Leadership Traits in the Movie Godfather

I. Manager vs. Leaders

A. Sonny

1. He could keep things as they were but he could not take certain situations and make them better

2. It became clear as the movie progressed that Sonny could not make wise decisions for the family.

3. For example when his sister was attacked for the second time, in an era of war and crisis in the family he rushed off. He did not think the situation through and realize that he was not the only person that mattered in this situation. Sonny rushed off and the result was that he was killed.

4. His death left the family in a worse predicament than before because they had no acting leader. He needed decisions to be made for him so that he could carry them out.

5. Sonny was not innovative and did not have the thought process of a leader. Sonny could sustain something but he could not make it better.

B. Marlon Brando

1. Marlon Brando on the other hand possessed the traits of a leader. He was not a manager, who just maintains the situation

2. He made hard decisions and did not care if it was not what anyone else wanted to hear. He thought in the best interest of the entire family.

3. As a leader he showed his long term future oriented perspective when he turned down the heroin offer. It would have been a lucrative deal. However, in his mind brings down the ethics, values, and the protection of the family. He was thinking about 10 years ahead instead of the present.

C. Michael

1. He proposed a new idea to kill the police chief and the family’s rival himself and then put then put the police chief’s real motives in the news paper as damage control.

2. The family’s lawyer who only knew how to manage things thought that this would be a bad idea and protested.

3. As a result he lost his position as the family’s chief advisor and Michael became the family’s new �godfather.’ The two heads of the family had a chance to act like managers but they were leaders so they chose to do what they thought was best for everyone even if it put them in danger.

II. Leadership Traits

A. Surgency

1. Surgency was a character trait that Sonny had too much of. He expressed his dominance more than he should have, and as a result, it caused his followers to not respect him as much and often second-guess him.

2. He was a very extroverted man blaming many of his problems on someone else, such as the war that his family was going through. He retaliated too quickly and blamed the predicament that the family was in, on the person who tried to kill his father and not himself.

3. Throughout the movie he showed that he needed power to feel important. An example of this was when his father was at the table talking business to one of their potential clients and Sonny interrupted to give his opinion

4. . He had broken one of the family rules of never talking business to people that were not in the family. He wanted to be the person in power even when his father could do his job.

5. He was also impulsive to the extent of it leading to his death as he left the house abruptly to address an issue he was having with his brother in law

B. Conscientiousness

1. Sonny also displayed conscientiousness. He had an uncanny need for achievement. He felt that it would make his father respect him more and somehow be proud of him. The problem was that he had a strong fear of failure.

2. Sonny also displayed conscientiousness. He had an uncanny need for achievement. He felt that it would make his father respect him more and somehow be proud of him. The problem was that he had a strong fear of failure.

3. Narcissism is a subset of conscientiousness. The other families use the Corleone narcissism of being untouchable to their advantage.

C. Agreeableness

1. Michael was the character who best illustrated the trait of agreeableness. The people surrounding Michael looked out for him because he was a good listener and they felt empathy for him. No one wanted him to run the family business and live a life of crime.

2. Although they knew that, it would be hard for him not to do so. Everyone empathized for Michael when he decided to kill the police chief and the person that tried to assassinate his father. The assassination meant that he would have to leave the country.

D. Adjustment

1. Tom Hagen was the best model for adjustment. He never lost his temper which always gave him the upper hand.

2. The best illustration of that trait was when he visited the producer in California and requested that the Don’s godson be placed in a movie. When he was told no he kept a very level head and explained to the man his options.

3. The producer lost his temper and started shouting. The result was that his prize possession horse was decapitated and the head placed in his bed.

E. Openness to experience.

1. Michael also was open to new experiences. He was not afraid to break the law even though he had never done so before. He also took over the family business with no hesitation.

2. He stayed in Italy for however long he needed to so that he would not be implicated in the murders he committed.

III. Ethics and Values

A. Preconventional

1. Carlo Rizzi had preconventional morals. He was only thinking about himself and how he could make as much money as possible when he tipped off Sonny’s killers. His transgression resulted in his death.

B. Conventional

1. Michael showed that he had conventional morals. He did everything that he was supposed to but made sure that it was acceptable by everyone else’s standards. After he killed the police chief he moved to Italy. That behavior was acceptable to everyone because others thought that it was in the best interest of the family even though he was reluctant.

C. Postconventional

1. . Don Corleone was an example of the postconventional morals. He tried to do what was in the best interest of everyone even if he was the person who would suffer the most consequences.

2. He