The Cuban missile crisis of October 1962, was a pivotal moment in modern history, at the height of the Cold War and under the imminent threat of nuclear war, US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was faced with an immense leadership challenge. It was crucial that his decisions were measured and appropriate to the situational context. This report will analyse the effectiveness of his leadership based on two scenes taken from the movie Thirteen Days that were considered pivotal and representative of Kennedy’s leadership. Firstly, a discussion on the theory of understanding effective leadership will establish the reports parameters. Next, the leadership characteristics, behaviour, traits and style evident in the scenes will be examined. Furthermore, the group member characteristics and behaviour will be analysed, referencing the selected footage. Additionally, the contextual environments both internal and external in which the President has operate and its effects on shaping leadership dimensions will be determined. Moreover, the effectiveness of the leadership portrayed in the film excerpts is to be determined by combining the factors contributing to its adoption. Finally, a summary of the findings of this report will made and conclusions given on the leadership effectiveness of President Kennedy based on the movie depictions.
Leadership …show more content…
Leadership characteristics and traits
Power Motive
A power motive is described by DuBrin (2016, p. 54) as the determining reason for a leader’s need to control and influence resource allocation. It is evident that the President is socially motivated to lead, explained by DuBrin as a need to use power to help others. Importantly, it can be seen in scene two that the Presidents focus is on finding a diplomatic solution, in addition to his willingness to delegate, enhances this view and as Chace (2015, pp. 64-65) notes allowing autonomy within this group was the best way to achieve the desired socially orientated
Leadership …show more content…
Leadership characteristics and traits
Power Motive
A power motive is described by DuBrin (2016, p. 54) as the determining reason for a leader’s need to control and influence resource allocation. It is evident that the President is socially motivated to lead, explained by DuBrin as a need to use power to help others. Importantly, it can be seen in scene two that the Presidents focus is on finding a diplomatic solution, in addition to his willingness to delegate, enhances this view and as Chace (2015, pp. 64-65) notes allowing autonomy within this group was the best way to achieve the desired socially orientated