Claudia Capone
Chuck – FYSM
Writing prompt #3
9/19/19
Behavior is described as the way a person conducts oneself or behaves towards others. It is difficult to categorize behavior into two distinct categories because it varies so much. Behavior is important in a leadership role because people look to you when they need an example or when they need guidance. Most leaders are looked at to be a role model. It seems like a difficult task to do but researchers have limited the varying behaviors of leaders into two distinct categories. The first is a task behavior where the leader is driven by a goal accomplishment and help or command the group to achieve what they set out to do. A relationship behavior helps the followers feel comfortable with their leader and themselves in their situation. These behaviors fall into many different types of leaderships not just the big CEOs or the army generals it applies to factory workers and small business owners or managers. A good leader would be a combination of the two where they would be set on a goal to achieve while also being concerned for their followers and the relationships they have with them. But that is not the case sometimes. Different leaders lead to different successes and some successes are better than others. In the example of the movie Patton General Patton differs tremendously from General Bradley in the ways that they lead and their general behaviors.
General Patton is known as a war hero and a great general and saying that he is a good general isn’t incorrect, he won many battles and advanced into or freed a lot of land, but he wasn’t always seen as good to the public eye. He was successful in getting the task at hand done and doing it in a speedy fashion which got him positive attention from the enemy and the public. But he was also known for getting attention in a negative way. He wasn’t the poster war general. He was very selfish at many points in the movie. When Patton was given the direction to cover General Montgomery’s flank when the Allies invaded Sicily in the southwest. When the Allies got heavy fire and had trouble moving forward Patton defied orders and moves northwest to Palermo and then advances to Messina just barely beating Montgomery. Patton didn’t do this for the benefit of the Allied forces he did this risky move so that his American name could be on the freeing of Messina and he could lead a charge. Not only was Patton disrespecting his superiors by disobeying orders he was also disrespecting his soldiers. When entering the field hospital to honor the wounded he comes across a morally and mentally wounded soldier and slaps him across the head and threatens to shoot him while also calling him a coward. He then sends this soldier to the front line as punishment. This example shows a task behavior because he is more concerned about the soldier fighting rather than the mental well-being of this man and because of this incident Patton was relived from command and put on suspension. This happens again when his mouth gets him in trouble when talking about the Russians and this defied orders again when he was told to watch what he says. A good leader would do what he is told for the benefit of the army as a collective whether it is following orders or respecting the soldiers that risk their lives under a command.
On the completely opposite side of behavior there is General Bradley who presents relationship behavior. When it comes to ranking General Bradley ended in higher ranks compared to General Patton. Bradley respected his higher authority by following his assignments while also keeping to himself. Not only did he show relationship behavior towards his superiors he also showed it toward his men and respected his men and the work they did. For this, he was respected by all and seen as a great authoritative leader. In the end of the movie he was in command of Patton. While he was good with keeping his relationships intact and respectful, he also got the job done. This mixture of behaviors is what made him more successful and get to the positions he was put in. He made the decisions that put his men and the army first while also thinking what is important for the development of the war. He was there to put Patton in check and to call him off his high horse, which needed to be done, and also encouraged him to be a better leader towards his men. This showed towards the end of the movie when he told his men he was proud of them and marched alongside them. Without Bradley being the better leader Patton would have gotten himself into more trouble and caused a lot more problems for the army and the country. Bradley not only showed great leadership but also great friendship with everyone he encountered while also maintaining control.
The type of leadership the I emulate with is the type of leadership that gets respect by giving respect and inspires to get the assignment done. This type of leadership resembles the leadership skills and behaviors that Bradley shows. If I were in a position above or below Bradley, I would be able to look to him for a solid instruction and to look towards him as a role model to be set. He climbed his way up to a high position in the army and did it in a way that is noble and not in a way that Patton did where he defied orders and put people down on his way up. Bradley brought people up with him including Patton a few times after he was put down for his mouth or actions. Overall Bradley is the better leader because he was most successful and was a good person to the people that surrounded him. He was looked at as a role model and was fair to everyone. He showed a good medium between the task behavior and the relationship behavior which is what every good leader should display to be successful with his men and with his task.