I. Mangers or Leaders A. Sister Mary Clarence 1. Sister Mary Clarence is the manager of the singers, and the leader of the nuns a. Manager of the singers 1. Older autocratic style management b. From Management to Leadership Theory Paradigm c. Leader of the Nuns B. Reverend Mother 2. Reverend Mother is the manager of the nuns and later becomes the leader d. Manager of the nuns 2. Older autocratic management style e. From Management to Leadership Theory Paradigm f. Leader of the Nuns
II. Leadership Traits A. Openness to Experience 1. After witnessing the execution of Vince’s chauffeur, Delores has to adjust her lifestyle- which drastically differs from her current lifestyle. Transitioning from a glamorized lounge singer, to a nun shows tremendous resolve. (Flexibility) a. Delores runs to the police to report the crime, and L.T. Eddie Souther puts her in a witness protection at St. Catherine’s Convent. She is not receptive at first, however. b. Moves from Nevada to San Francisco. She is faced with a transition that causes her a certain level of dismay. c. Delores is constantly changing her physical appearances and attributes to conform to her environment. From tight alluring club dresses she wore performing, to the nun-attire she wore at the convent. 2. After Delores witnessed the murder of the chauffeur, she has induced the predicament she is now currently facing. (External/ Internal Locus of Control) d. As a result of the bounty placed on her, she has no place to stay. Although she doesn’t want to be placed at the convent, she succumbs to the realization that her preference has little to no bearing on her well-being (External Locus of Control) e. After watching the dismal choir performance, Mother Superior assigns assistance from Sister Mary Clarence (Delores). She later takes on the responsibility of directing herself. (External Locus of Control) f. Sister Mary Clarence eating habits are now dictated by the strict regime of the nuns. She does not have any control of what she eats, and when she eats. However, one night, they ate ice cream- clear violation of the eating policies (External Locus of Control) g. Once Sister Mary Clarence and Sister Mary Roberts were kidnapped and were at the mercy of Vince’s henchmen, she decides to control the situation by enabling her to escape the vehicle (Internal Locus of Control) h. When the whole convent travels to Reno to protect Sister Mary Clarence, they are in danger of Vince’s henchmen. She then tells Vince to leave the other nuns alone and that they have nothing to do with the matter- she sacrifices her own life to save theirs- exhibits great control over the situation. (Internal Locus of Control) B. Adjustment 3. Once placed in St. Catherine’s Convent, Delores doesn’t exhibit emotional distress- even though she was removed from her comfortable environment. (Self-Control) i. When placed in the convent, Delores has a number of issues with the tasks the nuns are required to do-although she is not satisfied with the work,, she remains emotionally stable. j. She displayed great resolve when Mother Superior commands her to join the choir, especially after witnessing the choir’s inept ability to sing coherently. Although the prospect of leading the choir is dismal at first, she remains calm and never loses her cool. k. Throughout her first meal, when she wanted to add seasoning and was belittling the food- and Mother Superior was not tolerating her behavior- she has her food taken away. She remains positive by stealing the vegetables out of the garden, despite her current situation looking bleak. 4. After the resurrection of the choir, she displays great confidence in her nuanced song selection. (Self-Confidence) l. When the Pope decides to come a visit the choir, Mother Superior believes the choir will serve best as traditional song. Contrary to what Sister Mary Clarence believes, they vote- and she wins. This adds to her self-confidence in her choice of song, and the choir’s anticipated performance. C. Surgency 5. While being featured at the Nevada Lounge, Delores exhibited an immense amount of influence on the group’s selection of song, as well as the choir’s song choice. (High Energy and Extraversion) m. Seeing Sister Mary Clarence leading and orchestrating the choir, she revamps it in a way that causes the members (old and new) to love her approach- which varies from the traditional dogmatic approach. She brings out energy from the choir that they were missing. n. Delores begins the movie being outspoken, especially about not carrying out the relationship with the married, Vince. Although the singers beg her to stay, she doesn’t entertain the idea and decides to dissolve the relationship. o. Many occasions, Delores’ extraverted-good-willed nature directly drives her to do things that contradict acceptable behavior by the nuns. This has undue influence on the other nuns and causes them to do things they wouldn’t normally do. She goes to the bar, and Sister Mary Roberts and Mary Lawrence follow. This is because she challenges the traditional paradigm of the Catholic Church and what the nuns are required to do.
V. Power and Influence A. Personal Power 1. Sister Mary Clarence displays charismatic behavior when she revamps the choir and decides to lead in a more non-traditional manner, which causes more members to attend. B. Positional Power 1. Mother Superior is top management; she only has positional power, and displays that when she makes the whole convent eat in silence at dinner. 3. Sister Mary Clarence displays positional power when the choir tries out the more worldly type of music and alters the church’s style, then the priest compliments her leadership and style and then she throws in that Mother Superior wants them to go out in the community when she never said anything of that nature. C. Power and Influence tactics 4. Rational Persuasion g. Sister Mary Clarence uses this influence tactic to make the music the nuns sing exciting, which brings people from the street due to how captivating it is, and ultimately uses that to persuade the autocratic Reverend Mother to keep this new style of music. 5. Inspirational appeal h. Used to rally the choir into believing in their voices and the reason of why they’re singing. Her speech, in turn, went so well with the group that they felt more confident in themselves. 6. Coercive Power i. Reverend Mother gave Sister Mary Clarence the duty of singing on the choir, which at the time was extremely non desirable- since they sounded horrendous, in order to get Mary Clarence to do what she wanted. 7. Legitimate Power j. Having management experience, like Reverend Mother, she is in charge of the convent. The nuns realized that she is the person with power; she also exercises this by maintaining duties for the nuns to do- such as prayer and choir practice. She exercises this by having punishments, but very seldom rewards the nuns. 8. Expert Power k. Sister Mary Clarence shows this power when she is able to teach the choir how to sing together and match pitch. She does this by using her knowledge of singing which results in the choir performing better. She also understands what types of music will attract people to the church. 9. Referent Power l. Sister Mary Clarence invokes a sense of loyalty and personal appeals with the other nuns who cause a deep-rooted friendship and gives them the confidence to perform for the pope. The nuns want to make her proud, so they practice and practice.
VI. Contingency Theories A. Contingency Theories 1. Relationship-Oriented Leadership Style a. Sister Mary Clarence was empathetic, patient and tolerant when working to improve the choir in the convent 1) Upon her arrival, the choir was frustrated with the status quo by Mother Superior. Sister Mary Clarence was able to effective communicate with the nuns, and recognized the need for change and improvement. She made a decision subjectively, examining each option and how it would impact others. a) She organized the choir based off of basses, sopranos, and altos. Sister Mary Clarence strived for harmony among the nuns and worked to build consensus and trust. 2) Open to constructive criticism 2. Leader-Member Relationship b. Sister Mary Clarence and the choir’s relationship were characterized by exchanges of trust, respect, and low formality. Se instilled a purpose in her followers- “You have to put an attitude in what you sing; you have to think about what you’re singing. It’s not just quacking. This is rejoicing! You are singing to the Lord!” Sister Mary Clarence told the choir this to encourage them and improve commitment and performance.