Leadership

Leadership

In today's rapidly changing world, leadership is necessary to keep up with the competition. In the extract from the film “Braveheart”, William Wallace demonstrated many leadership techniques that helped his army prevail as an underdog. Many of the techniques Wallace used are prevalent in modern day business leaders as well. By stepping up in a leadership role, Wallace gained the respect of the entire army even though he was not the man that was put in charge. One of the main things that Wallace did was lead through his actions. By stepping up to the front line, it showed his troops that he was not scared and this attitude was imitated by the rest of the troops. In the present day business world, an effective leader hears what others have to say and helps them with their issues. This is just what Wallace did.

In the short extract of “Braveheart” Wallace showed what was necessary to be a successful leader. There are many lessons that should be gained from watching William Wallace. First, no matter what the situation was, he was very calm and composed. He was very calm when speaking with the head of the opposing army and very composed while his army was being charged at by opposing forces, even though they were obviously much outnumbered. Another characteristic of how Wallace displayed leadership was his confidence and sense of humor throughout the entire scene. He ordered his troops to pull their pants down and “moon” the English in the middle of a war standoff. I think that this was a very good technique to loosen up the troops and make them more comfortable and confident. Also his confidence was very apparent throughout the war. He told his army that they would lose some lives but in the end they would recover their freedom. The army saw his confidence and in turn, they became more confident about victory as well. Other techniques Wallace used were being inspirational, motivational and patriotic. Before the war started, most of the troops were very uneasy and started to turn around and head home. Wallace came to the front of them, got their attention and made a very inspiring speech that fired them up and turned there attention back to the task at hand. The Scottish army was ready to turn back and concede their freedom to the English. Wallace showed patriotism by painting his face blue for the Scottish flag and encouraged his soldiers to fight with him for their freedom. Throughout this extract of “Braveheart”, Wallace demonstrated how being humble is a positive characteristic of a leader. He acts as if he is a normal member of society and not superior to his peers and this is how he gains their respect. Another characteristic of a successful leader is being ready and willing to make a change when needed. When the opposition fired bows at the Scots, they responded by holding up their shields. After this Wallace’s army could have been aggressive and gone after the English, but they stayed back and waited for the horses to charge. Wallace stayed calm and at the last minute ordered the troops to pull out there spears. This killed all of the horses and made it easy to kill the men on the horses. This strategic change that Wallace made was a key factor in his side’s victory.

Many lessons from the extract of “Braveheart” are shared with present day business leaders. Those business leaders who do not use these techniques in their leading should watch this movie and learn from William Wallace. One European business leader who shares some of the same leadership qualities of William Wallace is Pasquale Pistorio. Pistorio is the former CEO of the Italian semiconductor corporation STMicroelectronics. During his 25 years in charge, ST posted a net profit every quarter but two. Mr. Pistorio started his career at Motorola and after a very short time was promoted to the Vice President position. Pistorio left Motorola, the number one chip maker, in 1980 for this Italian company ranked number 25 in the world with a 40% pay cut. His motivation, shared with Wallace, was patriotism. Pistorio made the move because he wanted to prove that a successful global company could be built and run from Europe. At the time, employees at the semiconductor company were government bureaucrats. This means that they could not be fired. “We had to make some sacrifices and do some restructuring,” says Mr. Pistorio. “The key was we got people enthusiastic about the future.” Like Wallace in “Braveheart”, Pisotrio