12 O’Clock High Case Analysis
In this case analysis, we will focus on the leadership styles, the subsequent effectiveness, and the appropriateness demonstrated by General Pat Pritchard, General Frank Savage, and Colonel Keith Davenport as seen in the film 12 O’Clock High.
The beginning of the movie starts with a plane rough landing on an airfield, Colonel Davenport lets the crew skip the post-flight debrief because one of the pilots had died in battle. Davenport displays empathy and compassion and is attentive to his subordinate’s feelings. He also blames the failure of their tasks on the difficulty of the task and other external factors rather than their knowledge, skill, and ability. Davenport displays a supportive type of leadership throughout his time as an official leader, until he is relieved of his duties by General Savage. Davenport is very relationship-orientated and often speaks to his pilots about things other than just work. He genuinely cared how they felt and how their emotions affected them on the job. When Davenport allowed one of his pilots to not do the debrief meeting, he showed that he was sensitive to their needs and put them over the task at hand. Davenport also demonstrates Ohio State's Theory of Consideration after the traumatic experience ordering him to not have to debrief at that moment. Davenport is showing respect and regard for his men’s feelings. This, however, does not show appropriate leadership since the information needed was not provided because he was too focused on the emotional standpoint. Using the Leadership grid, a data point of (5,5)- Middle-of-the-road management would demonstrate the right amount of empathy while still being able to get the task completed, not at the expense of others. An example would be Davenport starting the conversation with remorse for Bishop’s co-pilot's death but emphasizing how important and extremely necessary it would be to complete the debrief in order in order to end their task. We can determine that Davenport’s leadership style is not very effective because his group is not able to complete their tasks successfully. As we have learned, when an entire group fails, it is the manager’s fault for not giving them the resources to succeed. Even though Davenport cares deeply for his pilots, he cannot abandon the task and should be blamed for why they are failing. A solution for his leadership style in this specific scene would be to still allow his pilots to grieve for the loss of their peers but still have them eventually do the debriefing meeting.
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In a scene between General Pritchard and General Savage, Savage describes Davenport with characteristics most closely identified with an employee-oriented leader, according to the University of Michigan studies. Savage states “Those are his boys, he is thinking about them instead of missions” when talking about Davenport. This shows how Davenport is showing a personal interest in the needs of his men instead of completing the tasks. In the next scene, Pritchard is shown confronting Davenport on the matter of Davenport still protecting his men. Lieutenant Zimmerman tries to explain that it is his fault as to why the mission could not be completed but Davenport continues to insist it is his own fault. After the conversation, Davenport goes to Zimmerman to show his concern by reassuring him everything will be okay. Davenport is demonstrating an overall considerate leadership not being focused on tasks or initiating any type of structure.
Pritchard sits Davenport down to talk about what had caused the loss of the pilot. Pritchard wants to know what Davenport is going to do about Zimmerman’s mistake. Pritchard listens to Davenport try to stand up for the mistake but Pritchard ultimately decides that Davenport is unfit for duty. Pritchard eventually decides to relieve Davenport of his duties indefinitely. In doing so, Pritchard reveals his concern about the need to establish task orientation and high concern with task completion in an effort to steer the group to achieve the goal.
Savage arrives at the 918th after his talk with Pritchard and passes a security checkpoint post on his way in. The car comes to an abrupt halt and Savage comes out to ask the officer at the post why his car wasn’t checked on the way in. After talking with the guard post, Savage makes it very clear that everyone is to be checked upon entry regardless. Savage demonstrates his authority and high demand for respect in this scene.
When Savage initially takes over the 918th squad, he is very sure of himself and intends to completely turn around the group. He displays transformational leadership traits by abandoning Davenport’s old ways of leading the group and implementing his own. As previously stated, Davenport led with feelings that allowed freedom amongst the group and did not blame the group for their failures but rather blamed the task. Savage decided to go in the completely opposite direction. In our text, it is stated that there has to be a “turn-around situation”. By pushing his subordinates and demanding more of them, Savage attempts to turn their situation around. When the group hits their target towards the end of the movie, Savage makes a believer out of his soldiers. It gives them some type of confidence. Savage displays the majority of the characteristics observed in transformational leaders. He has a personal source of power- since he is a General and wants to rule over others. He has turbulent one-on-one relationships. Many of the pilots fear him and do not talk to him, unlike they had previously talked to Davenport.
At one point in the movie, Savage has Gately arrested because he left the base without telling anyone and decided to get drunk. Savage found information that Gately had essentially been slacking off. Savage then demotes Gately to a pilot and creates the “leper colony” plane. It is essentially a diss to a group on the lackluster skills. Gately is to receive those who are considered the worst of the worst. Technically, Savage had no authority to do that, but he did it anyway, just because he could. Savage demonstrates Douglas McGregor’s Theory X - Negative since he has to coerce Gately to complete his job by demand of arrest. Savage goes to these great lengths to show how Gately is careless of his job in the force since he can’t only complete it but is also absent when he is not authorized to do so. Gately then claims that Savage does not have the authority to do that and wants to press charges. Savage then calls the upper-authority himself to have Gately explain his reasoning for being arrested but Gately does not follow through since he is aware that his actions are not acceptable.
Savage takes his crew onto a mission and ignores orders to return because of the bad weather (he hears the radio but tells Pritchard he does not hear it). They successfully bombed the target and returned home safely with all men. This scene shows that Savage is willing to complete the task at all costs, he does not care who or what gets in the way. Savage most exhibits Authority-Compliance Management (9,1): he has high regard for results but does not have high regard for people. He also displays partially an “achievement-oriented behavior” leadership style. From his perspective, he tries to push his subordinates by having higher goals and expecting a lot from them but does not express confidence in them and constantly talks badly about them to other leaders in the movie.
Savage pays a visit to the hospital to check on the men wounded in the force. The most important part of this scene is how he begins the act of self-actualization becoming more capable of being empathetic towards his men rather than his tough love derminer. He then pulls the nurse to the side showing consideration towards Ben specifically by expressing his appreciation towards him saying he is “extra special”.
Towards the end of the movie Savage goes into some type of shock that leaves him in an almost paralysed state to the point he has to initiate the structure for Gately to take over in order to complete the task. Savage continues to be in shock when they return back to the base where Davenport shows his consideration by trying to pep-talk Savage out of his silence. Davenport claims that Savage's type of leadership skills are more than he could ever do for improving the men’s fighting skills. It’s not until the men return when Savage hears every single plane made it back alive that he breaks his silence and returns back to himself. This is an important scene because it shows the transition Savage went through demonstrating the University of Michigan's studies from being a production-orientated leader who only cared about the completion of tasks, to an employee-oriented leader where he started taking a personal interest in the lives of the men who survived.
Several different types of leadership styles were displayed in this movie. The top three leaders in this movie led differently. Savage with an iron fist, Davenport who mainly cared about his pilots’ feelings, and Pritchard who was a mix between the two. It is not clear which leadership style is ultimately the best but we can determine that different leadership styles must be used in different situations. From this movie, we can learn that in order to be a successful leader, one cannot be one-dimensional. Good leaders must care about the ones they are managing and know-how external and internal factors affect them and their performance. They must also give clear direction and make it clear to their subordinates how important it is that the task gets completed. Good leaders are also able to adapt to whatever comes their way and make decisions that benefit the entire group. By combining all these characteristics, one should have all the tools to lead their group to success.
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