Leadership and Army - Essay Example

In context of understanding human behavior, leadership has embraced this aspect as the very basis of its body of knowledge. Therefore, we will make use of the ideologies portrayed in works of movies and literature as we endeavor to study the dynamics of leadership. (Huckman, 2003) To start with, if we are look at our movies, we will find leadership qualities and the essence of army in this context well demonstrated in films like Minority Report. While the story of Minority Report as written by Phillip K Dick as a science fiction thriller, brought out the personal turmoil of a man in power - where the level of sacrifice is said to be greater; the movie had greater shades in terms of character and setting.

This had a lot to do with the fact that the context of visualization had changed tremendously between the time when the story was written and actually portrayed on screen. Technology had greatly changed between 1956 and 2002. Minority Report is a multi dimensional film which chronicles the life of Precrime Officer Anderton (Tom Cruise). The movie continues over a vast canvas of colours, moods and personal dialogue, where the character, albeit a little softly in the beginning, treads through a morass of Michiavellian characters in the time of psychics or 'precogs' in Washington DC.

(Spielberg, 2002) This journey brings him face to face with a discovery of personal strength and abilities wherein she must strategise where time and relationships are concerned. High level leaders, back stabbing subordinates and drama galore - the searing performance by Tom Cruise is one that does justice to every nuance of this film. Without being to obviously lofty, this film confronts the issues and challenges of leadership at a very basic level, with a strong element of reality thrown in.

(Spielberg, 2002)Meanwhile, the book is the kind of reading that brings leadership and the inspiration to exercise the requisite qualities, to the masses even as it shows the possible reasons for discontent among high level leaders like generals in the army. It delves more on the role of the army rather than the characterization of Anderton. It demonstrates the ways and means in which a leader can keep his followers and men grounded and focussed, especially in times of high pressure and the temptation to succumb to countless problems and major adversity.

The role of a leader is amplified in times of conflict and war with a greater demand on performance and output. Therefore, this volume is perfect in its thematic implications for the confrontation of leadership issues. (Dick, 1956)In accordance with the ideals of the story which are lacking in the actual film, in order to attain exponential growth in terms of effectiveness, a leader must, first and foremost delegate authority at the general's level. This has a two fold logic to it. First, it helps the leader tackle his work in a more organized manner, without compromising on the quality he churns out - when a leader has too much on his head, there are more chances that he will stumble.

(Huckman, 2003) The other side to this is that when a leader manages to delegate authority which leads to the desired output, it shows that he has a commanding disposition and is fit to be a leader. Further, a leader must give orders in a tone that has underscores of compassion for fellow human beings and will power, in equal measures. This will not