Gabriel Brown
05/03/2010
LDRS 1016: Historical Leaders
Dr. Dahm
Joan
of Arc: On Leadership
Introduction:
Joan of Arc was a
sixteen year old girl that grew up during the Hundred Years’ War in
France. When she was 16 years old she
claimed to have a vision from Angels that told her God’s bidding. Guided by her visions, she recovered a sword
that was buried behind an ancient chapel.
She sequentially rode through hostile territory to go to the royal
court. From there she convinced Charles
VII that God spoke to her and that she should lead his army. Following this event, I took her 9 days to,
with the other army leaders working against her, obliterate the English troops
and lift the Siege at Orleans, something they had been trying to accomplish for
a while. This led to further, swift and
decisive victories that made it possible for Charles VII to be coronated as
King of France. Joan of Arc had 2
leadership skills that served her well.
The first rule she had was to always stay amongst your people. This was important because she gained the
respect of her soldiers because she subjected herself to everything which her
troops were. The second skill she had
was charisma. This was important because
she when she entered the war the French were losing desperately needed a leader
they could look up to and be inspired by.
She also needed her charisma to convince people to change their ways to
match hers (Thompson).
Stay Amongst Your People:
Joan
of Arc was a firm believer in hands on leadership. She was told her visions by God and knew that
she would have to be the person directly responsible for carrying out God’s will
and for the French victory. She never
once sought the respect of the other leaders, only that of her
subordinates. She stood out from the
other leaders because she led her troops in battle from the front lines instead
of supervising from a tent behind the battle.
Once, she was hit with a cannonball in the head and just walked it off,
without any treatment, to continue leading her troops. Another time, she was shot in the neck with
an arrow, but once again she quickly returned so as to lead the final
charge. Her subordinates respected her
and were willing to follow her every decision due to their faith in her (The
Saint Joan of Arc Center).
Charisma:
Weber,
one of the foremost authorities on leadership styles, defines charisma as a
quality that sets one apart from others by being “endowed with supernatural,
superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities”
(Weber). And this certainly describes
the rise and leadership of Joan of Arc.
She, as a 16 year old girl, managed to travel to the royal court, gain
an audience with Charles VII and impress him so much that he allowed Joan of
Arc to control his army. Obviously, her
charisma was important here, because if Charles VII didn’t have faith in her
then her story would never have been.
After convincing Charles VII she was placed in an environment where the
other leaders didn’t take her seriously and the soldiers were demoralized. The army leaders ignored her claims to divine
visions and excluded her from War Council.
So, she convinced the common men, the soldiers, an army captain and the
mayor of the city to go against the ruling of the War Council. They risked their careers and lives based on
the words of a 16 year old girl with no combat experience. She ended up capturing the fortress of Saint
Augistins, which was supposedly impossible even with the full power of the
French army. Obviously, Joan of Arc’s
charisma gave everyone something that was missing in France, a symbol of hope
and faith. She had no combat experience
and it is impossible to know if her claims of divine visions were true. What is true, and very clear to historians,
is that she turned the tide of an entire war; she ended sieges, won battles
with impossible odds, captured fortresses, turned back the British and allowed
France to finally coronate a King. The
interesting is that she had the same army and resources that her predecessors
had, but absolutely no experience. All
the French needed to win the war was to believe in something, to believe in
Joan of Arc (Joan of Arc).
Conclusion:
These
concepts are very important for future leadership. It is my hope that as a leader in the future
I will remember to always stay in touch with my subordinates and to never
distance myself as that is the first step to failure. Also, I will remember that charisma is the
one leadership trait that can overcome rationality. Though leading from the crowd is inadvisable,
it will always be important to know your subordinates and for them to feel as
if they are your equals. Especially, if
the future continues on the trend of recent years where world leaders are held
directly accountable and are even chosen by their subordinates. In the past, staying amongst your
subordinates made leaders stand out, in the future subordinates will not
tolerate a leader that seeks to distance himself as elite. Already, politicians use the title of “elite”
as mudslinging to damage their opponent’s reputations. Charisma will always be one of, if not the,
most important traits a leader can possess.
Though it may not seem fair charisma is the great “overcomer”. It allows a person to overcome inexperience, doubt
and even facts. Politicians of today
reach for the title of President/Prime Minister with much less formal
experience. And it is a recurring theme
that many subordinates don’t seem to care about a candidate’s policy and
experience anywhere near as much as their character. How else can we explain Barack Obama beating
Hilary Clinton, Cleggmania and Nicolas Sarkozy besting both De Villepin and Chirac?
Works
Cited
“Joan of Arc.” The Encyclopedia , 6th
Edition. 2008. (Accessed 03 May 2010). http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Joan_of_Arc.aspx.
The
Saint Joan of Arc Center. “FAQ.” (accessed 03 May 2010). http://www.stjoan-center.com/FAQ/question6.html.
Thompson,
Ben. “Joan of Arc.” (accessed 03 May
2010). http://www.badassoftheweek.com/joanofarc.html.
Weber,
Max. 1947. “Charisma.” (accessed 04
May 2010). http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/teaching/338/charisma.htm.
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