12 O'Clock High Analysis

TWELVE O’CLOCK HIGH ANALYSIS

Lesson Twelve teaches us that leadership is about change. Twelve O’Clock High introduces us to the 918th Bomb Squad, a group of underperforming bombers who exhibit a lack of dedication and discipline. When we first meet the 918th, they are under the leadership of Colonel Davenport. Shortly, thereafter, General Savage is appointed as Colonel Davenport’s replacement, due to Davenport’s ineffectiveness as a leader and an immediate need for change.

General Savage and Colonel Davenport exhibit different approaches to leadership. We learned that leadership is about getting people to adopt their behaviors in order to be successful in a changing environment. Colonel Davenport is ineffective as a leader because he is unable to get his soldiers to behave effectively. He displays too much empathy for his subordinates and covers up for their mistakes by blaming bad luck for performance failures. We see this exemplified when he is briefing Major General Pritchard on a mistake made by one of his bombers. Davenport states, “I don’t believe in chopping off heads because of one mistake,” and that he won’t “shoot his guys in the back.” His extreme sympathy, along with his inability to identify “maximum effort” (as stated to the doctor), are the traits that make him ineffective as a leader. Without an understanding of “maximum effort” he can not develop and communicate purpose to his crew. Furthermore, he can’t establish demanding performance goals. The bombers, under his command, exhibit a clear lack of emotional bonding with the Bomb Squad, and offer little in the way of future potential leaders. The aforementioned are failures in the tasks of leadership.

Contrary to Colonel Davenport, General Savage recognizes that the 918th requires firm discipline and clear, challenging goals. His disciplinarian style aims to accomplish the mobilization of adaptive behavior amongst his bombers. He wants the bombers to be internally motivated...