Katniss As An Effective Leader

Katniss: A leader worth following Leadership has a myriad of meanings, defined by a diversity of values, cultures and morals. . Yet despite the variations in these definitions, all leaders must possess certain skills in order to lead effectively. An effective leader is one who recognizes and develops effective followers (Basefsky 34). A compelling leader is also one who gains the support, the respect and the appreciation of their followers. They must be willing to do what is necessary to earn the continuous support of their followers which sometimes includes having to make sacrifices . A good leader’s decisions should urge people to look up to them, to believe in them and to want to follow them. Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist of the …show more content…
Being a physically talented woman allows her to make people believe that her side will ultimately be the winning one. This gives Katniss the ability to lead effectively, as those following her look up to her in part because of her strength. An effective leader will protect those they love and those who follow and believe in them. This is clearly demonstrated in Katniss’ first Hunger games. The Hunger games are a competition invented by the Capitol (the essential elite government) where a tribute from each district (the working classes) is drawn at random to compete to the death in a programmed arena until a lone victor remains. During Katniss’ first competition of this kind, Rue, a little girl from district eleven, decides to work alongside her. Rue had a chance to observe Katniss’ physical skills in the training room before the games. She saw that Katniss was a strong woman with a sharp talent in archery. Rue decides to help Katniss during the games, and when Katniss takes a liking to her and chooses to protect her, Rue becomes attached and refuses to separate from Katniss during the games as she knows she will have a better chance at survival at Katniss’ side because of her physical skills. Katniss protects Rue to the best of her abilities. Katniss’ physical strength gives her the qualification to make …show more content…
When people decide to choose a leader to follow, they look for someone who is emotionally stable and whose leadership skills will not be affected by their personal events. Rather than someone who will breakdown after every loss, a leader must be able to endure the pain and fight through it. Katniss Everdeen has endured immense loss and tragedy in the course of her life, Despite this, she soldiers on stoically. At the very beginning of Collins’ series, Katniss had recently lost her father in a mining accident due to poor working conditions. It is shown later on, during her hallucinations due to tracker jacker venom from multiple stings, that she had suffered a great loss when her father passed as she hallucinates his accident. She does not allow these emotions to affect her in her everyday life as this is the only time her thoughts of him are shown. Katniss was able to suppress her feelings of loss in order to care for her family and provide for them. Unlike her mother, who was no longer able to provide for her daughters, Primrose and Katniss, nor take responsibility for anything as she was left mentally unstable after her husband’s death. Miss Everdeen’ emotional strength allowed her to take on the new role of being her family’s leader. Her overall strength, whether it is physiological or psychological, give her the ability to be an effective