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Movie Review We Were Soldiers Once Essay

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Movie Review: We Were Soldiers Once Angela Lewis Student ID# 5849
Mountain State University, GIDS 504
Dr. Kenneth Miller

There is a plethora of exemplary leadership examples depicted in the movie entitled We Were Soldiers Once. Mel Gibson was brilliant in his leading role as Lt. Colonel Hal Moore who led his brigade into battle in Vietnam by being and doing exactly what he expected of his troops. He led by example. He modeled the way. He also exemplified the same leadership qualities portrayed on the battlefield in his roles as father and husband. Not only did Moore signify leadership qualities in his roles, but he expressed his commitment to leadership at all levels of his battalion by delegating that responsibility to all…show more content…
In so doing, they empower their subordinates and build their confidence.
This is vital to a thriving organization because empowerment says that the leader will stand behind you and support you when the going gets tough. He was also very direct and honest. He gave them no false hope by being straightforward with them about the possibility of not coming home alive. However, he did promise that they would all come home, dead or alive. Leaders have to be authentic and even at the worst possible outcome show integrity. This is how one creates a climate of trust and creating a climate of trust should be a leader’s first order of business. If there is mutual trust among the leader and his constituents, they can carry out their assignment with diligence, commitment and empowerment; when subordinates feel empowered they can move forward with creativity and initiative.
Colonel Moore demonstrated his creativity in the scene where the cannon would not fire because it was too hot and they had no water supply to cool it off. He showed that he was a leader who could think on his feet and improvise. He stood up and starting pissing on the cannon to cool it off and ordered his men to do the same. In war, and many times in business and personal
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