Introduction
In today’s incredibly diverse and multicultural world, leaders should comprehend the numerous perspectives of individuals under their direction to fight for their firm’s unity and success based on a unified corporate objective. As a result of the rise of globalization, leaders are responsible for fostering social peace within an environment characterized by a high level of cultural diversity. Interactions between individuals of many cultural backgrounds occur in cross-cultural settings throughout the United States, including but not limited to businesses, schools, and all public spaces. In such a culturally varied setting, leadership styles and strategies must be devised to achieve the goal of bringing about change and developing a shared organizational culture. Leaders should influence the moral and ethical values of the people they lead by setting a positive example, regardless of the chosen leadership style. Bringing about change in a culturally diverse society is a challenging professional task for leaders. This difficulty necessitates not just the formation of an influence but also a complex paradigm based on the best ideas, beliefs, and practices.
The movie Remember the Titans illustrates how two coaches and a football team were able to effectively lead during a time when society was deeply fractured along racial, ethnic, and cultural identities. In a country ripped apart by hatred and anger due to ethnic and racial intolerance, the film’s assistant coach, Bill Yoast, exhibited the fundamentals of good leadership techniques through his actions. The event takes place in a radical integrated Williams High School in Virginia, the state with the highest rate of racial tension in 1970 (Yakin, 2000). There were racial tensions on the football team when Coach Boone took over team management from Yoast as head coach. This was since all-white and all-black teams needed to be combined to produce a cohesive football team.
In the face of antagonism based on culture and race, Coach Boone took a courageous leadership action and stood his ground to unite the squad and ensure they would win. In the end, Boone and Yoast successfully got rid of the racial animosity among the players while they were at a camp practicing against society’s expectations (Yakin, 2000). Despite society’s plan to undermine the efforts of the coaches to keep the squad together, Yoast demonstrated that solid leadership could establish influence and a single purpose with a common interest in a group of people.
Leadership Analysis in Remember the Titans
Coach Yoast did not want to collaborate with Coach Boone to be a part of the football squad, demonstrating his leadership level. However, he did what they asked since the white team convinced him. Yoast was tough on the whites without showing any signs of bias and did the right thing by including blacks in the game while excluding whites. Despite the racial prejudice suffered by blacks in society, he offered them an opportunity to be part of the team amid the criticism he faced. When he witnessed the referee cheating during the game to favor the opponents, whose team was made of white, he confronted him and threatened to expose him if he did not stop cheating. He also indicated that he would put his job on the line if the referee did not stop cheating (Yakin, 2000). He said it was the first time he had ever stood up before another white man and tried to do the right thing for black people; that leadership role was exceptional and influential. This trait is quite significant for any leader who wants to change the mentality of any society.
A change leader should demonstrate adjustability, caution, and skepticism, but he should have servant-oriented and employee-focused leadership styles. They should be in control of both the legitimate and relevant powers. Yoast possessed all these traits by accepting a lower post despite his years of dedication to the team. He was so focused on the welfare and success of the team that he was willing to put aside his ambitions to head the team but let Boone lead the team. He even goes ahead to unite the team members and the community by showing his unwavering support for the new boss, which many people in the community did not cherish due to his race.
Taking on a leadership position as the assistant head coach during the integration of white and black teammates demonstrated the confidence a good leader requires to perform effectively in an environment with a diverse cultural makeup. Following Boone’s appointment, students and parents expressed their displeasure with him. The athletic department threatened to dismiss him if the Titans suffered even one loss during his term and did not improve their record (Yakin, 2000). Despite all the frustrations, Yoast supported Boone to ensure the team’s success. He was instrumental in playing a vital role that positively impacted the whites’ acceptance and appreciation of Boone’s hard work for the team. Change leaders should always be ready to support their superiors in any way possible to ensure the success of their organizations amid the challenges they may face. By offering unconditional support to his superior, Yoast could ensure that the team members and the community would appreciate the head coach’s impact.
In the movie, Coach Yoast displays many impressive leadership talents and attributes. Yoast demonstrates that he is a strong leader by accepting Boone’s offer to become an assistant coach for the team, even though Yoast possesses more outstanding qualifications and experience than Boone does. Yoast was replaced as the squad’s head coach. It exemplifies the quality of humility, which is essential for an effective leader that aspires to change the culture of any organization or society (Clark et al., 2019). Yoast also receives multiple offers for head coaching jobs from other institutions, but he decides to remain with the Titans, for whom he has been a coach for approximately ten years.
Yoast illustrates that diverse leadership styles do not preclude leaders from cooperating well by utilizing Boone’s autocratic method of directing the team. As the leader of the Titans, Yoast was known for treating all his team members with respect and fairness, even going so far as to replace white players with black teammates in certain situations. Additionally, there was a possibility that he would be promoted to head coach if Boone were to lose a game, yet he did not prioritize his interests over those of the squad in any way. He was more focused on ensuring the team’s success and outstanding performance by being loyal to his superior despite the negativity suffered by Boone.
The defensive coaching role that Coach Yoast held allowed him to demonstrate participative leadership. His method was significantly distinct from that of Boone, who was shown as a coach who is gentler, more caring, and more understanding than the head coach’s method, and who is opposed to such autocratic methods. This method of leadership, known as participatory leadership, calls for increased subordinate involvement in supervision, communication, and decision-making (Clark et al., 2019). Without involving the head coach, this strategy encourages team members to cooperate and makes resolving conflicts easier. Yoast chose to abstain from the confrontation between the white and black teammates and allowed the players to work through their issues amongst themselves.
Yoast made numerous attempts to caution Coach Boone about pushing the athletes to go beyond their limits during training and any confrontations that may have occurred. The example of Yoast indicates that a participative leadership approach is primarily focused on attaining the team’s goal rather than individual goals or feelings of gratitude. This attribute is vital for any leader who wants to ensure there is change within the organization. For the sake of his team and the athletes he coaches, he is willing to put aside his personal goal of being a head coach who gets inducted into the hall of fame.
One of the most crucial leadership traits for effecting social change is the capacity to challenge and inspire individuals to dedicate themselves to a more significant cause. It includes persuading them that the team’s goal toward which they are working is far more essential than their own individual goals and interests (Clark et al., 2019). Individuals can also rally behind a broader shared goal by appealing to their individuality and humanity through an external story. Coach Boone used a non-football-related historical story about the Gettysburg cemetery to educate the players on the importance of treating one another with respect and avoiding fighting amongst themselves during training. This method was highly beneficial in generating a bigger context, which appealed to the team’s desire to concentrate on their established goal.
When regaining control of a precarious circumstance, leaders need to be aware of when and how it is appropriate for them to stand up and step back. According to the movie, Coach Yoast decides to sit back and let Boone take leadership of the defense while the game is in progress (Yakin, 2000). This demonstrates that Yoast has understood the necessity of offering Boone his job during the championship when he finds himself trying to control the defense. In addition to this, Boone takes a step back and allows Garry Bertier to handle Ray, who was not performing very well for the squad. This demonstrates that Boone, in his leadership role, had faith in the capabilities of his subordinate leaders.
Conclusion
Lessons about effective leadership in a diverse environment can be gleaned from the movie Remember the Titans, which features African American, Native American, and European characters. Bringing about change in society comes with several repercussions, one of which is the need to make crucial decisions as a leader. These repercussions of the actions that leaders make to bring about a change in society have long-term impacts when considering the overarching objective of the organization. It is clear from watching the movie that diverse leadership methods should be utilized to accomplish the overarching objective. In addition, those in positions of authority should demonstrate fundamental leadership qualities such as having a vision, cultivating personal connections and trust, and assuming and relinquishing leadership responsibilities as appropriate.
References
Clark, L., Johnson, M. W., Sales, L., & King, L. G. (2019). Remember the Titans: The lived curriculum of black physical education teacher education scholars in the U.S.Sport, Education and Society, 25(5), 507–517. Web.
Yakin, B. (2000). Remember the Titans [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures.