Leadership In Dead Poet Society

In the movie Dead Poet Society there were two characters that take on leadership roles. The first leader in the movie was John Keating, who was a professor. Professor Keating had a designated leadership over the boys that were in his classes (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013, pg. 102). He also had position power in his class. Within the 5M Model of Leadership, Professor Keating mentored members of the class that he taught (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013, pg. 116). One of the ways we see him doing this is through the encouragement of one of his students Neil Perry. Abigail Anundson talks about the way Professor Keating mentors in her article Carpe Diem and Coming-of-Age in Dead Poet Society saying, “Keating cares enough about his students to push them to be

93). Neil also took on a role as leader within the group of boys who formed the dead poet society. The power that Neil had in the group stemmed from the personal power that he had (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013, pg. 105). Because of the relationships that he had with each of the boys in the group they knew him well enough to trust him and follow his lead. From the 5M Model of Leadership, Neil used motivation as a leader (Engleberg & Wynn, 2013, pg. 114). One of the ways we see him motivate his friends is when he encourages them through poetry to be brave and to pursue excitement. He continually tells them that “nothing is impossible.” One of the ways that Neil, and other boys in the group use motivation to achieve their goals is seen when Knox Overstreet pursues the girl of his dreams, Chris Noel. Although he is unsure of himself, he is continually encouraged not to give up, and eventually gets her

In the beginning of the movie when the boys are forming the dead poet society Neil encourages Todd to join them. Todd refuses because of his fear of public speaking, but Neil affirms that he should be apart of the group. Todd reluctantly joins them and eventually grows to feel that he has a place among the group. Another time that Neil encourages Todd is on his birthday when he receives a gift from his parents on his birthday of a desk set. Although it is a beautiful gift he tells Neil that his parents sent him the same set the year before. Neil takes time to listen to Todd’s pain and frustration, and encourages him to break the desk set. Both of these conversations have a positive effect on the group because of the encouragement that they had on Todd. The first conversation was to encourage him to join the group and the second conversation to live into the groups attitude of seizing the day. There are also sidebar conversations between Professor Keating and Neil. Throughout the movie Neil struggles between living into the dreams that he has or following the expectations of his parents. Professor Keating encourages Neil to try and talk to his dad about continuing in to follow his dreams. In ()’s article Measuring Peer Group Effects: A Study of Teenage Behavior says, “ We might reasonably expect to find that this