Leadership in Braveheart

Leadership in "Braveheart"

In today's rapidly changing world, leadership is necessary to keep up with the competition. In the extract from the film “Braveheart”, William Wallace demonstrated many leadership techniques that helped his army prevail as an underdog. Many of the techniques Wallace used are prevalent in modern day business leaders as well. By stepping up in a leadership role, Wallace gained the respect of the entire army even though he was not the man that was put in charge. One of the main things that Wallace did was lead through his actions. By stepping up to the front line, it showed his troops that he was not scared and this attitude was imitated by the rest of the troops. In the present day business world, an effective leader hears what others have to say and helps them with their issues. This is just what Wallace did.

In the short extract of “Braveheart” Wallace showed what was necessary to be a successful leader. There are many lessons that should be gained from watching William Wallace. First, no matter what the situation was, he was very calm and composed. He was very calm when speaking with the head of the opposing army and very composed while his army was being charged at by opposing forces, even though they were obviously much outnumbered. Another characteristic of how Wallace displayed leadership was his confidence and sense of humor throughout the entire scene. He ordered his troops to pull their pants down and “moon” the English in the middle of a war standoff. I think that this was a very good technique to loosen up the troops and make them more comfortable and confident. Also his confidence was very apparent throughout the war. He told his army that they would lose some lives but in the end they would recover their freedom. The army saw his confidence and in turn, they became more confident about victory as well. Other techniques Wallace used were being inspirational, motivational and patriotic. Before the war started, most of the troops were very uneasy and started to turn around and head home. Wallace came to the front of them, got their attention and made a very inspiring speech that fired them up and turned there attention back to the task at hand. The Scottish army was ready to turn back and concede their freedom to the English. Wallace showed patriotism by painting his face blue for the Scottish flag and encouraged h...

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...man and the maker of the Model T Ford car. He said, “If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.” William Wallace was never interested in money or fame. He stood up for what he thought was the right thing, and encouraged his followers to do the same. “Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently”, says Ford. Ford knew that he would not succeed at all times but if he learned from his mistakes and tried again, he would eventually win. Wallace had the same mentality. He knew that his army would lose some of their troops during the battle, but if they were victorious, they would learn from there loses and grow strong again.

There are many leadership lessons that William Wallace exposed in this short extract of “Braveheart”. These examples of leadership are very important in being a successful leader in the modern day business world as well. By standing strong in adversity, Wallace got the attention of his army and inspired them into battle.

Wallace acts as a great guide of how businessmen should effectively lead their employees today.