Titans
Change leaders are defined as "individuals with innovative solutions to society's most pressing social problems," (Reach for Change, 2012). As such, change leaders undertake roles that are greater than the job itself. The role of the change leader is not only to achieve the goals of the team, but also to affect normative changes that can represent paradigm shifts. Coach Herman Boone of the Williams High football club in Alexandria, Virginia was one such change leader. Depicted by Denzel Washington in the 2000 film Remember the Titans, Coach Boone motivated his team to an undefeated season and the championship. He did so not only through effective coaching leadership, but also through the change leadership required for changes to broader social norms related to race and power. When he became coach, Boone found himself working in an environment that remained hostile to change. The community was legally integrated, but completely segregated in practice. With little impetus for change, the community remained stagnant. Boone's change leadership transformed community norms and behaviors through his effective efforts as a football coach.
Boone's leadership can therefore be broken down into its two core components: his leadership as a coach, and his leadership in the community. The former type of leadership represents Boone's official position and title as the school's new head coach. The second type of leadership was an unofficial, tacit position that paralleled his role as a coach. Without serving as a catalyst for change in the community, and without recognizing the social and political context in which he operated, Coach Boone would never have understood how to reach out and motivate the players. Yet without having an arena within which to demonstrate his leadership skills, such as football, Coach Boone might not have been able to affect change in his community. Boone succeeds because he integrated two distinct types of leadership.
As a coach, Boone develops a synthetic leadership style appropriate for the coaching situation. When he first speaks with the players, he states, "This is not a democracy. This is dictatorship. I am the law." An authoritarian leadership style such as this might be counterproductive in some organizations, but it works well within the context of a high school. The team members are still adolescents who have yet to develop their own strengths as players, let alone their ability to participate in a democracy. Therefore, the style of leadership Boone exhibits on the outset helps to garner respect from the teammates. He comes across as being a strong and assertive leader, and his authority is only questioned on the grounds of his race.
Later, it becomes apparent that Boone's seeming authoritarianism is reserved only for working with the kids. When Boone works with his colleagues, he comports himself differently and reveals his ability to take situational variables into account. Boone actively solicits advice, input, and support from the former coach, Bill Yoast (Wil Patton), who also happens to be white. With Yoast's support, Boone creates a tight team that would never have formed had Boone cultivated mistrust, resentment, or antagonism. The difficulties Boone faces in the early weeks of his position seem insurmountable, as the white players have deeply rooted prejudices. Boone is wise enough to recognize that those prejudices can be erased, and serves as a change leader in order to reveal the root causes of those racist beliefs. Boone knows that the students are not bad individuals, but victims of dysfunctional patterns of social learning that have taken place over the course of several generations of norming. The community itself needs transformation, and Boone becomes the inadvertent change leader.
Boone's style of change leadership reflects core principles including acting with purpose, acting with empathy, motivating the masses, collaborating in order to compete, and remaining humble and confident at the same time (Fullan, 2011). Coach Boone demonstrates what is known as "impressive empathy," defined as the ability and willingness to understand those who disagree with or even oppose. Faced with tremendous opposition on the part of the white players, Boone musters all the dignity...
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