The movie 'Glory' was based on Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who was the leader of the US civil war. At only 23 years old, Robert was enlisted in the army and was quickly promoted to a higher rank basically because of his father. The latter was a respected man in society and graced with intelligence and excellent leadership skills. After losing many men fighting for the US, he decided to enroll the first blacks to fight for the US, causing him to face prejudices from his people. His biggest challenge was forming a relationship with the black men under him because of their backgrounds. While Shaw was brought up in a rich white family, the black men were initially slaves. However, in the long run, he understood them better, gaining their respect and providing them with a good experience. From the movie, it is evident that different leadership techniques result in different outcomes; while others promote positive impacts, others lead to negative effects that might affect the achievement of the main goal.
Supervisory Techniques Used in the Movie
Colonel Shaw used several supervisory techniques in the various scenes of the movie. First, he portrayed the use of positional power. According to Raghuram and Fang (2014), positional power refers to a method used by leaders to ensure that people follow a certain way of doing things because that is how it has been done before. This technique was portrayed from the instance the black people's army was formed and relied on it to make major decisions at the beginning of the movie. He did this because he failed to have a real connection with these people. One scene that shows Colonel Shaw using this technique is when one soldier tried to sneak out of the camp. After being brought before the colonel, he ordered their commander to whip him in front of the entire unit. He later learned that the soldier had tried to sneak out as he wanted to find better shoes after he had hurt his feet.
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Another major technique seen as the movie progressed was the democratic method of supervision. This technique refers to the one whereby the leader involves his subordinates in every major decision before proceeding with its implementation (Kilicoglu, 2018). This technique is usually also referred to as the consultative or participative method. It is evident when the colonel decided they were all not going to receive their payments when the black people complained of being paid 10 dollars instead of 13 dollars like the white members of the Union Army.
Also, Colonel Shaw applied the use of the motivational supervisory technique. This method refers to the use of strategies that encourage people to act in a certain way by providing them with their desires and need (Sabir, 2017). This supervisory technique was evident when the colonel fought for the black fighters to be given shoes and the blue uniform to match the white soldiers in the Union Army. This technique was used to motivate the loyal black soldiers.
The democratic and motivational techniques of supervision used by the colonel were effective. The democratic technique caused the black soldiers to have more respect and a good perception of Colonel Shaw. As a result, they were motivated towards working towards their main goal, to win. Similarly, the motivational technique enhanced the soldiers' confidence, encouraging them to work harder and win in the war.
However, the use of positional power was ineffective because it led to the physical harm of the black soldier, making them feel like they were still slaves. If I were the supervisor, in this case, I would have first attempted to determine the cause of his action. Then, I would have enforced a humane punishment, if necessary, to ensure that the man is treated fairly. The show of compassion and understanding would have changed the black soldiers' perception of me as a slave oppressor.
High-stress environments, such as war, have different outcomes on supervisory techniques. In such cases, leaders are faced with situations that expose them to physical danger, therefore, affecting their whole thought processes and decision-making capabilities. This factor might either lead to positive or negative effects. Some of the positive effects that might arise during high-stress situations include enhancing memory retrieval, a fast reaction rate, and a clearer way of thinking to respond to stress ( Bhui et al., 2016). In some cases, however, negative effects might be stimulated in a high-stress environment that might affect the entire decision-making process and outcomes of the environment. For instance, when a supervisor is faced with a challenge beyond his abilities, he might tend to come up with the wrong decision. This outcome might be in the form of a low rate of performance or poor confidence. Also, the supervisor might fail to communicate adequate information, leading to more stress in the environment ( Bhui et al., 2016). When exposed to such situations, leaders tend to be strained and feel insecure about their capability.
One of the most used methods used by leaders today is the democratic supervisory technique. It has been implemented in governments, institutions, and organizations because it is one of the most effective techniques of leadership (Kilicoglu, 2018). I have experienced this type of leadership in our group discussions in class when our group leaders involve us in every major decision and action. This method effectively ensures everyone in the group participates, enhancing our motivation and skills to learn. As a result, every group member has improved since we formed the group discussion because we attempt to gain new knowledge that we can share with the other team members. In the process, we enhance our thought processes and knowledge. This technique was effective as we had all achieved our targets by the end of the semester; we had a better understanding of courses that seemed difficult at the beginning of the semester.
High-stress environments require supervisors to be ready with strategies. However, in most cases, textbook techniques fail to work in such situations because some major factors fail to be addressed while preparing these techniques. Many unpredictable factors characterize high-stress environments. In most cases, when these unpredictable factors arise, supervisors need to have adequate knowledge and skills required to eliminate them. In the movie, Colonel Shaw saw how his soldiers were terrified by the war and decided to join them on the battlefield to motivate them. By failing to follow the textbook technique, which required him to lead and instruct them, he helped them fight. In the scene, the soldiers were encouraged. Although most of them lost their lives on the battlefield, they fought the Confederates to the last minute and even managed to enter their fort.
From this movie, it is evident that the techniques used by leaders to manage their subordinates are important in determining their loyalty and performance. This factor explains why the positional power technique failed, while democratic and motivational techniques were effective. While positional power degraded the soldiers' dignity and morale, democratic and motivational techniques increased them, making the soldiers feel a sense of belonging and, therefore, encouraging them to work harder. Additionally, this movie also showed that leaders need to have particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to survive in a high-stress environment. All leaders need to determine the types of leadership techniques that encourage their subordinates to perform better and to enable them to come up with solutions easily in stressful circumstances.
References
Bhui, K., Dinos, S., Galant-Miecznikowska, M., de Jongh, B., & Stansfeld, S. (2016). Perceptions of work stress causes and effective interventions in employees working in public, private and non-governmental organisations: A qualitative study. BJPsych Bulletin , 40 (6), 318-325. doi: 10.1192/pb.bp.115.050823
Field, F. (Producer), & Zwick, E. (Director). (1989). Glory [Motion Picture]. Sony Pictures.
Kilicoglu, D. (2018). Understanding democratic and distributed leadership: How democratic leadership of school principals related to distributed leadership in schools?. Educational Policy Analysis and Strategic Research, 13(3), 6-23. doi: 10.29329/epasr.2018.150.1
Raghuram, S., & Fang, D. (2014). Telecommuting and the role of supervisory power in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Management , 31 (2), 523-547. doi: 10.1007/s10490-013-9360-x
Sabir, A. (2017). Motivation: Outstanding way to promote productivity in employees. American Journal of Management Science and Engineering , 2 (3), 35-40. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmse.20170203.11
