Command Decision - Leadership Styles and Competencies of K.C. Dennis

COMMAND DECISION FILM ANALYSIS
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Command Decision Film Analysis
Introduction
The 1948 film Command Decision reflects World War II efforts by the militaries of the major powers. However, the film is an even better tool for examining military leadership in combat, including such contexts as joint missions. In the movie, General K. C. Dennis was played by Paul Kelly. As the main character, Dennis plays a critical role in the course of the war and major decisions. Dennis is also arguably a controversial figure due to his decisions, even without his seniors' approval. This paper will analyze the character of K.C. Dennis, paying attention to leadership styles and competencies, specifically critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving. Additionally, the paper explores Dennis’s leadership in combat, and such aspects as post-combat leadership, developing the next generation, and developing oneself.
Character
Leadership Style
Dennis can be categorized as a situational leader since he seems to rise to the occasion and taking necessary actions. In this case, the idea that leadership is a warrior’s art is proven since Dennis acts as a warrior vehemently defending his country (Kolenda 2001, 1). Situational leadership is often used in the military schools due to its usefulness (Donald 1944, 30). However, the situational leadership model has been criticized in literature due to its limitations, with some scholars indicating that it may have little practical utility (Vecchio, Bullis and Brazil 2006, 407). Despite the criticism, situational leadership is effective in explaining why K.C. Dennis rises to the occasion to proceed with Operation Stich without waiting for the approval of his superiors. The rationale is that with the window of good weather quickly disappearing, the mission could have been impossible and America could have acted too late since Germany could have mounted an impenetrable defense. Situational leadership allows openness between leaders and followers to ensure the independence and competence of the follower (Ghazzawi, Osta and Choughri 2017, 103). In this case, the technical details of the mission are availed by qualified staff to allow Dennis make critical decisions.
Leadership Competencies
K.C. Dennis’ leadership competencies can be explored from the perspectives of critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving. Critical thinking has been defined as a generalizable and context-specific set of skills, including analysis, judgement, inference, and evaluation (Monteiro, et al. 2020, 68). In the military, the attributes of critical thinking include mastery of intellectual abilities and skills, disciplined and self-directed thinking, and awareness towards self-deceit (Guillot 2006, 37). Dennis’ actions can hardly be considered disciplined considering that he is depicted as a person who loves the war and is prepared to win at any cost. Regardless, Dennis gets it right on his reasoning that a window of opportunity was closing and the enemy’s defenses could have become impenetrable should the opportunity be missed.
Decision-making is another critical indicator of military leadership competence. Successful combat leadership ...