The Secret Life of the Bees : the Real-Life Leadership Skills of Interdependence - Movie Review Example

The Secret Life of Bees: Insights into Leadership and Communication of the Subject Name of the Concerned Professor June 29, 2011 The Secret Life of Bees: Insights into Leadership and Communication Introduction Life presents every person with many opportunities to take charge and evince leadership. Surprisingly, some choose to respond and show initiative, while many prefer to shrink in the background. To put it simply, leadership is the ability to take responsibility and the capacity to guide, motivate and inspire others. It goes without saying that the conventional models of leadership usually perceive a leader as someone endowed with superhuman abilities and genius, who has a solution to every problem. However, in the real life, being a leader is not that simplistic and monolithic. There are multiple styles and approaches towards leadership. Movies are a viable source of watching leadership in action. The Secret Life of the Bees is a fantastic movie in that context. The movie not only inspires the viewers to reflect on the real meaning of leadership, but also showcases some credible leadership models in the guise of the characters like August Boatwright and Zachary “Zach” Taylor. The movie’s approach towards leadership is very humane and realistic. The Movie The movie revolves around the life of a white girl Lily, raised in a loveless home by an abusive and bitter father, during the days of Civil Rights unrest. Lily has only one real and trusted companion that is her housekeeper Rosaleen. Lily emphatically seeks to know more about her late mother, when her quest leads her to the Boatwright household, where she learns the true meaning of family, love, acceptance and trust. August Boatwright and Zachary “Zach” Taylor are the two characters in the movie, who have a profound influence on the hitherto disturbed life of Lily. Two Examples of Leadership in the Movie 1. August Boatwright In the movie The Secret Life of Bees, August Boatwright is a black lady who happens to be the eldest of the three Boatwright sisters. August comes out in the movie as a born transformational leader, who not only has the ability to inspire ease and trust in others, including the emotionally wrecked Lily, but in a relational context, also has the ability to give way to positive and trustworthy relationships in the family and group she leads. Her approach towards people is inclusive and empowering and she tends to focus more on the process rather than on the goals. Her style of leadership is Delegative. August not only takes the initiative to accept Lily in her household, but also readily manages to identify her basic need for love and acceptance. In consonance with the Trait Theory of Leadership, August is shown as endowed with many essential leadership traits like honesty and integrity, openness, self-confidence, emotional maturity, spiritual depth, and a creative and flexible approach towards issues and problems that arise at one time or other in the movie. No wonder, it is always August who is mostly shown as leading most of the Daughters of Mary ceremonies in the movie. August has good communication skills and is shown as being a good Relater, who always prefers to be helpful and warm towards Lily, Rosaleen, June, May, Zach and all the other people that constitute her close knit group in the movie. She is shown as reacting to the surrounding racial pressures and family tensions by being meaningfully introspective. Her friendship with Lily means a lot to August and she unpretentiously manages to teach Lily to come to terms with the sweet and bitter realities of her life, by involving her in the seemingly simplistic art of beekeeping. Lily’s friendship with patient and reassuring August further deepens as she encouragingly helps her discover the requisite patience, maturity and an acceptance for the rhythms of life and death through beekeeping. It goes without saying that August is affiliated to Theory Y of motivation, who instinctively and truly believes that people do have a basic need for belonging, self esteem and self actualization. The therapeutic influence of beekeeping on Lily well proves her approach of turning work into play and recreation by creating the right environment. August is also shown as having the capacity to exercise influence when necessary. In the end it is she who manages to convince Lily’s father T Ray to let Lily stay with her. 2. Zachary “Zach” Taylor The other character that emerges as an impressive leader in the movie is Zachary “Zach” Taylor. Zach impresses the viewers by his young age and his immense potential and talent for leadership. Zach is the worthy godson of August who helps her in her beekeeping business. In stark consonance with the Trait Theory of Leadership, Zach is shown as being endowed with many leadership traits. He shown as being goal oriented and happens to be a very talented athlete. Zach’s approach towards the racial tensions is participative and democratic and despite all odds he chooses to attend the white high school to seek his ambition of becoming a first black “ass busting” lawyer in the area. In the true spirit of a Relational Leader, Jack has the capacity to forge meaningful relationships irrespective of the constraints of prevalent biases and prejudices. Despite of his black background, Zach finds no problem in engaging in friendship with two white girls Lily and Becca. Zach has a strong self belief and his evident charm and grace stand him out as a Charismatic Leader. Yet, he also happens to be a well intentioned Transformational Leader with a vision, who prefers to opt for a peaceful social revolution as an answer to the challenges ushered in the area by racial integration. The biggest and most salient incident that brings forth the leadership potential of Zach is his decision to postpone his relationship with his white love Lily in the interest of the well being of his family and community. Considering the taboo imminent on the interracial dating, Zach chooses to be flexible when necessary. Zach’s communication style is Analytical. It becomes well evident when he responds to the incident of the arrest of him and his friends on the charges of injuring a white man, by approaching the issue methodically and systematically and by seeking the right information and knowledge regarding race relations and Civil Rights. Leadership in the Movie The leadership styles and communication approaches portrayed by the characters in the movie are very realistic and in consonance with the existing leadership theories. The leadership evident in the movie has a specific predilection for the Functional approach to leadership, in which the leadership models like August tend to focus on the parameters and factors that usher in an environment that gives way to leadership, rather than resorting to naïve hero worship. These characters also do some justice to the Trait Theory in the sense that they are shown as possessing some specific leadership traits. The recurring theme of bees in the movie highlights the real life leadership skills of interdependence, collaboration and cooperation and fostering relationships. The leadership figures in the movie are true to life and believable in the sense that it is not that they don’t get dejected, disheartened, and dismayed, yet, they chose to get up and move on as it happens in the real life. Conclusion The Secret Life of the Bees is a movie that celebrates the human capacity not only to salvage one, but also to inspire and motivate others in difficult times marred by barriers, prejudices and constraints. Leadership is an ability that is relevant only in the context of problems. Anybody can pretend leadership in good times. Source Book Hackman, Michael Z & Johnson, Craig E. (2008). Leadership: A Communication Perspective . New York: Waveland Pr Inc. Read More