The Archetype of Servant Leadership - Essay Example

Film Critique Paper The Devil Wears Prada Timothy Gerard LeBel ORGL 530 - Servant Leadership September 30, 2006 The Devil Wears Prada The fast-flashing series of frames showing the fashion editor/guru Melinda Priestly (Meryl Streep) striding into the anteroom of her Office and dumping hat, coat and bag on the desk of her harassed and obviously overworked assistant while barking off the latest commands for the day paints a clear picture of what servant-leadership is not - and how the concept is seemingly incongruous in the high-flying fashion industry - in the recently-released motion picture "The Devil Wears Prada". There is no mistaking the culture and work ethic of the world that fresh journalism graduate Andrea (Anne Hathaway) walks into as she is straightaway apprised of her place in the "pecking order" in the organization, the editorial offices of Runway Magazine, the trendsetter in the international fashion scene. Andrea is the "second assistant", the "first assistant" underscores to her, and that virtually makes her the "slave of a slave". Everyone in the organization and in that milieu tells her that, and yet in the same breath intimates that it is a job that every girl would die for. As the start, Andrea sees the job as merely her entry point into the more real world of journalism, and she hopes the training she would receive under her Dragon Lady of a boss would give her the qualifications and credentials for more serious work. Gradually though, she is fascinated by the glitter and glamour of the world that she has entered and finds herself struggling not only to survive but to conquer, using the very tools of the trade, so to speak, necessary to get ahead. She is, in fact, obviously also fascinated by the persona and aura projected by her boss, Melinda, a sleek, soft-spoken lady who inspires and commands respect and fear because she wields such power and influence within the industry. It likewise soon becomes obvious that while before, Andrea's goal is merely to please Melinda and thus secure her job, she eventually begins to fit into the mold of her boss. And therein lies her struggle - apparent in the change that her boyfriend Nath and two other close friends observe. She tries to keep the friends and values she has known and cherished but now seems to find them in conflict with the new world she moves in and which, if she were honest with herself as Nath had asked her to be, she actually reveled in. Her crucial moment of truth and decision comes when she realizes that beneath the brittle veneer of might and power that Melinda Priestly presents to the world is a very human person - caring about family, protective of her children, hurt by the loss of a husband through divorce. Does Melinda Priestly really enjoy the kind of leader she has become, or has she been forced to fit into this mold - forced to be tough, work-oriented, utilitarian, uncaring - because that is what is expected of her as editor of the most powerful and influential fashion magazine, because that is the only way she can get the job done. Andrea gets a glimpse of this when Melinda explains why she had to sacrifice one of her oldest and closest friends and a most loyal associate - to ensure that she is not replaced as editor. Quite simply she explains that no one can take her place because the magazine cannot hold on to its coveted spot as fashion leader without her at the helm. On the surface, the movie seems to provide a literal example of the absence of servant-leadership as defined in the philosophy and concepts advanced by Robert Greenleaf and by the idea espoused by various religious traditions. By its title alone, "The Devil Wears Prada", it is obvious that the movie means to depict the lead character in the image of the antithesis of the archetype of servant leadership, the Christian's Jesus Christ. The Christ spirit in the Christian Scriptures manifests the values of leadership and a relationship that involves patience, kindness, humility, respectfulness, selflessness, forgiveness, honesty, commitment, service and sacrifice (Thompson, 2000). These qualities are clearly not observed in Melinda Priestly - in fact, the exact opposite are what is apparent. She even seemingly goes out of her way to make life miserable for her assistants referred to by her and her associates as "slaves"), and delights in the effect that her presence and persona have on them. She is the devil - everything Jesus Christ, or whoever deity worshiped by the world religions, is not. She is the kind of leader who is does not serve, but who rather is and expects to be served. And yet she is sleek and beautiful and fashionable - she wears Prada. Measured against the criteria for assessing servant leadership and the definitions of servant-leadership, the character of Melinda Priestly sadly fails. Crucial to the concept of servant leadership is the idea and objective of "(placing) the good of those led over the self-interest of the leader (It) promotes the valuing and development of people, the building of community, the practice of authenticity, the providing of leadership for the good of those led and the sharing of power and status for the common good of each individual, the total organization, and those served by the organization (Laub, 1999, p. 83). While the editor of Runway Magazine ultimately aimed for the good of the organization and those served by the organization (the magazine is a leader in its industry, financially viable and profitable for its owners as well as its employees and is looked up to in the industry as a trail-blazer, dictating trends in the fashion industry that rules the lives of the people) - and thus in a way, ultimately also for the good of the people it served, it may be observed that its editor, and in fact the entire hierarchy within the publication does not exactly promote "the valuing and development of people" (Spears & Lawrence, 2002). In fact, on many occasions, Andrea found herself at the receiving end of insults and hurtful comments, not only on her performance on the job, but even on her person and values, attitudes and fashion sense. An interesting angle is the inordinate importance given to Andrea's body size. She is built like an ordinary woman, sized the way 75% of the population are sized - not reed thin, like a model, but healthy and slim, befitting her age. And yet, scathing remarks are made about her weight by almost every member of the company hierarchy, from the pleasant gay co-worker, to the uppity assistant Emily, to Miranda herself. She is not, by any stretch of the imagination, obese. Hers is the body of a real woman in a real world - unable to afford the lifestyle costs incurred by models and showbiz denizens who spend unconscionable amounts of money losing weight and keeping the weight off so that they can parade in fashionable clothes that look good on the ramp but have no place in real life. That the corporate structure places undue emphasis on weight and appearance reveals its shallowness and superficiality, concepts that have no place under the servant leadership model. It bespeaks the artifice of this age, where people are judged by how they look and what they were instead of what they have made of their lives and what values they cherish and hold dear. This is particularly deplorable, considering the influence that the fashion industry has over many people, particularly little girls who are in the process of defining their self-worth and are particularly susceptible to bouts of insecurity. We see how Andrea herself has capitulated to such standards, even bragging in the end that she is "no longer a size 6", instead of staunchly standing by her original weight size. It reaffirms the idea that "thin is in" and that in order to succeed, one must adapt to the expectations of the workplace, no matter how unreasonable these expectations are. One is at the bottom of the pecking order; hence, one must obey and obey blindly. In fact, he entire structure and culture within the publishing house promotes the idea of hierarchy - whoever is at the top, as leader wields unquestionable power and lords it over the rest. He/she is served; his/her rule is law; every request is a command; even whims and idiosyncracies are orders to be followed. Service is required and sought, not from the leader but from the subordinate, who is treated as a "slave" - on call 27/7 and who is required to do the impossible, with nary even a comment of appreciation. Larry Spears, director of the Greenleaf Center, in studying the concept of servant-leadership, distills 10 characteristics of a servant-leader which may not always all be present in a single person. These are: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to growth of people, and building community. (2002) There is a need to shake off traditional trappings of leadership and embrace values that empower those within the ranks. (Greenleaf, 1994). Most of these are absent in the woman at the helm of the magazine in the movie. Her subordinates are scarcely viewed as people, much less as friends - they are tools or instruments, equipment to make life and work so much easier. This is evident in that she does not even bother to find out nor call Andrea by name, calling her by the first assistant's name, and it is a cause for much pride and rejoicing when Melinda finally does remember Andrea's name. For Melinda, there is only one objective - the growth and profitability of the magazine. The growth of people may happen, as it did with Andrea, but that could be incidental and may happen only if it ultimately contributes to the growth of the company and the success of the magazine. As Andrea, in fact, began to get acclimatized to life in the fashion industry world, she began to lose some of the qualities that endeared her to her friends and that marked her initially as a potentially successful servant-leader. She was willing to sacrifice her relationship with Nath for the chance to break into a more serious-type magazine and agreed to spend a night with a writer who hinted that he could make the proper introductions for her. She began to put ambition and material objectives before people; she began to understand why and how Melinda had to fight and hang tough to hold on to her job. Perhaps at the back of her mind she questioned it, and yet she accepted it as necessary. Finally, in the test for servant-leadership, Greenleaf poses the following questions: "Do those served grow as persons Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants And what is the effect on the least privileged in society; will they benefit or, at least, not be further deprived" (Greenleaf, 2003) Again, the lead character in the movie seems to fail the test. "Seems to", however, because ironically, while that was not the intention of Andrea's boss for her, in the end, it is through the editor Melinda Priestly that Andrea does become "wiser, freer, more autonomous and more likely to become (a servant-leader herself). Melinda's cryptic comment towards the end of the movie "You are like me" opened Amanda's eyes to the truth that she did not want to be like her, or to end up like her - or if she was indeed like her, to surrender to that nature, of being ambitious, materialistic, harsh, and uncaring instead of, as Hesse (1956) put it, to work for "common goals and ideals" in a community where every member is empowered and free. In the end, given a glimpse of the kind of person she could be but did not wish to become, Andrea decides to quit her job, go for real journalism work, and appreciate her real love and true friends. She turns her back at the fast life - a life of endless carousing, flashy clothes, one night stands - and chooses to go back the world she has loved and that loves her back. So, indeed, in a roundabout, unwitting way, perhaps the absence of servant-leadership in the character that was Melinda Priestly actually teaches the viewer about the concept of servant-leadership in an organization. As difficult as the lesson might have been for Andrea, it was a lesson she learned nonetheless, and before it was too late. Slowly but surely, she has managed to retrace her steps back to where she belongs, to the values that are still important to her. In conclusion, perhaps one may say that the Devil is definitely not a servant-leader; but then in understanding what a servant-leader is not, then the viewer gets the picture, as Andrea did, of what the servant-leader is and should thus aspire for and to be. References Greenleaf, R.K. (1977). Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness (25th Anniversary Ed.). New York: Paulist Press. Greenleaf, R.F. (2003). The Servant Leader Within: A transformative path. New York: Paulist Press. Hesse, H. (1956). The journey to the east. New York: Picador. Laub, J. A. (1999). Assessing the Servant-Organization: Development of the Servant Organizational Leadership Assessment (SOLA) Instrument. Florida: Florida Atlantic University. Spears, L. C. & Lawrence, M. (Ed.) (2002). Focus on Leadership: servant-leadership for the 21st century. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Thompson, M.C. (2000). The congruent life: Following the inward path to fulfilling work an inspired leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Read More