The Importance Of Leadership In The Flight Of The Phoenix?

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In the movie the Flight of the Phoenix after captain Towns locates James and tries to persuade to return to camp they become involved in a conversation about whether or not to build the airplane. James informs Captain Towns that a man needs at least one of three fundamental human needs to be fulfilled in order to survive which is something to love, something to hope for, and something to do. Captain Towns realizes that in order for him to be an effective leader he needed to fulfill one of these there basic needs as well as persuade Jeremy to return to camp. For each of the basic needs that need to be met there are leadership theories that help explain how a leader may effectively meet these needs. According to Nelson and Quick (2015) the early trait theory “attempts to identity what physical attributes, personal characteristics, and abilities distinguished leaders from other members of a group” (p.188). The need for something to love can be fulfilled by the early trait theory which helps explains the characteristics of a leader which can explain how one interacts and socializes with others, through the process of building the plane a type of brotherly bond occurs between some of the crew. Another type of theory that also explains the need for something to love is the behavioral theory which describes Captain Towns as a laissez-faire type of leader. According to Nelson and Quick (2015), a leader that exhibits a laissez-faire style entails a hands-off approach which usually

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