Movie analysis - Essay Example

Coach Carter as a Transformational Leader Coach Carter is a great inspiring movie which renders a comprehensive example of a transformational leader. Coach Carter, the main character in the movie, has a difficult task to prepare the team of losers to the basketball season. His hard work is paid back by the fact that team members have changed under his influence. Young athletes literally become better people because they start thinking about their future and accept new values, which lead them to success. This change happens because of exemplar behavior, motivation, individual approach and intellectual stimulation provided to them by Couch Carter.
According to Bass, transformational leaders are charismatic and understanding; they have good emotional intelligence and act beyond their interest to achieve better results for their team. These people are highly appreciated by their team and employers. The case of couch Carter perfectly meets all these requirements. First of all, Carter is a charismatic leader who can attract and retain people’s attention due to his specific approach. In his suit and tie he looks out of place at Richmond. He always speaks politely and asks all people to behave the same way. He establishes the rules of the game and other people have to follow them because he does not approve of any other approach. Every failure results in 100 shuttle runs and 250 pushups (Carter).
Carter stimulates his followers intellectually, asking teachers to provide him weekly reports about athletes’ academic progress. When he finds out that 6 of them lag behind, he decides to terminate trainings and games for the sake of school performance. He motivates the boys to study recalling the statistics that 30% of African American males in Richmond are arrested (Carter). Even though almost nobody from local community supports Carter in his decisions, he makes all his basketball team respect him as a leader. He is a role model for his team members. He motivates them by own behavior to become better and think about their future. He is quite personal with his team; he always seeks for life examples to support his ideas. For instance, he uses his cousins’ names to title different basketball maneuvers.
Carter treats everybody in his team equally, but he finds an individual approach to each athlete. He punishes his son the same way as other team members. He pays attention to emotional well-being of the team; he is specifically interested in Cruz, who is the most aggressive and unstable athlete. Carter remains strict with Cruz, but every time he gives him a chance to come back. These complicated relationships become very important for Cruz because he treats Carter as his father; for example, Carter is the first person Cruz addresses when a drug dealer kills his cousin.
Transformational leaders are not idea; according to Bass, they can abuse their authority and make too radical or unpopular decisions. In case of Carter, some of his punishments were too harsh. All athletes are punished every time they make a mistake; for instance, Cruz has to make 2500 pushups and 1000 shuttle runs to play in the team again (Carter). This task is impossible to perform, and Carter knows that well. Team members save the situation sharing this punishment, but it still remains too harsh.
Summing up, couch Carter is a real example of a transformational leader. He cares about his team and the future of every athlete in it. His positive influence results in the fact that 6 basketball players from Oilers become college students. It is a great achievement for the school where most students leave school with no attestation. Carter provides all athletes with positive role model, care and support, which change their life completely.
Works Cited
Bass, Bernard M. "From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision."Organizational dynamics 18.3 (1991): 19-31.
Carter, Thomas, dir. Coach Carter. Perf. Samuel L. Jackson. Paramount Pictures. 2005. Film. Read More