My Left Foot, 1989

Based on the novel with the same title, My Left Foot tells the story of Christy Brown. Born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1932 with cerebral palsy, Christy Brown must overcome physical and social barriers to become a successful painter. Told in retrospective, My Left Foot is a story about adapting to life's challenges, overcoming self-doubt, and finding a way to contribute to society.

Relevant Concepts from Leadership Theories

* Leader Emergence: when a group has no leader, someone will eventually assume a leadership role. Christy Brown is an unlikely leader, but emerges as one early among the neighborhood boys.

* Servant Leadership: focus is on serving others rather than oneself. Without giving the movie away this cannot be more specific, but pay close attention toward the end the movie to see an example of servant leadership.¹

Discussion Questions

* What is Dr. Cole's role in this movie? Speculate on how the story would be different without her influence, and what this would mean in terms of the leadership competencies.

* How does your perception of Christy Brown change throughout the movie? Why?

* Compare and contrast Christy Brown with his brother Tom in terms of leadership competencies. Who do you think is stronger on each of the five leadership dimensions in the model? Why?

 

Competencies Addressed

Reference

¹ Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A. (2004). Organizational Behavior (Sixth Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

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