the task to lead the group after the current leader refused to discipline his men and took all the responsibility for mistakes made within the group. Savage’s results as the leader of the 918th bomber group ended up being an exceptional display of leadership. A leadership study can be made by Savage’s behaviors as a leader and the personal bonds that grow between him and his men. This bomber group was challenged with extremely difficult situations as any wartime soldier would experience. Men are challenged to work in extreme situations and also be able to cope with the constant loss of his companion soldiers.Frank Savage was able to

There have been numerous theories surrounding leadership, which attempt to explain which form is most effective in the workplace. A universalistic approach was once used to rationalize leadership and it was believed that successful leaders possessed certain common abilities and traits. However, today due to external factors such as globalization and advanced technologies, there has been an evolution towards a new paradigm of leadership. Subordinates want to feel empowered and engaged at the workplace and often the behaviors and relationships between leaders and their subordinates become important to understand in order to fully understand effective leadership. Contingency theories have been developed in which people began to look at the behavior of leaders in specific situations. Two such contingency theories are: Path-Goal and Hershey and Blanchard’s Situational Theory.

In the film 12 Angry Men, a group of twelve jurors are deciding the fate of a young boy accused of murdering his father. Throughout the juries dilleration, one man exhibits all of the qualities of leadership. This man is juror number 8 played by Henry Fonda. Fonda not only exhibits the the 10 qualities of a leader but he uses these qualities to lead the entire jury to a vote of not guilty (Fonda & Lumet, 1957).

The movie Thirteen Days is based off of the real life situation of the Cuban Missile Crisis that occurred back in 1962. The United States learned that the Soviet Union was placing missiles with nuclear weapons in Cuba. The movie follows President John F. Kennedy and his advisors as they are trying to come up with a plan of action for how to handle the situation.

The movie 12 O’clock High was filmed and produced in 1949 directly after World War Two. This was a critical moment in American history simply because this was the first time that America was the greatest power globally. Due to this rise in international responsibility from power, patriotism soared in the United States. Culturally films like 12 O’clock High were produced highlighting important roles that were played in the defeat of the Axis powers during World War Two. On a more extensive note, the film displays what leadership influence tactics can be used to drastically turn a unit around during a time of war. This unit, part of the American Army Air Force, is known as the 918th Bomber Group located in England, during the year of 1942. At the beginning of the film, Col. Davenport was the Air Commanding Officer with Lt. Col. Gately as the Air Executive Officer. However, General Savage had to step in and relieve Col. Davenport of command after several major battle losses cause morale to fall to an all-time low. Additionally, Lt. Col. Gately is also relieved of command as Air Executive Officer and placed as an aircraft commander due to his inability to fly missions and be a part of the “team effort”. This is the major turning point in the movie as from this point forward the 918th Bomber Group eventually becomes a brutal fighting force with the help Major Stovall who is the administrator for the Air Commanding Officer. This paper will discuss the interactional framework:

Leadership is a necessity while in the midst of fighting a chaotic war. This can be shown in Tim O'Brien's short story “The Things They Carried”, where Lieutenant Jimmy Cross learns the importance of leadership. Distracted by a false love, Lieutenant Cross is unable to focus on the reality of war. A death of a comrade makes him realize that he must take command and lead without distraction. In the short story “The Things They Carried”, by Tim O’Brien, characterization of the protagonist Lieutenant Jimmy Cross reveals the theme that in war leadership is a necessity that must function without distraction.

General S. Patton once said, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” Some may argue that his life was cut short while others may say it was too long. Being a man who fought in World War I and World War II, George S. Patton, Jr. certainly contained a wealth of experience in warfare. Looking at the written history, there were those who seemed to undervalue Patton, as well as those who may have held him much too high. Researchers have many different opinions on Patton’s’ leadership, but the research here will encompass both the positive and the negative aspects of his leadership and surrounding issues while addressing the following questions:

Leadership and Management styles have played an important role in the learning in Outcome Assessment and Quality Management. In class I have learned the positives and negatives that come from the different leadership styles presented. The movie, Twelve O’clock High, is a film that takes place in 1943 outside Nazi Germany. It depicts the 918th Bomb Group and the problems that they are having. Throughout the movie we are presented with multiple leadership styles from the commanding officers; Colonel Davenport, Brigadier General Savage, and Major General Pritchard of Pine Tree.

According to Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) 6-22, “leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization”. This essay will analyze two different leaders, William Wallace from Braveheart and Ahmad ibn Fadlan from The 13th Warrior. After analyzing each leader, this essay will transition to compare the leadership lessons, concepts, perspectives, and styles I observed. Then this essay will suggest how Army leaders can employ the aforementioned perceptions to motivate others to accomplish missions and improve their organizations. Additionally, this essay will recommend specific groups within the Army enterprise that

Introduction The characters Col. Keith Davenport, Brig Gen. Frank Savage, and Lt Col. Ben Gately, from the film Twelve O’clock High, all exhibit unique forms of leadership throughout the film. These Army Air Corps officers all had leadership roles in the 918th Bomb Group during World War II. Each character reacted to the different situations they were put into in various ways and leads their under ranking members differently. Although the officers leading styles varied each officer had strengths and downfalls to the style that they exhibited. Statement of the Question Throughout all the unpredicted circumstances during World War II, how did the leaders of the 918th Bombardment group display leadership and how did their leadership techniques differ?

Leadership has always been a topic of social interest and one that many have found difficult to define. Throughout history there have been various forms of leaders, each with vastly different styles and purpose. In short, leadership is a series of interactions between leaders and followers in the attainment of a greater goal. Dating back to the earliest records, military success has always been attributed to exceptional leadership (1). The better led force is almost always victorious over a less adequately led one; for this reason leadership has been has always been maintained as a forefront in all branches of the military. In the U.S. Army, “leadership is defined as the ability to influence others by providing purpose, direction, and

Out of the several million definitions of leadership we have to guide us, author and veteran Anton Myrer’s definition is one that is highly esteemed by many. In his memorable war novel, “Once an Eagle”, Myrer is not preachy, but instead uses two characters of vastly different leadership styles to allow the reader interpret and apply leadership principles on their own. Even now with the novel set in the early 1900’s to the 1960’s, Sam Damon and Courteney Massengale, its fictional leaders, are useful examples for aspiring leaders in the Army such as myself to follow. My interpretation after reading “Once an Eagle” has confirmed what I know about being in a leadership position, what it requires of me, and where I must grow.

In an article entitled, Applying the Path-Goal Theory in Leadership Online Training Courses (2016), Christopher Pappas recognizes the need for leaders to be strengthened in their efforts to become versatile as relates to “motivating, supporting, and inspiring their subordinates” (p. 3). The article discusses the role of an effective leader, and the areas the leader should focus on such as motivating employees to achieve goals, overcoming challenges, and obtaining rewards for accomplishments. Additionally, Pappas reiterate leadership styles and variables that are imperative in an organization and recommends online training that include the path-goal theory in order for managers to be successful in guiding employees and providing the structure

Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) asserts that a leader’s effectiveness is dependent upon the readiness, or ability and willingness, of the leader’s followers to complete a task. This leadership style is an amalgamation of task-oriented and relationship-oriented characteristics that are employed depending upon the situation and the followers involved. According to the SLT, as followers increase in readiness the leader’s style is to adapt accordingly (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009).

Moreover, leadership is a skill that transfers over time with study, practice and research. Over the years, a great deal of and research has been dedicated to the study of various styles of leadership. Even with extensive data on the subject, many still disagree on what styles or combination of styles to use or link together in order to be effective when leading an organization. Another study( Dierendonck, Stam, Boersma, De Windt, & Alkema 2014) specifically focusing on comparing servant leadership and transformational leadership is another way to explore and link the differential mechanisms to followers expected outcomes while applying pathway leadership and transformational leadership styles to be effective leaders. The application of these styles are essential if the leader’s desire is to ensure that their followers achieve measurable goals. So, the first measure used to evaluate leader’s behavior was included in many response items that analyzed the relationship between transformational leadership and leader outcomes. Bass (1988) notated a bias between the ratings of subordinates and leaders behavior. Nevertheless, all the methods and approaches yielded valid results as noted by each study, but there was only a small amount of evidence that supported the theory that followers of transformational leaders are more committed to their organizations and followers are content with their