Maximus Decimus Meridius' The Leadership Techniques in The Movie Gladiator

Abstract

Leaders and Supervisors come in all shapes and sizes and all have different leadership styles they are never one in the same and it works for them in different environments and scenarios. In this paper, I will be discussing the leadership techniques utilized in the movie Gladiator by the main leader named Maximus Decimus Meridius. In this film, this leader makes both great and horrible decisions showing that every leader is not perfect but can still be successful.

Supervisory Techniques

Everyone at some point in their life has experienced both a good and a better leader. What most people realize is that every leader or supervisor is completely different, and they are never one in the same. People tend to focus on the good leaders and always dismiss or do not pay much attention to the bad leaders. However, even bad leaders can teach an individual something about leadership or supervision. The bad leader will teach an individual not how not to act when they eventually get put into a leadership position. Good leaders are ones that people follow and try to emulate such as the main character Maximus Decimus Meridius in the movie Gladiator by MacDonald, L.

The movie Gladiator it portrays a story of a general in the Roman army who is loyal to the king and is favored over the king’s own son Commodus due to his valor, skill, and leadership in combat. This upsets the king’s son and fills him with jealousy and greed. With this Commodus assassinated his own father and blames it on Maximus whose then branded a traitor and is sentenced to death. Maximus escapes death but his family is brutally slaughtered by Commodus’s men. Maximus is then forced into slavery to become a Gladiators where he starts his path of revenge to kill Commodus.

In the movie, Maximus portrays multiple leadership skills for him and his man to best survive the gladiator games and win the crowd. Maximus' top three leadership skills were building trust, setting the example for others to follow, and building group cohesiveness and pride. When Maximus first enters the Gladiator games in his first match he was met with overwhelming odds and still manages to demonstrate courage and tactics. This showed the other men that he knew what he was doing and how to best defeat the enemy. In this, the other men started to follow Maximus and listen to his orders which resulted in their first victory. The way Maximus demonstrated building trust amongst his warriors was through always having their back and trying to keep them safe. He did this in one of the gladiator battles by breaking is a fortified position to save on of his fellow comrades. This instilled trust within his group, which led to building cohesiveness and pride amongst the warriors. During the film, you began to see this slowly develop as a movie goes on. You start to see Maximus and his warriors become less serious with each other and begin to make jokes and laugh and become a brotherhood. This helped them during their battles in the gladiator games because they knew they could rely on each other and they had something they were fighting for.

Most of Maximus' supervisor techniques were effective but not every leader is perfect and there were some moments during this film where Maximus was at his weakest. Maximus was great at developing his team and making them strong. However, during the film, there were a couple of aspects of leadership skills that Maximus fell short of, such as being an active coach. Maximus spent most of the time trying to figure out how he was going to get his revenge and how to survive to do it. He never really took the time to focus on his men and what they needed to be successful. it was more of just following Maximus to help him get his revenge. One scene during this film that I would of done differently was trying to escape the camp. Towards the end of the film, Maximus converses with the queen who he trusts to escape the gladiator camp but ends up not being successful and half of his men get slaughtered along with him being captured. If I was in this situation I would of the used the queen to help bring the other half of Maximus' army to Rome and also find the king's weaknesses along with finding the best way to fight him. This would of saved my men and given me the upper advantage on defeating the king.

Supervising in a high-stress environment such as a combat environment is completely different than supervising in a peacetime environment such as an office job. The biggest difference between the two is time-critical decision-making. In a combat environment, a leader or supervisor does not have a lot of time to make decisions and must think quickly in order to complete the objective and try to save his men. In combat, things are happening so fast and the dynamics are always changing that is why it’s important to make timely decisions. Unlike a peacetime job, the dynamics of the work environment do not shift drastically within a short period of time and the mission usually stays the same. This allows leaders to properly think and give themselves enough time to make the right decision.

The supervisory trait I most relate to is setting the example for others to follow. I do this through hard work, professionalism, conduct, and physical fitness. Every day within the Marine Corps I demonstrate this to my Marines whether that be through going on runs early in the morning to make sure my Marines stay within standards or showing Marines how to properly do their job and how to excel in it. Every day I come into work with a good attitude ready to lead, train, and equip my Marines with the tools they need to be successful.

I am a firm believer in learning through experience and that is why “textbook” leaders are not effective and are typically weak. The best leaders learn from experience whether that be from doing things right or even doing things wrong at times. Either way, this builds a leader’s confidence and teaches that individual what leadership style they possess. For example, when I was first put into a leadership position within the Marine Corps I did not know how to act or even lead my Marines/ I would sometimes act out on emotion or pretend I knew something I didn’t and I realized that this is not the right way and over time through experience, I started to learn what a strong leader is and began to emulate that.

I hear a lot of people say that individuals are born a leader. I don’t necessarily believe that. I think anyone if they put the time and work in can mold themselves into a leader. This can happen through experiences, knowledge, and attitude. If an individual develops those attributes, they can make themselves into a leader that everyone will listen to and follow. It is also important to understand that leaders also make mistakes and it is important to recognize them, own them, and learn from them to never repeat that mistake and fix deficiencies. This will make a leader successful in any goal they set for themselves like Maximus in the movie Gladiator.

References

1. Afholderbach, S. (1998). supervisory techniques: a supervisor’s perspective. SuperVision, 59(6), 11–13. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195588914/
2. CiteSeerX. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/
3. Speyer, H. (1948). Review of Supervisory Techniques in Public Assistance Agencies, 18(2), 377–377. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1948.tb05099.x