achilles justice

Anna Wintour: Editor of Vogue Magazine

Introduction 

           Anna Wintour is the editor of Vogue magazine, a fashion media staple for the industry. She has grown through the ranks of Vogue and maintained success within the media outlet and place as the predominant leader on fashion. The documentary The September Issue (2007) will be used as evidence in the application of leadership theories. Wintour displays many leadership qualities that will be analyzed with the following theories: The Big Five model of personality, the Ohio State style model of leadership, and the process centered model of Leadership Member Exchange (LMX) theory. After defining each theory and connecting the theory to the leadership of Wintour through examples, a conclusion of her leadership qualities in general will be discussed. 

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The Big Five 

           The Big Five, or the five factor model, has determined the fundamental traits that make up our personalities. (Northouse, 2022, p. 35) The five traits, using the acronym OCEAN, are:

• Openness - being informed, creative, insightful and curious.

• Conscientiousness - to be thorough, organized, control, dependable, and decisive.

• Extraversion - sociability, assertiveness and having positive emotional energy.

• Agreeableness - acceptance, conformity, being trusting, and a nurturing disposition. 

• Neuroticism - depressive/ anxious disposition, feeling insecure, vulnerable and hostile. (Northouse, 2022, p.35) 

Every person can be understood within each of these domains as falling on a spectrum. Some people will display high agreeableness, whereas others will have a predisposition towards being disagreeable. Gerhardt (2002) conducted a meta analysis study and found a priority ranking of these traits which determine an effective leader; first was extraversion, then conscientiousness, openness, low neuroticism, and lastly agreeableness. (Northouse, 2022, p.35-36) Conscientiousness was found by Sacket and Walmsley (2014) to be correlated with job and task performance, organizational citizenship behaviour and a negative correlation with counterproductive behaviour. (Northouse, 2022, p. 36) 

          When applying the five factor model to Wintour, it can be seen that she displayed certain qualities of leadership. Wintour shows extraversion in the form of sociability and is the most important factor identified by Gerhardt as a leadership trait. Simply by being the face of Vogue as the editor in chief one would need high extroversion. The documentary depicts Wintour attending many social functions and represents the company in a public setting. She is constantly traveling internationally in large public settings, often in the front row of large social events. She is comfortable being in the spotlight and on film throughout the entire documentary. She is also very assertive by communicating to all of her staff which outfits fit and which do not for the issue at hand. Assertiveness is necessary to be an editor for one has to articulate and make judgments towards others all day. This is shown in many scenes in the documentary where Wintour is critiquing outfits on models, sketches for designs and photographs that are supposed to be in the magazine. Lastly, Wintour lacks an abundance of positive emotional energy for she is relatively stable and almost has a flat affect during the whole documentary. She references one conversation with her father when he decided to retire because of becoming so upset as an editor. We could infer that her near flat effect is due to making an effort not to become angry like her father did. Of the three elements of extraversion, she is only lacking in an abundance of positive emotional energy but clearly shows sociability and assertiveness throughout the documentary. 

          To be the editor of such a prestigious and successful magazine, one would need a high trait of conscientiousness. Wintour shows high conscientiousness in being thorough in her meticulousness when critiquing outfits, Takoon’s design sketches, and photos to be in the magazine. Only a person who is organized would be able to manage such a large international company and many staff to produce a magazine of such caliber. She shows control and decisiveness by directing all her staff on what should and should not be incorporated into the issue. Lastly, her dependability is seen in how all of her staff rely on her whenever there is confusion or a need for her expert opinion. 

On the trait of openness, Wintour shows how informed and insightful she is about the nature of contemporary fashion by having a sense of where their place is within the general political structure of the industry. She does this by using her fashion sense to critique outfits and manage her staff with the best interest of the magazine. Within the documentary she shows creativity within her own outfits that match the rooms that the scenes are being shot. (Cutler, 2007, 108:00) She lastly shows her curiosity in recommending different solutions to the problems that they face like when the actress’s wig was not working, the photos from Italy were problematic, and thinking of the 1920s theme. 

           Wintour shows a low trait of neuroticism which is in line with the priority ranking of Gerhardt’s meta analysis of leadership. She shows no signs of depressive or anxious dispositions but a stable, near flat affect throughout many different kinds of situations and stress levels. When content from Italy did not meet her standards and they were near the deadline, she was able to deal with the problem without becoming upset or having an outburst. All other staff displayed emotional instability but she was the most stable. (Cutler, 2007, 52:00, 106:00, 111:00) She did not show insecurity, vulnerability or hostility at any time but displayed confidence and assertiveness in a variety of situations. She was vulnerable in the scene with her daughter and wanted her to join the company, but it was within a healthy context and she did not allow her daughter's disagreement or difference in values to change her demeanor. 

Lastly, Wintour shows a very low agreeableness trait from the five factor model. She is constantly disagreeing with outfits, design sketches and photos. For example she “killed all of Grace's stories,” by removing large sections of photos and thousands of dollars. (Cutler, 2007, 48:33) Wintour’s job is essentially to disagree with the interests of the magazine’s success and to promote what contemporary fashion is for the world. 

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Ohio State 

           The Ohio State theory is based on Stogdill’s (1948) approach of analyzing a leader on behavioural dimensions; specifically Initiating Structure and Consideration. (Northouse, 2022, p. 84)  Task orientation, or initiating structure, has to do with behaviours that facilitate goal accomplishment but helping those participating in achieving objectives, organizing work, defining roles, and determining policies and procedures for production. (Northouse, 2022, p. 84-5) Relationship Orientation, or consideration, behaviours are forwarded towards making the followers increase their level of comfort with themselves, connection and comradire with other members of the organization and comfort with the situation or circumstance they are faced with. (Northouse, 2022, p. 84-5) 

          Leaders provide structure to subordinates and nurture them to follow that structure. The two dimensions of the Ohio State theory, Initiating Structure and Consideration, are two different dimensions that are distinct and independent on different continuums. (Northouse, 2022, 86) 

          Wintour is clearly a high initiating structure throughout the documentary, she is absorbed and focused on making the issue perfect before the deadline. Even subtly, she directs people out of her way when she is viewing photographs so that she can see them clearly, at the risk of being perceived as rude, “excuse me.” (Cutler, 2007, 40:57) Her primary focus as a leader is to produce the highest quality magazine and accept the cost and loss of people who can’t take the criticism. Grace often complains about having all of her work removed from the final publication and she is the one who Wintour has the strongest relationship with. 

          Wintour displays a high initiating structure and a low consideration style of leadership. Her low consideration is shown in her shallow relationships with the members of her staff and a disregard for how her criticism may affect them emotionally, she is “not accessible to people.” (Cutler, 2007, 11:50) Many people quit the position because of the harsh criticism that she gives which is indicative of a low consideration.

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Leader Member Exchange (LMX) 

          Leader member exchange has to do with the process and development of the relationship and interactions between a leader and their subordinates. Of relevance here are the three phases of leadership-member relationships: the stranger phase, acquaintance phase and mature partnership. 

          The Stranger Phase is based on a rule-bound, low quality, contractual context for their relationship through organizational roles. The follower complies to the leader who has hierarchical power in exchange for economic resources that is based on a self-interested motivation. (Northouse, 2022, p. 162) The Acquaintance Phase begins with an offer from the leader or follower for an improved social exchange in their career through resource or information sharing. The follower is tested in their ability to take on more responsibilities and the leader provides challenges. These medium quality exchanges develop greater trust and respect in their shift from self-interests towards valuing the goals of the group. (Northouse, 2022, p. 163) The mature partnership shows high quality exchange between the leader and follower shown with mutual trust, respect and obligation. There is a dependency between each other for favors and assistance with high reciprocity. (Northouse, 2022, p. 163-4)   

          The relationship between Anna and Grace as depicted in the documentary is in the mature partnership phase. (Cutler, 2007, 32:00) There are moments where Anna asks Grace if she needs anything from her, “do you need anything from me?” which would show high quality exchange and reciprocation. (Cutler, 2007, 47:41) Winter shows a great deal of respect for Grace, “Grace is a genius.” (Cutler, 2007, 123:00) The problem would be that we do not see the development of this relationship through the three stages of stranger, acquaintance to mature partnership in the documentary. We only observe the final stage of the LMX phases. In contrast, Wintour’s relationship with Takoon shows the development progressing through the first initial stages of stranger and acquaintance, where Takoon is fearful of shaking her hand (Cutler, 2007, 28:00) towards Wintour helping Takoon in his career by recommending him to work for Gap. (Cutler, 2007, 39:49) 

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Conclusion

          The three theories provided here all exemplify elements of Wintour’s leadership qualities. In terms of the Big 5, she is high in extroversion, high in conscientiousness, medium in openness, low in neuroticism and agreeableness. The Ohio State theory shows us that she is high in task initiation and low in consideration. This theory exemplifies her focus on a quality product over establishing relations with subordinates. Finally, there is evidence of LMX theory in the final stage with grace, a mature partnership and the first two stages with Takoon, stranger and acquaintance. Each of these theories is shown within the documentary to some degree and helps understand the qualities of Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue magazine’s leadership style.

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References 

     Cutler, R.J. (Director). (2007) The September Issue. [Documentary]. A&E IndieFilms. Actual Reality Pictures. 

Northouse, Peter. G. (2022) Leadership. Sage Publications. 

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Case Study Analysis: The Devil Wears Prada

Introduction

           Leadership within an organizational context has many factors and ways to analyze its effectiveness. I will be doing a case study analysis on the film The Devil Wears Prada (2006) to show how the main character, Miranda, falls within five different dimensions of leadership: followership, the full range model of leadership, ethics, negative leadership and Path-Goal Theory. I will begin each section with a summary of what the theoretical dimension is about then do a case study analysis and a conclusion. All time stamps are from the same director, Frankel so will only have the time and not his name. 

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Followership 

           There exists a reciprocal relationship between leadership and followership. In an organizational and social context, leaders need followers, just as followers need a leader. Followership is defined as “a process whereby an individual or individuals accept the influence of others to accomplish a common goal.” (Northouse 2022, p. 352) Followership is just as important a role in the organizational dynamic to understand and explore. 

           The development of followership skills improves independent thinking, increases self-management, learning how to disagree in a constructive way, building credibility, and acting in a responsible way towards the organization, colleagues, the leader, and oneself. (Scott 2022, L. 9) We will look closely at the relevant types within the two theoretical models of followership: Kelly and Kellerman’s Follower Types. 

          The relevant Kelly’s Follower Types for the film are conformist, alienated, pragmatist, and exemplary. With the passive type, the followers act like mindless ‘sheep’ who lack initiative and responsibility. The conformist type has a disposition towards a “YES” approach to situations that is dependent on the leader, creating a deferential and servile relationship. The alienated type is a critical and independent approach harboring a cynical and negative attitude towards the leader. The pragmatist type focused on adaptation in surviving changes in the organization and ensuring not to compromise their interests. Finally, the exemplary type has an energetic, assertive, independent thinking approach that takes risks for the leader and organization. (Scott 2022, L.9)

          The relevant Kellerman Follower Types are participants, activists and diehards. The participant type has an engaging stance to support or rise against the leader. The activist type are agents of change that believe in their leaders beliefs. Lastly, the diehards show an extreme form of engagement where they are consumed by their position or role. (Scott 2022, L. 9)

 

Case Study Analysis: Part 1

          In the film, there are three primary followers of Miranda: Nigel, Emily and Andrea. Nigel shows 4 different follower styles between the two followership theories, Within Kelly’s Follower types, he displays the exemplary and conformist type. As an exemplary type, he is assertive and independent thinking in bringing Andrea shoes when she first starts working. (33:49) The second type within Kelly’s framework, he is conformist by saying yes to Miranda’s suggestion for a dress in a situation where everyone’s opinion is dependent on Miranda. (22:31)

          In the Kellerman framework, Nigel displays two different types: participant and activist. As a participant type, he supports Miranda when Andrea is upset with her, showing he takes an engaging stance to support Miranda against opposition. (33:00) As an activist type, Nigel displays this in many ways as an agent of change that believes in Miranda’s beliefs. He brings emily shoes (15:48), telling andrea how fattening the soup is (20:16), discusses why the magazine is so important to him and how he believes in it then helps andrea in finding new outfits (33:49), finally when he loses his position with Holt, he accepts and believes in Miranda (1:35:00). Of all the Followership Types, Nigel shows a disposition towards being An activist under Kellerman’s theory. 

          Emily shows two primary followership types between both Kelly and Kellerman’s theories. In Kelly’s theory, she displays being a pragmatist by making an effort to adapt to the assistant change,  being concerned about not being fired if Andrea doesn't work out (13:06), and If Andrea gets fired it would compromise her going to pairs (49:00). As a pragmatist, she shows an effort to adapt to changes in her survival within the organization and not going against her interests. 

           Using Kellerman’s theory, she displays many instances of being a diehard follower. She is very engaged and consumed by her roles calling Andrea at 6:15 am to get coffee for Miranda (12:16), she makes her role as #1 assistant seem more valuable than Andrea’s and that she gets to go to pairs and parties (14:11), when Andrea comments on how thin she is, Emily says she only eats when she is about to faint (1:02:09), and Emily gets his by a car being consumed on the phone as she picks up scarfs for Miranda (1:10:50). Of the followership types that apply to Emily, she is a Diehard under Kellerman’s theory the most. 

          Andrea displays several followership styles between Kelly and Kellerman’s theories. Under Kelly’s theory, she is exemplary, alienated and a pragmatist. She shows being exemplary when she is being interviewed by not taking no for an answer showing assertiveness and an independent thinker (9:00), Andrea changes her outfits to match the role (36:00),  and at the end of the film, Miranda recognizes how much effort Andrea put into trying to warn Miranda saying, “you can see beyond what people want and need and choose for yourself” (1:37:00) showing how she is assertive and independent thinking for her leader. At the beginning of the film, Andrea shows an Alienated type (23:14) by laughing at the belts and refers to them as stuff showing a critical and independent approach in contrast to others in the room. Finally, she is a pragmatist in surviving within the company by going to Paris against Emily’s interests (1:11:49). 

          In the Kellerman theory, she shows two primary types: activist and diehard. As an activist, when she is having dinner with Christain, she defends Miranda and believes in miranda. As a diehard, she is consumed by the roles in taking the outfits seriously (37:00), missing her boyfriend's birthday (1:00:00), and taking a break from her relationship before going to Paris (1:17:00). Of all the theories, while Andrea is a follower of Miranda she is an exemplary type under Kelly and a diehard under Kellerman. Her follower type is about equal for both theories. 

          In conclusion, Nigel shows being a Kellerman activist the most by believing in Miranda’s beliefs, Emily is a Diehard under Kellerman because of being consumed in her role and Andrea is exemplary under Kelly in her independent thinking and assertiveness and a diehard under Kellerman in being consumed by the role. 

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Full Range Leadership Model: Transactional -> Transformational

          Leadership can be understood on an exchange based model called Transactional and Transformational Leadership where the leader is most involved in the relationship with the follower. Depending on how the leader influences their followers, the organization and culture will determine where they fall in the range of leadership. 

           Transactional leadership is based on some form of exchange between the leader and the follower which is most often seen in a monetary format. Here, the leader is not focused on the individual needs of the followers or personal development. The basis of exchange is a means to the end of progressing the goals of the leader or organization. There are two factors to transactional leadership, the first is contingent reward and the second is management by exception: passive and active. 

          Contingent Reward is basically based on the exchange of value between the leader and the follower where the effort of the follower is rewarded. The leader first gets the followers to agree on tasks to be done and the payoff for completing those tasks. The higher the quality of relationship between the leader and the follower, and the clarity or support for achievement behaviors,  the more the follower will effectively feel they can complete the task. (Northouse 2022, p. 195-6) 

          Management by exception has two forms: active and passive. The active form uses corrective action while the follower is performing to guide behaviour in proactively preventing mistakes from occurring. (Northouse 2022, p. 196) The leader clarifies desired outcomes and exchanges are given for accomplishments. (Scott 2022, L. 6) The passive form of management by exception intervenes when a problem has occurred or when some standard is not met. (Northouse 2022, p. 196) The leader has selective attention towards mistakes and corrects problems only when detected. (Scott 2022, L. 6) 

          Transformational leadership is focused on the leader’s relationship with the followers by establishing a connection with the follower to increase their motivation and morality. By attending to the needs and notices of followers, the leader makes an effort to help the follower reach their full potential. (Northouse 2022, 186) Transformational leadership increases job satisfaction, emotional wellbeing, a sense of meaning in work, and reduces burnout. (Scott 2022, L6) 

          Charisma is a large characteristic of the leader in the process of transformational leadership. Personality characteristics of charisma are “being dominant, having a strong desire to influence others, being self-confident, and having a strong sense of one’s own moral values.” (Northouse 2022, p. 188) Behaviourally, a leader with charisma is a strong role model in their beliefs and values that followers can embody, there is an appearance of competence, the ability to articulate ideological goals with moral principles embedded in them, they communicate high expectations of and confidence in their followers, and instill task-relevant motivations within followers through affiliation, power and esteem. (Northouse 2022, 188-9) 

           There are four main factors of transformational leadership: Individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence. Individualized Consideration is being empathetic, a value for individual needs, and encouraging continuous improvement. Intellectual Stimulation is a value for intellect, encouraging imagination, and challenging old ways. Inspirational Motivation is when the leader charismatically clarifies future states, treats threats as opportunities, and elevates expectations. Finally, in idealized Influence the leader charismatically demonstrates confidence in the vision, establishing a sense of purpose and trust. There are two forms of idealized influence: one is attributed the other is observed. With attributed idealized influence is based on the follower’s perceptions of the attributes of the leader. For observed idealized influence, the follower’s observation of the leader’s behaviour is what is important. (Scott 2022, L6) 

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Case Study Analysis: Part 2

          Miranda is much more of a transactional leader than transformational, though she displays attributes of both. As a transactional leader, Emily comments how she gets to go to parties and pairs in exchange for her effort as an assistant (14:18). Later, Miranda tells Andrea that if she doesn’t bring her the Harry Potter Manuscript by 3pm she will be fired (52:00), showing that if she does not perform her duties she will lose the reward of working at Runway. This is an example of contingent reward and Miranda motivates Andrea by telling her that she can do anything. Miranda shows an active management by exception when she criticizes staff when they are choosing outfits. Whenever there is a problem, Miranda is quick to correct anyone that does not perform in the way she wants. She is not a passive management by exception leaders. Later, a transactional style is exemplified by Nigel when he loses his position with Holt, he says that he is hopeful that Miranda will reward him soon even though he has been working for her for 18 years. 

          As a transformational leader. Miranda shows some attributes. Individualized consideration is shown in the value for Andrea’s journalistic needs by inviting her to Paris. Miranda also displays continuous improvement towards Andrea through harsh criticism as encouragement actually helps instill improvement in Andrea to grow within the role. However, Miranda is not empathetic or has value for other’s individual needs. 

          Miranda shows inspirational motivation by valuing Andrea’s intellect when she decided to hire her instead fo the ‘stupid girls’ at the beginning of the film. Miranda does encourage imagination indirectly by asking Andrea to solve unconventional problems like getting the manuscript of Harry Potter. She is not directly encouraging imagination or challenging old ways. Miranda wants to keep the old ways seen in not accepting the transition of CEO and threatening to take most of the staff with her if she was fired. 

          Miranda shows inspirational motivation by seeing the threat of losing her position as CEO as an opportunity to place Jacqueline into Holt's company. At the end of the film, she clarifies the future state of Runway as better off with her because she believes the company would be hurt if she was not the CEO. She does elevate expectations of her staff by pushing them to their limits and beyond what they believe they could do as in the case of the Harry Potter manuscript. 

           Lastly, Miranda does show idealized influence by having confidence in the vision of Runway, seen in her comments with Andrea in the car on how the company needs her. She does not have authentic trust however, seen in Nigel’s false sense of hope that Miranda will reward him sometime in the future when he loses his position with Holt. In terms of attributed influence, people are influenced by their perceptions of Miranda’s beliefs about fashion and the company. Behavioural or observed influence is not so solid because people mostly are in fear of Miranda’s toxic nature. They appreciate her success with fashion. 

           In conclusion, Miranda is more of a pseudo-transformational leader and relies on transactional leadership predominantly. She shows that she is a pseudo transformational leader because she values maintaining power at the expense of her followers seen in her betrayal of Nigel when her position was threatened as CEO. She does not display attributes of Charisma seen in not establishing trust with people, and mostly not empowering followers. Most of Miranda’s relationships are built on the contingent rewards of her position of power and what people can get from her due to her position of power. She does not care about the values of true transformational leadership seen in a lack of connection in healthy motivation and morality. 

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Ethics

          Ethics is a means to evaluate our decisions, actions and the state of our character in normative terms of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ These normative evaluations can be objective, by being based on principles, or relative, by being based on culturally specific morality. (Justice, the now) In terms of leadership, good principles base evaluations on are deontological or teleological frameworks. A deontological ethical evaluation is based on the duties or intentions of the leader. A teleological ethical evaluation is based on the ends or consequences of a leader’s actions or decisions. Teleological ethics can be further broken down into ethical egoism, utilitarianism, and altruism. Ethical Egoism is decisions based on the self-interest of the decision maker. Ethical altruism is when the decision maker does not benefit from the decision, but everyone else impacted does. Utilitarianism is the principle of utility where the correct decision means the greatest happiness for the greatest number. (Scott 2022, L11)

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Case Study Analysis: Part 3

          When in Paris, Miranda decides to place Jacqueline, instead of Nigel, with Holt’s company. From a deontological perspective, Miranda making this decision also falls within her duty to the fashion industry and runway. Independent of the consequences, going against Nigel's interests, she was following her duty to be the CEO of Runway. Teleologically, this decision appeals to egoism and utilitarianism. From an egoist perspective, it was in her interest to move Jacqueline to Holt's company to protect her position at runway. It also appeals to utilitarianism in the sense that if she is the best qualified to be the CEO of runway, everyone at runway depends on her even though this compromises Nigel's advancement with Holtz company.  

          Miranda’s decision to switch Nigel with Miranda was unethical to Nigel violating altruism. From a deontological duty towards Runway and a Teleological utilitarian principle towards the greatest number of people and greatest happiness at Runway, her decision was ethical for both theories. Depending on the ethical framework used, egoism vs altruism, or duty and utilitarian, her decision was ethical under egoism, duty, and utilitarianism but unethical under altruism. 

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Negative Leadership

          Negative leadership can be understood as a leader embodying negative characteristics, having a detrimental effect on their followers and the organization. Destructive leaders are entitled, low in empathy, rigid or inflexible, arrogant, ruthless and disinhibited, excessively self-confident, and overly concerned with power. The impact of this leadership on followers produces conformity, colluding, a sense of fear/anxiety, overly flattering the leader, agreeing, compliance, inactiveness, and becoming silent. The organization develops characteristics of a separation of leaders and followers, a short-term reward system, a negative organizational culture, high uncertainty, an unequal power distribution, and a centralized organizational structure. (Scott 2022, L8) These factors contribute to a cycle of negative leadership:

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• Leader Characteristics->Perceived Power->Abusive Behaviour(Toxicity)->Flattery->Compliance 

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          This cycle facilitates organizational policies, actions, climate and culture. The consequences are poor decision making and miserable followers. Employees can hide/distort information and leaders have a misperceived sense of being the source of all events, relying on coercion instead of persuasion. (Scott 2022, L8) 

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Case Study Analysis: Part 4

          Miranda definitely shows that she is a toxic leader. Her leadership characteristics fall within the destructive leadership style outlined above. For example, her staff are in fear, anxious and uncertain shown at the beginning of the film her staff are scurrying to get things organized before she arrives (5:00) and Emily Andrea to never ask Miranda anything (17:48). Miranda shows arrogance, low empathy, inflexibility/rigidity, and entitlement throughout the film. For example, calls Andrea ‘Emily’ and doesn't change when corrected (16:00, 43:44), criticizes Andrea for outfit, wants a flight home during hurricane, wants unpublished manuscript, Andrea comments on her rigid thinking, “There is no plan B, only plan A!” (51:20), and when Emily is sick and coughing, Miranda doesn't care and jokes about it. (58:40). 

           These characteristics instill a sense of perceived power, Emily doesn’t ask Miranda questions, people scurry around the office at the beginning, people give her admiration throughout the film seen at the party she hosts and the upper elite guests like the embassador. As discussed above, she engaged in abusive behaviour like calling Andrea ‘the fat girl,’ betraying Nigel by giving his position to Jacqueline, consistently showing a disregard for the tasks she places on Andrea like the manuscript and the flight through the hurricane, and her disrespectful behaviour or throwing her purse and jacket on Andrea’s desk every morning. 

          Miranda’s staff engage in flattery throughout the film like when Nigel comments on the dress she picks out near the beginning and Jacqueline being excessively nice at the party when they disliked each other. All of these factors combined lead to compliance. For example, Miranda piercing her lips when Holt is showing his collection makes him change his entire collection (45:11), Andrea throughout the film goes to great lengths to please Miranda in any extremely difficult task she asks for like getting the steak in 15 mins before the restaurant is open, and Emily getting the scarves before the store is open then being hit by a car. Due to all of this evidence, Miranda is definitely a toxic leader. 

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Path-Goal Theory

           Path-Goal Theory is a way to analyze how leaders motivate followers to achieve goals. Path-Goal is determined on which style of leadership will be used to best suit the motivational needs of the followers. Leaders are essentially improving follower performance through providing what the followers need in successful goal attainment. In being effective at Path-Goal, leaders “engage in behaviour that compliments subordinates’ environments and abilities in a manner that compensates for deficiencies and is instrumental to subordinate satisfaction and individual work unit performance.” (Northouse 2022, p. 132) 

          There are four Path-Goal styles: Directive, Supportive, Participative, and Achievement Oriented. The directive style is a focus on tasks by outlining instructions, expectations, steps to completion, and timeline. The supportive style is a focus on team members and developing a trusting, reciprocal relationship. Being friendly, approachable, attending to needs, making work pleasant and instilling confidence. The participative style involves subordinates in decision making by consulting, sharing ideas and opinions, and integrating suggestions into the plan. Increases performance through participation and dedication. The achievement oriented style provides challenging goals, opportunities outside of the job description and growth beyond the role. (Northouse 2022, p. 135-6)

 

Case Study Analysis: Part 5

           Throughout the film, Miranda displays some of all four of the Path-Goal styles but is specifically focused on one style; directive. For example, Miranda is always telling Andrea what to do (6:52, 16:24, 18:29) and is not supportive when asked to clarify, she throws her coats on Andreas desk making commands (25:59), asks her to find a flight home during hurricane (30:00), and waiting in Andrea’s room in Paris to go over seating chart (1:20:56). 

           Miranda is supportive not often but shows it when she called Andrea by her name in being friendly, kind and trusting (45:26), when she tells Andre she can do anything after getting the manuscript, and at the end of the film when she expresses how everyone wants to be like them in the car (1:38:00). 

           Miranda is not participative at the beginning when an outfit assistant makes suggestions and Miranda says ‘no,’ (22:05), but she is participative when she invites Andrea to drop off the book at her home by integrating her into the plan (45:26), and allowing Andrea to make the decision to go to Paris or not (1:08:20). 

           Miranda is achievement oriented in the sense that she provides challenging goals for Andrea like the steak, flight and manuscript. She alludes to external job opportunities but as seen with Nigel, she would most likely betray that opportunity. 

In conclusion, Miranda is most in line with the directive form of Path-Goal by commanding everyone to do what she wants throughout the entire film. She rarely deviates from that style of leadership. 

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Case Study Conclusion

          Nigel is an activist under Kellerman’s followership type, Emily is a diehard using Kellerman’s Theory and Andrea is split between Kelly’s exemplary follower type and Kellerman’s diehard follower type. In terms of the transactional and transformational leadership models, Miranda is seen as a transactional and a pseudo-transformational leader due to the exchange of wants to others via her position of power and her exploitation of employees. Ethically, Miranda’s decision was egoistic, utilitarian and duty based but unethically in terms of altruism. Miranda’s shows a cycle of negative leadership seen in her characteristics and abusive behavior that leads to compliance. Finally, in terms of Path-Goal theory, she clearly uses a directive style of leadership. 
 

References 

Frankel, David. (Director). (2006) The Devil Wears Prada. [Film] Fox 2000 Pictures. 

 

Northouse, Peter. G. (2022) Leadership. Sage Publications. 

 

Scott, Kristin. (2022) Lectures 3, 6, 8, 9, 11: Leadership [PowerPoint Slides]. Toronto Metropolitan University, Leadership. Desire 2 Learn: https://courses.ryerson.ca/d2l/le/content/667429/Home

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