Leadership Qualities of Aslan from Chronicles of Narnia and Memphis Raines from Gone in 60 Seconds

Leadership Qualities of Aslan from Chronicles of Narnia and Memphis Raines from Gone in 60 seconds

Preface

Aslan

The character I have chosen to write about on his leadership qualities is Aslan the king of Narnia from the book and movie series the Chronicles of Narnia. Narnia is a magical land which exists unknown to the world. Narnia is in the reign of terror and the people are waiting for the fulfillment of a prophecy according to which 4 humans, two males and 2 females will come to their world and save them from the evil witch. Eventually the prophecy comes true when 4 young kids stumble upon the world of Narnia while playing hide and seek in their uncle's estate.

Aslan's appearance is that of a majestic lion. Different people see him in different sizes but he never actually changes. As people mature and develop their characters, they can understand more of his magnificence. Aslan is not only extremely wise but he is very fierce and brave. If needed he can also be very terrifying but he stands for nothing but good and justice. It is as the Narnians say, "He's not a tame lion. He's dangerous, and an unconquerable enemy, but he's unquestionably good" (Lewis 1949). The one and only real king of Narnia is Aslan and all its inhabitants have complete faith and obedience towards him. He does not always stay there but periodically come there to help the people and lead them against any evil present there. He is always watching over them but does not always choose to help solve all their problems as he wants his people to learn to be brave without him as well. Every now and then he brings people to Narnia from Earth to help the people of Narnia during a hard time and also to teach the people of earth a lesson in life.

Memphis Raines

The character on whom I will be conducting a leadership analysis is Memphis Raines from the movie Gone in 60 seconds played by the actor Nicholas Cage. The movie is about a retired car thief, Memphis, who is forced to come out of hiding and get back in business to save his younger brother also a car thief, from a gangster who had given him an order of 50 cars to steal but he could not deliver and his life is put on the line. Memphis has to reassemble his old team and perform a heist of 50 high end cars to save his brother's life.

Memphis was one of the most wanted men in Long Beach. He ran a crew of professional car thieves each with a special skill. He was respected by his entire crew and they always looked to him for inspiration during difficult times. He is a very specific type of leader and knows what he wants from his team. He is also a very loyal person and does what he can to help his family and friends whenever they need him. He may seem easy going but he can be firm whenever he needs to be. He knows how to improvise when needed.

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Introduction

The purpose of this assignment is to show the understanding of the various Leadership concepts. To actually show how much of it is understood, in this assignment a fictitious character who is a leader in his or her respective stories is chosen and the concepts of leadership are applied to them. Their leadership style is identified and then the relevant theory is matched to it and proof is provided as to support the style is as mentioned. This way the concepts are better understood and also with example to enhance the knowledge on this subject.

Effectiveness as a leader - Aslan

As a leader it can be said that Aslan's methods were very effective. Proof of this can be found in all his decisions made throughout the book. Even though Aslan by his behavior or actions with other people did not seem like a very firm or strict leader his very presence around people made them carefully listen and respect his every decision. His behavior can be described as a people centered behavior. People-centered behavior is characterized by more focus put on people when compared to tasks. Aslan cared a lot about his followers and always thought about their well being. No matter how important a task was he would never compromise the safety of those around him. However this approach never hindered the completion of any tasks his team and him set out to accomplish. One example can be seen where one of the four kids were held captive by the witch and despite him knowing the dangers of negotiating with her for his release he went ahead and got the boy out but yet in the end he still triumphed over the witch. Aslan at this point says "all shall be done"(Lewis 1949). This is proof of his concern for the people under him despite the task at hand seeming more important. The Likert's system can be used to define Aslan leadership style in more detail. As per the Likert's system there are three main characteristics to this type of a leader. One is that the leader must have confidence and trust in his team. Second is that the followers must feel a sense of freedom with their leader. They should not feel hesitant to approach him for anything. The third is that the leader should consider the suggestions and opinions of his followers. He must be willing to also apply ideas suggested by his team and not be hell bent on just using his own ideas. Proof that Aslan possesses these qualities can be easily found in the book. One instance is when Aslan is leaving Narnia, he appoints the four humans as the leaders of Narnia in his absence and this is proof that he trusts their ability