The Effectiveness of Leadership from the Film Elizabeth - Research Paper Example

Critical analysis of the effectiveness of leadership from the film Elizabeth (1998) School: Executive Summary Elizabeth (1998) is a biographical film that explicates the leadership style, leadership effectiveness and the life of Queen Elizabeth I. Through her interactions with Sir William and Sir Francis among others – as well as – the nation as a whole, the leadership outlook of Elizabeth is depicted as very effective and successful. Some of the leadership traits that made her a highly effective leader include those of inspiring others, cultivating a vision in the follower; confidence, delegation, persuasion and a positive attitude. These leadership traits enable her to chart the course of life for many, including Sir Francis, who accepted to offer his full support to her leadership. The effectiveness of her leadership is demonstrated by her ability to shape the politics of England as well as the critical decisions that shaped the political environment of that time. Introduction Elizabeth (1998) is a 1998 biographical film, in the role of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The movie explores the leadership outlook and the reign of Elizabeth, which started after the death of her half-sister Mary I, who had held her as a captive (Elizabeth 1998). Her reign over the bankrupt and divided territory was considered to pose a high risk of invasion by Spain and France, but the effectiveness of her leadership appears to dissolve the issues facing the territory. Through the effective leadership outlook of Elizabeth, she is able to surmount major internal threats, including that of Eccleston, the 4th Duke of Norfolk and that from the armies of Ardant (Mary of Guise), which took place at Scotland. Using her leadership outlook and using the wits of leadership, she evades plots from Gielgud (Pope Pius V). Through her effective teamwork with partners like Rush (Francis Walsingham), she masters both external and internal threats, and manages to execute the plotters of the attacks very effectively. After realizing that her affair with Fiennes (Robert Dudley) was compromising her effectiveness as a leader, she resolves to stay married to England only. At the conclusion of the movie, the effectiveness of her leadership leads to the initiation of England’s golden age, which demonstrated the positive outlook of her reign and leadership style (Elizabeth 1998). This paper will explore the leadership characteristics of Elizabeth, which signify that her leadership was effective – like it is portrayed through the film. The paper will also explore relevant leadership issues, towards demonstrating the effectiveness of Elizabeth, citing relevant literature. Critical analysis of the effectiveness of the leadership of Elizabeth Antonakis, Avolio and Sivasubramaniam (2003) explored the leadership skills that are most important, in improving the effectiveness of the leader’s outlook, and they discovered that being an inspirational leader plays a major role in cultivating a favorable leadership climate. The discussion ended with the conclusion that being an inspirational leader went a long way in increasing the engagement of followers and their levels of commitment (Antonakis, Avolio and Sivasubramaniam, 2003, pp. 290). The effectiveness of this leadership trait is evident from the film, noting that despite the fact that she was only aged 25, Elizabeth changed from a naïve girl to a strategic leader, who inspired the best outcomes through all the people involved in her reign. Her inspiring nature benefited from the fact that she had the skill of choosing her advisers well; she knew how to ignore their advice, in the cases when they advised her on issues that would undermine her influence, as a source of inspiration throughout the country. For example, she did not take into account, their advise about getting a husband, because she realized that having a husband would compromise her influence and her capacity to meet her leadership obligations (Elizabeth 1998). Due to the her ability to cultivate the best contribution from her advisers and the people surrounding her, she was able to learn on the job, which was possible due to her ability to inspire the best actions and the desired contribution of others (Elizabeth 1998). The leadership effectiveness of Elizabeth demonstrates the applicability of servant leadership, which allowed the young and Naïve woman to lead through being led by her advisors and role models, including Sir William Cecil and Sir Francis Walsingham (Greenleaf, 2002). For example, through skillfully accepting to be led by Sir Francis Walsingham, she masters many aspects of leadership, and the skills he teaches her push her towards triumph as the leader of the nation (Elizabeth 1998). In the case of Elizabeth and Sir Francis Walsingham, her deep demonstration of interest to offer him a role to play in ending her rivalry with Mary of Guise, who sends her a poisoned dress: she is able to master her tricks, and also to lead her to her death – through using the cunning nature of Sir Francis (Elizabeth 1998). The effectiveness of the leadership style of Elizabeth can also be demonstrated using the trait theories of leadership, which are based on the assumption that the people that posses certain qualities or traits are more suited for leadership positions (Arvey et al., 2006, pp. 3). These traits can be behavioral or personality-based, and in many cases they form the roots to the success and the effectiveness of the leader. Some of the behavioral and personal-based traits that can be pointed out as having made the leadership style of Elizabeth effective include those of having an inspiring nature, having foresight, her inherent-confidence and strategic decision-making abilities (Elizabeth 1998). Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe (2001) pointed out that a visionary leader is one with the ability to develop or conceive a picture of where the organization or the business is going, within a given span of time. The vision outlines the focused, clear, desirable direction that will project the business or the organization to the envisioned destination (Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban-Metcalfe, 2001, pp. 4). From the leadership outlook of Elizabeth, she was able to see beyond what an ordinary woman aged 25 years old would see, despite the fact that she did not have any prior experience as a leader. For example, following her realization that the many suitors pursuing her for marriage, were not genuinely in love with her, she rejected all, irrespective of the fact that she had engaged in an affair with Robert Dudley, and others like Duke of Anjou were still pursuing her (Elizabeth 1998). Despite her tender age, she was visionary enough to see beyond her lust and love for Robert Dudley, among the other suitors, and despite the insistence of her advisors, she was able to keep her track as the leader of the nation. For example, she is visionary enough to see beyond the love professed by the Duke of Anjou; she could picture his real intentions of using her to move up the social ladder, and that made her to reject his advances, and more importantly, his selfish interests did not come in the way of her leadership (Elizabeth 1998). Additionally, the requests for marriage from many rulers of other nations fell on deaf ears, mainly because she realized that marriage to them would have become a strategic victory for them. Many of the rulers seeking to marry her wanted to acquire or merge with her territory, and through her visionary outlook, she was able to escape many political hits, which had been disguised as marriage proposals (Elizabeth 1998). The visionary nature of Elizabeth allowed her to choose bad from good allies, and that was demonstrated through close association with Sir William Cecil, later she shifts her attention to Sir Francis Walsingham, which showed that she also chose the allies that would help her to envision the future of her territory. The trait of being able to cultivate the picture of a more effective speaker in herself and manages to communicate the same vision to her confidants, irrespective of the fact that they did not seem to believe in her potential to deliver – at times (Elizabeth 1998). This trait is evident during the scene when she practices and rehearses the speech that she was supposed to present to the recalcitrant parliament, seeking to gain support for the religious reforms that would bring uniformity. Through her unwavering belief in her abilities, as well as the efforts that she put into the course of improving her leadership, she was able to cultivate the picture of excellence in the minds of her confidants, including Sir Francis: this trait earns her the unending support she received (Elizabeth 1998). Due to the visionary nature of Elizabeth, as well as the ability she possessed in communicating her vision to her confidants like Sir Francis Walsingham, she was able to master the training required to make her a highly effective leader. For example, through her association with Sir Francis, she realized that – despite the fact that public speaking was not the only solution for the improvement of her leadership - it would allow her to gain the support of the masses, which would sustain her rule and influence (Elizabeth 1998). She conceived from the insistence of Sir Francis, that mastering the art of speaking would offer her the platform, from which she could nurture her voice as an upcoming leader. Elizabeth had the vision that she would use public speaking to persuade others to offer her the support needed by a public leader. One case that demonstrates the success of her persistence in mastering the art of speaking was the support she received from the parliament, which helped her to realize her goal of unifying the territory into a protestant territory (Elizabeth 1998). With reference to leadership theories, the contingency theory of leadership can be used to explain the initiative exercised by Elizabeth, in going beyond the more experienced mentors that shaped her leadership towards triumph, noting that she used their experiences to become an established leader (Morgan, 2007). Secondly, through her underground search for dominion, she was able to work through Sir Francis, who helped her to execute Mary of Guise, which she realized through appealing to his cunning nature. Elizabeth was able to adjust her leadership outlook from an authoritative one to one that could compel her confidants to do all that she asked, which drove many changes that would not have been realized through the use of authority (Elizabeth 1998). Kotlyar and Karakowsky (2006) discussed the importance of confidence in a leader, and they noted that in the case that a leader avoids risk by allowing for all possibilities; his followers will conceive a lack of confidence from them. The confidence of a leader is very important, during the cases where the leader does not have enough information or the information required to allow them to make fully informed decisions. In such a case, the leader should be able to master the confidence required to make the particular decision anyway, and their confidence is also communicated to the followers (Kotlyar and Karakowsky, 2006, pp. 378). From the film, the leadership style of Elizabeth demonstrated the importance of leading confidently, which allows the followers to also master the confidence they will need to take action. For example, irrespective of the fact that she did not know whether she would gain the support of the recalcitrant Parliament in her bid to unify the Catholic nation into a protestant nation, she went ahead and prepared the speech that allowed her to reform the nation (Elizabeth 1998). During the time that she was being pursued by King Henry III of France, she rejects the pleads made to secure her throne, by getting her affiliated to a male leader. However, she demonstrates immense confidence in herself, when she rejects the offer and goes ahead to pursue the leadership of her nation without the help of any man, despite the immense rivalry from enemy rulers and rivals (Elizabeth 1998). Through the confidence and the boldness of Elizabeth, she declared the Catholic country protestant, and through her confidence campaign for religious reforms bears fruits, irrespective of the fact that, at the start she had very little help in pursuing the course. Due to her confident outlook in fighting for her nation, she was able to fight off the many foes attempting to take over the leadership of her nation. The foes she challenged and stopped from taking over the rule of England included the French, the Spanish and the pope, who challenged her rule and the religious reforms that she pursued (Elizabeth 1998). In relating the leadership style of Elizabeth to theories of leadership, the behavioral theory can explain the actions of Elizabeth, during the times when taking action was very important. This theoretical model emphasizes that the actions of a leader are influenced by the demands of the situation that they find themselves facing. For example, irrespective of the fact that she did not have the support she needed to declare England a protestant nation, she went ahead and made the pronouncement; more importantly put in the efforts required to gain following in implementing the religious reforms. Through her ability to override the fear of pursing the leadership of England as an unmarried woman made her gain the leadership traits she would need to lead the nation. The effectiveness of the leadership of Elizabeth, like it is evidenced through the movie, demonstrates the importance of acting towards the desired course of action, irrespective of the lack of all the information needed and the acceptance of all the parties involved (Gardner, 1995). Yukl (1999) – through an exploration of the weaknesses of transformational leadership – pointed out that the lack of the knowledge required during the delegation of authority can compromise the winning edge-skills of a leader. These winning edge skills of a leader, which may be compromised by the inability to delegate wisely and effectively, include those of courage, boldness, resilience and determination. The skills of delegating authority are very crucial to the success of a leader, whether they are managing a business; they own a business or are simply working with others (Yukl, 1999, pp. 287). From the film, Elizabeth demonstrated effective leadership by acknowledging the fact that she was not able to lead England without learning the skills needed by the role, irrespective of the fact that she was the rightful leader and could have led as she pleased (Wheatley, 2006). Her choice to delegate the work of teaching her leadership skills and strategies to established leaders like Sir William Cecil and Sir Francis Walsingham was based on a strategic decision-making process, where she evaluated her skills and realized that leading blindly would be risky (Elizabeth 1998). The other core trait of a good leader that played a crucial role in determining the course she took is boldness, courage and determination, which enabled her to pursue the help of established leaders, who were instrumental in the development of her leadership. For example, Sir Francis Walsingham was very instrumental to the leadership of Elizabeth, because she coached her while at the job, and at the end she becomes a highly established leader – mainly due to her ability to delegate. Further, the trait of resilience enabled him to master the courage and the willingness to go against Mary of Guise, knowing well that she had attempted to keep her away from the throne (Elizabeth 1998). In exploring the leadership outlook of Elizabeth from the light of leadership theories, participative theories can explain the steps taken by Elizabeth, when seeking the solutions to her lack of experience in leadership. Instead of trying to develop the necessary leadership skills on her own, irrespective of the fact that she was the highest authority, she incorporated the help of established leaders like Sir Francis, who helped to develop a highly successful leadership style (Elizabeth 1998). Spears (2010) discussed that the skill of persuasion is the one that enables a leader to convince the followers that their vision is best, without coercing them to comply. Through cultivating a leader’s skill of persuasion, a leader is able to collect all the information they will need from the employees, and more importantly, it allows them to control the followers in a more effective way (Spears, 2010, pp. 25). The advantages of being a persuasive leader include that the leader is able to get the followers to adopt the vision that they communicate as their own; getting the following of the led increases energy levels and motivation – which are important to the realization of goals. From the leadership style of Elizabeth, persuasion was the skill that had allowed her the ability to convince Sir William Cecil and Sir Francis Walsingham to mentor her. Her persuasive nature was very important in getting her the support she required in terminating the threat of Mary, on her reign, which she did through convincing Sir Francis Walsingham (Elizabeth 1998). In many situations, Elizabeth relied upon her ability to persuade her mentors, including the help she got in spying about the plot of King Philip, Norfolk and De La Quandra. The persuasive nature of Elizabeth played an important role in shaping the contribution of many, towards enhancing her leadership, including that she persuaded recalcitrant parliament to support her religious reforms, which were successful (Elizabeth 1998). In relating the leadership outlook of Elizabeth to leadership theories, relationship/ transformational theories can explain the dominant role taken by Elizabeth in the shaping of the political events of England (Elizabeth 1998). Based on the theory, the connection developed between the leader and the followers plays an important role in motivating the followers to see the importance of change or taking a particular action. For example, due to the connection developed between Elizabeth and Sir Francis, she gained the support needed to nurture her leadership outlook and her visionary nature (Elizabeth 1998). The critical role of the persuasive nature of Elizabeth in shaping the politics, events and the decisions of Sir Francis among others, demonstrates the effectiveness that can be drawn from developing effective persuasion abilities (Spears, 2010, pp. 27). Spears (2010) described leadership as the practice of managing, creating and guiding the course taken by an individual or group, towards the realization of a certain target. The different roles of a leader require their constant attention, and the challenges that come in the way of leading requires the leader to have a positive outlook, so that they can handle the challenges in the most effective ways (Spears, 2010, pp. 29). Further, the importance of maintaining a positive attitude about the goal or the organization is important, because it serves as the bulls’ eye that propels the leader through the inevitable challenges. Additionally, for a leader to guide the led, towards where they envision, they are often required to adapt to changes and difficulties, yet see them from a positive point of view, which allows them to configure the best way out of the problems in question. In tracing this leadership skill to the context of leadership theories, behavioural theories can explain the importance of the positive attitude maintained by Elizabeth (Seidler, 2010, pp. 6). For example, through her positive outlook, Elizabeth was able to adjust to the situation that required her to use the experiences of the different men that she related with, towards nurturing her leadership (Elizabeth 1998). Conclusion From a critical analysis of the film Elizabeth (1998), the character of Elizabeth demonstrates many leadership traits and characteristics. These different characteristics enabled her to become a highly effective leader, and they also enabled her to shape the contribution of many others, including Sir Francis. The leadership traits that played instrumental roles in the leadership style and the outlook of Elizabeth include the ability to inspire, followership with insight, confidence, the ability to delegate, persuasion and a positive attitude. Through her endowment, nurture and her practice of the different traits, she was able to lead Bertie among others; she also shaped the politics of the time. Reference List Alimo-Metcalfe, B. and Alban-Metcalfe, J., 2001. The development of a new Transformational Leadership Questionnaire. The Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 74, pp. 1-27. Antonakis, J., Avolio, B. J., and Sivasubramaniam, N., 2003. Context and leadership: An examination of the nine-factor Full-Range Leadership Theory using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The Leadership Quarterly, 14(3), pp. 261-295. Arvey, R. D., Rotundo, M., Johnson, W., Zhang, Z. and McGue, M., 2006. The determinants of leadership role occupancy: Genetic and personality: factors. The Leadership Quarterly, 17, pp. 1-20. Elizabeth 1998. 2009, motion picture, Gramercy Pictures, London. Gardner, H., 1995. Leading minds: An anatomy of leadership. New York, NY: Basic Books. Greenleaf, R. K., 2002. Servant Leadership. New York: Paulist Press Kotlyar, I. and Karakowsky, L., 2006. Leading Conflict? Linkages between Leader Behaviors and Group Conflict. Small Group Research, 37(4), pp. 377-403. Morgan, G., 2007. Images of organization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Spears, L., 2010. Character and Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics of Effective, Caring Leaders. The Journal of Virtues & Leadership, 1(1), pp. 25-30. Wheatley, M.J., 2006. Leadership and the new science. San Francisco, CA: Berret-Koehler Publishers. Yukl, G., 1999. An evaluation of conceptual weaknesses in transformational and charismatic leadership theories. Leadership Quarterly, 10, pp. 285-305. Appendix 1 Movie Scene Leadership Characteristics and Traits Leadership behavior and Style Group member characteristics Internal and external environment Comments on effectiveness and leadership issues At the scene where she closely relates with William Cecil to learn leadership skills The ability to inspire Following the acknowledgement that she did not have the leadership skills she needed, she seeks the help of established leaders The ability to work in harmony sir Francis and Sir William demonstrates Elizabeth’s teamwork skills The internal environment of the case was the acknowledgement of the lack of leadership skills by Elizabeth The external environment was that he was Elizabeth was under the pressure to develop her leadership skills, being the leader Through the trait of inspiring the others to contribute towards developing her leadership skills, she gained the leadership skills she needed The scene where she collaborates with Sir Francis in shaping her leadership outlook Followership with foresight (visionary outlook) Enabled her to lead using the experience of others, which nurtured her leadership outlook Through her visionary nature, she conceived the effect of improving her leadership skills, which pushed her to seek the experience of other leaders Through envisioning the importance of cultivating her speech skills among others, Elizabeth communicates the vision to her confidants and gains their support The internal environment was dissatisfaction with the speech skills and other leadership skills of Elizabeth. The external environment was that of the necessity of developing speech skills so as to champion for the support of other leaders and the people of England Through her Followership with vision outlook, Elizabeth is able to communicate the vision to confidants like Sir Francis, which enabled her to develop her leadership skills When seeking the help of Sir William, Elizabeth showed the confidence to develop her leadership skills Confidence in the future Through the confidence to develop her leadership skills further, Elizabeth saw past her age and lack of experienced and conceived her future potential as a leader Through the confidence of seeking counsel from experts like Sir Francis. Elizabeth got the specialized help she needed, to improve her leadership The internal environment was that of desperation in her lack of leadership skills. The external environment was that of huge support from experienced leaders and huge demands from Elizabeth as a leader Through the confidence she had about improving her leadership outlook, she was able to translate the vision of the future Elizabeth into the minds of her mentors. During her consultation with Sir William, Elizabeth sought to improve her leadership skills and style The ability to delegate work to the most experienced or knowledgeable person. During the search for a solution for her lack of experience, Elizabeth did not stick with her skills, but sought the skills of more experienced leaders like Sir William and Sir Francis As a party to the team pursuing the development of the leadership skills of Elizabeth she demonstrated the capacity to reach decisions that would place the work in the best hands. The internal environment was that of desperation to improve leadership skills. The external environment was that of intense pressure to perform in the political arena, which required the development of leadership traits The leadership behavior and trait was highly effective, because – irrespective of defying the odds of lacking experience, Elizabeth became a good leader. The behavior demonstrated the delicate balance between risk-taking and pursuing the logical choice. During the time that Elizabeth was persuading Sir Francis to execute Mary on her behalf The skill of persuasion helped Elizabeth to bridge the formal and the informal roles of her mentors The persuasiveness of Elizabeth demonstrates the flexibility required from a leader, so that they can successfully fill the roles of a leader and a follower. Through her mediation and persuasion As a team player in setting up the leadership skills required from her, Elizabeth played a major role as a moderator of the relations with the men as a persuasive leader of the team. The internal environment in the relations was one of established mediation, so that her duties could be fully executed. The external environment was one requiring the moderation of a skilled leader, because the huge demands of the leadership role required many skills and a long experience The skill of persuasion is instrumental in making a leader effective During the case when her mentors lost faith in her leadership, she surprised them through action Her positive attitude and creativity in dealing with the challenges of leadership were instrumental in her success Through constant communication, Elizabeth is able to develop and maintain a poised leadership outlook Through her effective communication, which is enhanced by her established communication skills – for the right moment; she is able to manage all crisis, including pending attacks The internal environment of Elizabeth was that of calmness. The external environment was very demanding Through maintaining her positive attitude, calmness and the effectiveness of her communication skills, Elizabeth manages the outcomes of her leadership Read More