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Introduction
The three books studied in the Concepts in Leadership class, Leadership Without Easy Answers, On Leadership, and Leadership and the Quest for Integrity provide a valuable insight into the theory of leadership. These theories can then be applied to the case studies, most importantly Mutiny on the Bounty.
Ronald Heifertz's Leadership Without Easy Answers is very important to understanding and analyzing the breakdown in leadership on Mutiny on the Bounty. A key idea from Leadership Without Easy Answers is the idea of authority, which emerges when equilibrium is lost. Authority is thus granted to a leader when the equilibrium of stability is lost, and it is the test of a leader to develop an adequate framework for his plan to restore equilibrium. Another key theme of Heifertz's book is the concept that leadership is not valueless, that to be an effective leader there must be some value system in place, or else the leader cannot lead but through force, and in the end the force will fail. Through this inability to draw on values, a leader is open to assassination, both of character and of the actual person.
John Gardner's On Leadership follows the value driven leadership with the idea of leading through persuasion and developing the manager versus the leader. The manager and the leader while wholly different in many regards, are both very crucial to effective leadership and policy. Gardner concludes that it is better to lead through persuading the constituents than by trying to force them to do something. This can be seen in the United State's civil rights policy, which slowly evolved over 15 years in the 1950's and 1960's to the present-day situation found in the United States1. Another interesting idea posed by the book is the theory that the "medium is the message." This idea is that the forum of delivering a message is as important as the message itself. This idea will reemerge within the Mutiny in the Bounty case study.
Finally the class ended the text study with the text Leadership and the Quest for Integrity. This book focuses on the concept of prejudice, which is the idea that a leader must be able to wade through the murky details of a situation and make a choice or decision, a prejudice in the decision making process. Following this idea is integrity, which is a leader living by his moral standards, and a leader must be careful to never question the integrity of his constituents. Morals are also crucial to being an effective leader, because once the moral base is lost, the authority from the constituents is often lost as well.
Relevance of Text's to the Case Study
The texts that the class studied have created key themes that are very applicable to the case study of the Mutiny on the Bounty. Examining the idea of authority when the breakdown of equilibrium occurs is a very important theory that is extremely relevant. In Mutiny on the Bounty Captain William Bligh did not have the authority to lead once equilibrium had been lost, the crew of the ship had lost faith in their leader. Added to this from Heifertz's text is having a moral basis for leadership, which Captain Bligh was able to lead with his moral base. However, Captain Bligh was unable to draw on his constituents value base to drive them forward, and by being unable to drive them forward his authority crumbled and he was no longer an effective leader.
John Gardner's On Leadership idea of leading through persuasion is important, but in military leadership it is often ineffective to lead by opinion, in fact it is quite counter-productive2. However, the idea of drawing on a person's pride in the mission is crucial, but Captain Bligh did a poor job of drawing on the values of his men. The Army today has a quote, "Mission first, Men Always3," which reminds both leaders and soldiers that while the mission is the end result, the men should always be kept in the mindset of the leader. And as is being taught to current future US Army leaders, if the mission carries an adverse risk to the men then the mission itself needs to be questioned4. This is very critical to the idea of the social contract that is kept between the leader and the constituents. The medium as the message is also very important, because Captain Bligh challenges his men in an open forum and criticizes them publicly; this becomes an insult to the very honor and dignity of his officers. By criticizing them in front of the men he reduces them to the status of the regular sailors, a harsh reproach for the 18th century.
Leadership and the Quest for Integrity has many great ideas that are important to the Mutiny on the Bounty case study as well. Prejudice, the decision-making process is very important to being an effective leader. However, the decision-making process must be sound, it is no great leadership trait to use prejudice to make a foolish decision. It is also important for the constituents to believe in the prejudice of a leader, while they may have faith in the leader, if they do not have faith in the decision it will fail. Integrity is very important, it is often more important than what a leader can do. Captain Bligh in 18th century society, while having integrity, often went against the perception of integrity of the time and publicly berated his juniors. Captain Bligh as will be seen later had a troubling habit of questioning the integrity of his men.
Culture of the Royal Navy
To understand the mutiny it is necessary to understand the culture of the Royal Navy at the time. Most of the seaman working for the Royal Navy were "shanghaied5", in essence drugged, tricked, or hijacked into service without their consent. These men were unwilling members of the Navy, and their anger and contempt for the service they were in was very real. For the American generation the only situation similar would be the people drafted to serve in Vietnam. Therefore it was imperative that discipline be maintained at all times, and it must be kept in context of the time period must be maintained.
Discipline in the Royal Navy was harsh; it was a very physical form of discipline using the lash and the cat-o-nine tail, a hideous contraption that split open the victim's back after one strike. Flogging, the discipline of whipping men was common place, in fact it was encouraged as a means of inducing the crew to follow orders. However, discipline was not normally required at sea, most men realized that cooperation was essential for preserving their lives. Life at sea was dangerous, and there was an implied social contract between the captain and the seaman. It must be remembered that justice on land was just as harsh as at sea if not harsher.
Captains of ships in the 18th century were of a gentlemanly class; there was no system of major meritocracy that was later established within the Royal Navy. Officers were of the upper middle class; the future officers bought commissions into the Navy. A rigorous examination process ensured that only the brightest could be given command. However this did not ensure that all officers were professionals, and indeed it was quite common for officers to duel if given an insult or reproach. Often the most senior officers were quite wealthy and accustomed to certain privileges and marks of respect.
Key Players and their Personality's at the Beginning of the Voyage
The captain of the Bounty, William Bligh, was one of the Royal Navy's up and coming officers, he was an integral member of Captain Cook's exploration of the South Pacific6. He had little formal education; he worked his way up through the Royal Navy, and had shown he was effective. His skills at navigation and sailing were unquestionable; he was skilled technically as an officer. While a member of Captain Cook's crew no significant defects of character were observed, and he was well recommended to Sir Joseph Banks to undertake a momentous voyage of great importance. He was to take the HMS Bounty to Tahiti and to harvest a crop of breadfruit and take them to the New World as a food supplement for the indigenous slaves of the sugar plantations. One of Bligh's fatal flaws is judging character, and this will only become more apparent as the voyage progresses.
William Bligh chose for his crew Fletcher Christian, a charismatic young man who was well spoken, educated, and a gentleman. Therefore he was "refined" and had connections with the upper class of England. He had worked with Bligh before on a voyage to the West Indies, and Bligh sought him out to be of help to his voyage to the South Pacific. Bligh assumed that Christian would be grateful for his patronage, a mistake that would become apparent as the voyage progressed7. This misperceived gratefulness will only become a contentious issue in the long voyage to Tahiti.