Question

In the movie Remember the Titans (2000),

Cite an example from the movie when Coach Boone used a Supporting leadership style. What specifically did he do (behavior) that indicated he was being Supportive? Describe the situation, and assess follower Readiness (follower Ability and Willingness). Did Coach Boone utilize an appropriate leadership style in this situation, and why or why not?

Answer 1

The Movie Remember the Titans is a story of high school football team and the coach Boone is helping them in getting united. The leadership used here is an example of situational leadership and his ability to move the things on that situation. The entire football team was new.

The movie depicts how players are comfortable with playing with their race and decided their positions in the game and playing easily. When the two teams of different races got merged together their team members resisted and it effected their performance adn the performance of the game. This stage can be termed as formation stage as the members are not comfortable and feeling hesitant in talking and playing with each other. When the Coach Boone address his team of black players and feels sad about the dictatorships of white. The other coach of white team Coach Yoast and his team of white is comfortable with the coach.

Going further Coach Boone is making his team ready for a pre-school training camp, now knowingly the Coach Boone is making his team so that they talk to white team or white team talks or confronts them, this is sort of a stage of storming when people are trying to know each other. Now at this stage the members are unwilling to play with each other due to the long history of black and white tussle. Players and not becoming comfortable with each other and trying to avoid each other.

Now two white players Ray and Gary approaches Coach Boone’s and tells him how to rum the team. Now Coach Boone displays situational leadership and uses his authority of being a coach and puts them in their place in front of the team, all of family and coaching staff.

Now as both the teams of black and white leaves for training camp lot of instance happen which shows that the teams are in the stage of storming and commenting on each other, and this gets more tense when the arguments over getting the bed and handing the posters on the wall gets into a fight between Gary (the white captain) and Julius (the black team leader).

Tension grows more during the practice sessions of football and Coach Yoast talks to Coach Boone that let the players talk to each other and have some fun thgether which Coach Boone is not ready and yells on his team members for making small mistakes.

Now the teams are going at norming stage during the practice and exercise and running sessions as they are becomeing so exhausted that they hardly get time to fight with each other and the black and white captains also tell their team mates to support each other. When the teams come back to school still they have some discomfort at time during play and practise and Coach Boone says both the teams together are not playing with their heart and soul which won't get them a win.

Now both the white and black captain call their teams and make them understand that it is important to play with heart and soul in order to win. Now the team members also understand and starts playing together which is now the performing stage. Due to which they start winning and Yoast also tells Boone to be open for new ideas and leave being orthodox. Here Boone also comes up with his ideas of defence and Yoast ideas of forward playing. During the play Gary is injured and Yoast visits him, this also brings integration in the team inspite being Black and Whites.

We can conclude that the movie illustrated situational leadership. Coach Boone was an authoritorian and seems that would never change his orthodox thinking adapts to situation and due to his situational leadership his team excelled. Though there were fights and arguments between the team the team continued to grow this shows how the groups are formed by depicting various stages of group formation and the new group excelled to perfected.