Leadership Quality in Remember the Titans - Essay Example

While Coach Boone, as the main coach has motivated the team and also provided the impetus to enjoy and win every game forgetting all forms of individual limitations and racial differences, Bill Yoast exhibited leadership quality by motivating players and taking adequate initiatives to assist Coach Boone to excel other teams in all divisions of a team game. Gerry Bertier, being captain of the team has successfully guided his teammates to victory forefront, established instance that racial differences should not affect their performance as a team on the field by establishing a close friendship, both on and off the field with Julius Campbell and also made strong decisions to ensure a high level of performance of the team by removing his white friend Ray, who attempted to impact the team’s performance by due to his disliking against African-Americans. Ronnie Bass has also exhibited his leadership capacity by developing a cozy relationship with all team members, irrespective of all racial differences, and identifying his capacity to lead, Coach Boone has also referred to him as “the colonel” (Remember the Titians, 2000).

However, carefully pondering over each of the character’s contribution to the entire performance of the team it can be said that except for Coach Boone, each of the other three was prescribed with specific duties to lead different departments of the team but Coach Boone was responsible for the entire situation and he has emerged as the leader in the film. Apart from the formal assignment to lead the team to win, he encountered the greatest challenges, namely to ingrate the team by going beyond the scope of racial differences and fighting against all sorts of institutional and social obstacles due to his Afro-American racial identity. However, like a true leader, he always has faced all these challenges and inspired students with his performance and commitment to the team. While functioning as a leader, there are mainly three ways that Coach Boone has fulfilled his role: First, he has given the highest emphasis to enjoying the hunger for winning attributes among students. Second, he took an uncompromising attitude towards hard work and team integrity. Interestingly, in both these aspects he, on certain occasions, has forced students to follow his directions so that, in long run, they can enjoy benefits. Third, his decision-making capacity under crucial conditions (such as choosing Ronnie Bass as a pitcher of the ball after The Rev is injured) and liberal approach to support others' observation and acknowledgment of the same (such as supporting Bertier to take Ray off the team and respecting Coach Yoast for helping him to win the final game) has established him as a leader (Remember the Titians, 2000).

Three basic qualities of a good leader are honesty, a caring attitude toward others, and the capacity to inspire team members. Coach Boone has always been honest about his job, goal, and his passion for the game. Irrespective of all obstacles he has honestly served the team, not with a wish for personal benefit but to fulfill the dream to become a winner and also circulate the same among others. Care for students and their problems in the field have always remained his primary concerns, and he also has inspired them accordingly so that they can look to the horizon beyond all these limitations. Keeping in mind all these traits, Coach Boone’s leadership style can be described as supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented, consequently, his passion for the highest achievement has never become obsessive or tyrannical; rather he always emphasized the fact that beyond winning or losing, there is always self-respect. Thus, during the break of the final game, in the dressing room, he told students to ensure that they should play in such a way that while leaving the field they can earn everyone’s respect (Remember the Titians, 2000).

While Coach Boone has exhibited excellent leadership qualities, controlling his over-passionate nature surely would have developed his leadership skills to a further extent. During situations of crisis, despite all his efforts, when he saw that he was failing to recover the team, he lost his temper and remained inactive. While Coach Yoast, in the final game was making strategic plans to improve the situation, he was busy persuading the referee (Remember the Titians, 2000). A leader is required to retain temperament even when in the process of encountering the worst situation. Coach Boone’s control of his over-passionate nature would surely have made him a more effective leader.