300 Movie

The film I chose to evaluate is the fantasy action film, â€Å"300. † 300 is a fictional retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae, in which the Greeks tried to hold off an invasion of the Persian Empire. The author’s message, from a leadership perspective, shows what a group of soldier would do for their king and how they inspire a country. A number of scenes from the film will depict that King Leonidas is a great leader with great conviction for what he believes in. Leonidas has many great leadership traits. Leonidas has all the traits a good leader needs. He has intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity, and sociability. Even though Leonidas has assigned leadership, he also has emergent leadership. He is appointed king only after he has been tested by the rigorous traditional Spartan initiations into adulthood. After being inspected at birth to see if he was worthy of being a Sparta, Leonidas was thrown into the wild at the age of 7 and left to survive. Leonidas came back alive to prove to his father, and his people that he is capable to be their king. As king, Leonidas command legitimate, coercive, and reward power like his counterpart, Xerxes of Persia. But Leonidas also has referent power that Xerxes does not. Leonidas’ soldiers liked him and would die for him. Xerces’ army was made up of slaves and beasts that fear for their lives. They are forced to fight, and when they fail, Xerxes becomes enraged and beheads them. Leonidas’ leadership style is both directive and supportive. He gave specific instructions on how to battle against the overwhelming Persian Army and he also engages in combat with his army. After a victory he praises his soldier for their bravery and courage. He respects and acknowledges each soldier’s effort in the battles. Leonidas has high task and high relationship behavior with his army. Leonidas faced many challenges throughout the movie. One example was in the beginning, when the Persian messenger came to Leonidas and gave him Xerxes’ ultimatum. He had a difficult decision to make. His decision would impact the whole nation. Should he give in to the Persian army or should he declare war? As he ponders his answer, he looked at his people, their children, and his wife. He thought about his Spartan heritage and values. Spartans don’t surrender or fear anything. Acting according to authentic leadership defined, he lead by kicking the Persian messenger into the well. His actions show his people that he would not let anyone invade the empire, no matter the opposition. He showed them that his leadership is genuine and he would not coward even if he is greatly outmatched. Leonidas is a perfect leader for the situations in the film. In battle, a leader must have authoritative powers. He must have loyalty and attraction of his soldiers. He must also have highly structured strategic plans for his soldiers. The phalanx formation the Spartans use requires the soldiers to fight as one to be strong. The contingency theory of leadership would define Leonidas as being in a very favorable situation. In a favorable situation, the leader and followers will be effective. As seen through most of the film, Leonidas and his soldiers were victorious in all their battles until they were out flanked by the Persians at the end. Leonidas has good dyadic relationships with his men. He and his Captain, Artemis fought alongside each other when they were young. He also develops mutual trust and respect from Artemis and his soldiers, how could he of convince the 300 men to fight the whole Persian army. He knows that each man is a soldier and that they have heirs at home. They are also proud to fight alongside Leonidas. He doesn’t enlist them and take them to war. It is evident when he met up with the Arcadians. When the Arcadian General, Daxos ridicule Leonidas about how few men he brought to the war front, Leonidas asked three Arcadians for their profession. They responded with Potter, Sculptor, and Blacksmith. Leonidas then turns to his soldiers and asked them. They responded with supporting and confident grunts of courage for their leader. According to the Leader-Member Exchange Theory, leadership is a process that is centered on interactions between the leader and his followers. By having high-quality leader-member exchanges with his men, Leonidas is able to have positive performances and commitment from his men and be victorious in the battles. Leonidas was also able to lead through transformational leadership. Transformational leadership brings about positive change to the leader and to those who follow. Leonidas headed into an unfavorable war courageously so that his people may remain free. After multiple attacks on the Spartans had fail, Xerxes call for an audience with Leonidas. He offered Leonidas royalties if he put down his arms and be Xerxes’ general. But Leonidas thought of his people and his kingdom. His people would have to serve the Persians and if he surrendered, how could he answer to his ancestors. By surrendering he would not be a true Spartan. Leonidas kept his honor and brushed off Xerxes. He thought about his followers before himself. By doing this, even in death Leonidas was able to inspire and stimulate the Greek country to collaborate and fend off the Persian Invasion. In conclusion, Leonidas is a good leader as depicted in the film. He has a broad range of leadership skills and traits, but I believe Leonidas is best at leading with transformational leadership. His charisma strongly warrants him to lead through transformational leadership and given the situations of the film, Leonidas is best to use transformational leadership. Also, the message the film entitles is that one great man or nation can inspire a whole country to stand as one and unite towards a common goal.