Leadership of Captain Miller

Saving Private Ryan, 1998

The story begins during World War II, at the commencement of D-Day as Charlie Company of the Second Rangers land on Ohmaha beach in Normany. Their commander is Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks). After pressing through what seems like an impenetrable German front, Miller and his men are immediately called upon for another mission, this one straight from the top. In an act of compassion, a woman from in the military's typing pool, while in the middle of typing hundreds of letters of condolence for those who have lost their lives, notices three men with the same last name and address in her correspondence. When realizing that a mother in Iowa is going to receive word that three of her sons are not coming home, General George C. Marshall sends order that the fourth and youngest brother be found and sent home. Thus, Miller gathers up his troops to find the soldier who has just been granted "a free ticket home". Home is something all of the soldiers of the squad assigned to Miller want to see.

Their search for Private Ryan takes them deep into enemy territory. Miller is not on a mission to save the world, or even to turn the tide of war for that matter. He is on a mission to save a single man, risking his own life and the lives of his men, in an act that requires courage in the face of what seems to be a meaningless objective. "Saving Private Ryan" seems to celebrate the singular acts of human decency completed by its characters. In the end, saving the life of Private James Ryan, a farmboy from Iowa, may be the one moral and decent thing Miller and his men are able to do in the midst of the confusion and suffering during a horrific time in history.

Lessons Learned

Lewin's Change Model1

Unfreezing

Movement

Refreezing

When Miller wants to take out a German bunker, even though that is not specifically part of the mission, the men in his unit are not interested in this. Miller must unfreeze their attitudes toward what the mission is (to save Private Ryan and to win the war), change their attitudes to support the overall goal (movement), and refreeze their attitudes. In the end, the unit chooses to take out the bunker and eventually to stay with Private Ryan to protect the bridge in France and help win the war, which demonstrates their changed attitudes.

Initiating Structure and Consideration2

Captain Miller shows both Initiating Structure and Consideration in his leadership. In the opening scenes of the movie, Miller uses a delegating style of leadership which is task-oriented to initiate structure among the men. Later, Miller shows consideration in his interactions with the unit while explaining why they cannot take a German child, whose family wants the men to take her to safety.

Leader - Member Exchange Theory (LMX)3

LMX assumes that high quality relationships between leaders and followers results in better performance and greater organizational commitment. Throughout the movie, we see that Captain Miller obviously has very close and meaningful (ie – high quality) relationships with his men. Perhaps this is why they are the unit asked to save Private Ryan, and why they go above and beyond what is asked in their specific assignment.

Discussion Questions

* During the opening scene Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) successfully leads the invasion to break through the enemy lines. How is his leadership here different from his leadership in other situations during the movie?

* Throughout the movie Captain Miller continues to lead the unit even when he feels the mission's objectives are not worth risking the lives of his men and his own. How and why does Captain Miller convince his men to continue in this meaningless assignment?

* Why does Captain Miller choose to stay when Private Ryan refuses to leave the bridge in France? Why do his men choose to stay with him?

* Captain Miller refuses to "gripe" to his unit, stating that "gripes go up, not down". Why does he do this, and what does it demonstrate to his team?

* Do the Second Rangers follow Captain Miller because of his title, or do they follow him for other reasons? If so, why?

* Was the mission a success, even after all of the sacrifice and losses?