Colonel Shaw From the Film Glory: an Excellent Example of a Leader
Leadership
The art of encouraging a group of individuals to work together toward a shared objective is known as leadership. Effectual leadership is built on unique and imitative concepts that are adequately conveyed to others in a manner that entices people to perform in a way the leader desires. A leader motivates people to act while also directing their own actions. A leader needs to be likable enough for individuals to cooperate with their directions, and they need to be capable of critical thinking so that they are able to determine the most effective use of the tools available to them. Everyone has their own interpretations of the terms ‘leader’ and ‘leadership”. The terms are extensively employed throughout organizations and nations, as well as in an array of situations, including religious, national, volunteer, and organizational contexts. The only premise that can legitimately be stated to be universal to all ideas of ‘leadership’ is that the leader is the one in control of, or ‘leading,’ their followers. Colonel Shaw from the film Glory is someone who I think is an excellent example of a leader.
Glory
Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was the main leader of the colored regiment in the film “Glory.” Colonel Shaw did not begin as a strong leader, but he acquired the respect of his soldiers and showed his devotion to the regiment. The film “Glory” depicts the story of the 54th Regiment primarily through the perspective of Shaw, who is appalled and perplexed by the bloodshed on the battlefield in a previous scene. When he returns home to heal from his wounds, he is offered the command of a freshly established black regiment, which he accepts despite his own enlightened adversary beliefs regarding the ability of colored troops. It is up to the troops to persuade him that they can fight, and along the way, they supply him with some subtle understanding of race and human nature, a century before the civil rights movement emerged.
Robert Gould Shaw was a hesitant commander of the legendary 54th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry, one of the first African American battalions in the Civil War, despite his portrayal in the 1989 film glory. Shaw was 25 years old when he assumed responsibility for the 54th in 1986 and had already fought with his previous unit, the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry, in combats such as Cedar Mountain and Antietam. Shaw was apprehensive to leave his companions for service in a battalion he did not think would experience combat. While many opposed it or doubted its effectiveness, Colonel Shaw persisted and made an impact in more than just the troops’ lives.
The film is based on the true story of the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry, an all-black battalion led by a white officer, Colonel Robert Shaw. Colonel Shaw, who came from an advantaged upbringing and was so terrified during the Combat of Antietam that he pretended to be dead while the battle raged, understood he would have to prove himself as a commanding force in an effort to prepare his soldiers for combat. These actualities, combined with the reality that he was commanding an unruly group of soldiers and had close friends directly under his authority, provided Shaw with a formidable leadership task.
Supervisor Techniques
The Situational Approach was a technique that Colonel Shaw illustrated excellently. To the betterment of the group, Shaw acclimatized to his men’s abilities, how they acted, and what they believed in. For instance, when one of the soldiers had a nice shot, Shaw understood that applause would not help him improve. So, as a means to put him under strain, Shaw was harsh with him and put him in a war situation by discharging his gun very close to him. By doing so, he demonstrated to the troops the seriousness of the conflict and how having a good shoot in a tranquil situation would be useless. Colonel Shaw ripping his check in front of all his men is another example of this. Shaw made sure that his unit was disciplined, but he also had to motivate them. He showed he was with them and that they were a team by shredding his check. Colonel Shaw was universally admired by his troops, and he embodied the Situational Approach to perfection in both training and combat.
The most visible supervisory technique Colonel Shaw employed was the utilization of positional power. Colonel Shaw exploited his positional influence to force his regiment to follow his directives from the outset. The Colonel’s relationship with the soldiers was always tense and acrimonious. Colonel Shaw was aloof and treated his troops like slaves at first. As an illustration, Colonel Shaw wanted one of his regiment’s soldiers to learn how to quickly load gun powder into his weapon. Colonel Shaw stood over the soldier and shouted incessantly about how he should load the gun faster rather than taking the time to show and educate him a more effectual method. The soldier failed to finish the mission, demonstrating the ineffectiveness of using positional power. Because he felt intimidated, the soldier was less productive and unable to accomplish the assignment quickly. Colonel Shaw handled him as if he were a slave, treating him with contempt. Fear, persuasion, and the use of positional power pushed the soldier.
During the second half of the film, Colonel Shaw employed personal power as a supervisory technique. Colonel Shaw’s rapport with his regiment improved throughout this period of utilizing positional power. Colonel Shaw treated the men with respect and respected them as human beings. The soldiers were more responsive to their captain and his directives once they knew they were regarded as equals rather than slaves. They were also able to accomplish their jobs more effectively, and Colonel Shaw gained more respect over time. One of the most powerful and successful supervising qualities is personal power. Colonel Shaw’s whole connection with his men changed for the better when he employed personal power. Both job satisfaction and pride improved. Personal power fosters a culture of trust among leaders and employees. Employees are able to learn, grow, and achieve innovational advancements after trust has been established.
When one of the soldiers' deserts, Shaw confronts an early leadership test in deciding on the appropriate penalty. The penalty for desertion, according to the Sergeant Major, is a public flogging in front of the entire regiment, which Major Ford, a close personal friend of Shaw’s, feels unacceptable given the circumstances of the union’s involvement in the war. Major Ford then questions Shaw’s authority, leaving Shaw with little choice but to continue whipping the soldier and chastise him for his disobedience. The soldier is flogged across his back, which bears the unsightly scarring from prior floggings during his tenure as a slave, and the scene continues to depict an obviously distressed Shaw. As a supervisor, I would have handled this situation differently. I would have met with the soldier privately. I would have figured out why he left the unit based on this chat. Colonel Shaw would have known the soldier’s objectives were to obtain shoes for his badly bruised feet if he had been given the chance to justify himself. Colonel Shaw’s regiment, unlike other regiments made up of white soldiers, trained continuously and marched without footwear, causing harm to their feet. The soldier just took matters into his own hands by leaving the unit in search of footwear. His plans did not include abandoning his post.
Supervisory techniques are affected by high-stress environments such as a war or the emergency room. The reason is that a supervisor might be at bodily risk in such circumstances, which can influence their decision-making and mental process in either a positive or negative manner. There may be instantaneous good impacts in a high-stress setting that are not seen in less stressful ones. In response to the stressor, they include greater energy and motivation to complete the task, clearer thinking, faster reaction times, and greater memory retention. People in high-stress situations have described feeling a heightened sense of well-being in response to an emergency. Negative impacts that are not noticeable in low-stress contexts, on the other hand, may manifest in high-stress situations. This occurs when a supervisor’s assessed ability to cope with pressure is deemed to be greater than the apparent level of difficulty. Consequently, there is a loss of confidence and a low-performance rate. Furthermore, a person may fail to transmit information effectively, resulting in further stress. In this circumstance, the supervisor may experience a sense of pressure and an increased threat to essential values such as life, wellbeing, and the environment. In high-stress situations, a supervisor’s performance may suffer due to the uneasiness that comes with assessing the issue and providing answers.
I believe I can relate to all of Colonel Shaw’s supervisory techniques in the film Glory, but personal power is probably the most relatable. I enjoy empowering others and encouraging them to believe in themselves. I am a bit of a convergent thinker with an anything is a possible mindset, and I try to convince others that if they give it their all, the best result will be achieved. It may not be the intended end, but it is the best that can be achieved. I enjoy motivating others to their full potential.
Due to their lack of expertise, supervisors who utilize “textbook” leadership tactics are more likely to fail. Supervisors are frequently expected to be ready in the event of high-stress events. However, in such instances, conventional tactics may not always succeed. This is because, in preparing these strategies, some aspects that appear in high-stress circumstances may be overlooked since they are unforeseen. In a high-stress setting, for example, a supervisor’s ability to lead by example may be limited. Supervisors may fail to lead by example if they believe their lives, principles, or relationships are in jeopardy. To fully employ efficient supervisory techniques, supervisors must be adequately prepared and learn through experience. Colonel Shaw, for instance, was a freshly assigned leader who went through various phases of leadership approaches prior to achieving and implementing excellent supervisory tactics. He began by wielding positional power, then progressed to personal power. Colonel Shaw gained personal power as a result of his experiences.
Colonel Shaw’s capacity to lead despite such difficulty is what makes him such a powerful figure in the film. Colonel Shaw grew into the leader he was before his death. Leaders are cultivated rather than born. To obtain the respect of one’s subjects, one must learn how to become the finest leader possible. Colonel Shaw demonstrated this, earning the respect of his regiment, and making an impact in the lives of many in the film. The men establish remarkable force and a combativeness throughout the film, which is unsurpassed by many of the Union Army’s units
