WHIPLASH

The central theme of Whiplash is of unlocking potential and driving someone to be their absolute best – no matter the methods.

The film tells the tale of aspiring drummer Andrew Neiman, who is mentally abused by band leader Terence Fletcher as the teacher attempts to push the pupil beyond his limits in order to become better than he thought possible.

Throughout the film, Fletcher mentally batters Neiman to draw out every last bit of talent he has. There's no praise, no pats on the back; every minuscule mistake is picked up on then thrown back at Neiman in a flurry of foul-mouthed tirades.

Backdrop

Fletcher as a Leader (From his view-point)

His intention was to push people beyond what was expected of them. Whiplash is a movie that brings out this lesser known facet of motivation quite clearly.

Although, Fletcher is abusive toward his students. He mocks and insults them with a firm belief of trying to make them better than what they believe they can become. He opines that it is these occasions that get people to stretch themselves to achieve greater heights.

Fletcher as a Leader (From his view-point)

Fletcher’s pushing, take-no-nonsense approach is to make people the best they can be.

The various out-of-line tactics used by him are as follows: Using fear to control and dominate Creating off-balance with head-games and inexplicable uncertainty Shocking and denigrating vocabulary Forcing a win-at-all-costs culture Making it more about “me and my success” than the “team and our

success”

Kouzes & Posner's 5 Principles of Leadership.

Fletcher Models the Way by having a strong and obsessive knowledge of music. Fletcher sets a high standard for his students to follow.

He Inspires a Shared Vision, which is to thoroughly understand your work even if it means bleeding over it and he desired to produce the next greatest musician.

He Challenges the Process by constantly pushing his students to be better and not being content with themselves. Fletcher pushed his students because he believed that they had the potential to be the best.

He Enables Others to Act, rather, he dares his students to act and take initiative. BUT! He does not Encourage the Heart. Fletcher intentionally, verbally, and

physically abuses his students until they achieve greatness or drop out of his band. His students do not take enjoyment in learning from him; however, they know that his training and expertise will elevate them above other musicians. Fletcher's students need him.

Comparing him with other ‘Leaders’The pursuit of perfection and excellence combined with their lack of  appreciation are traits Fletcher shares with other real-life business leader.Amazon employees recollects examples of Mr  Bezos’s most

eviscerating put-downs, including, “Are you lazy or just incompetent?” “Why are you wasting my life?” and “I’m sorry, did I take my stupid pills today?”

Two days back, Bill Gates said “I had to be a little careful not to try and apply my standards to how hard they worked. You know, I knew everyone's license plates so I could look out in the parking lot and see when did people come in, when were they leaving. Eventually I had to loosen up, as the company got to a reasonable size.”

Comparing him with other ‘Leaders’An anonymous Tesla employee once said to Elon  Musk’s official biographer “Elon's worst trait by far, in my opinion, is a complete lack of loyalty or human connection. Many of us worked tirelessly for him for years and were tossed to the curb like a piece of litter without a second thought. Maybe it was calculated to keep the rest of the workforce on their toes and scared; maybe he was just able to detach from human connection to a remarkable degree. What was clear is that people who worked for him were like ammunition: used for a specific purpose until exhausted and discarded.”Steve  Jobs, for me, is the one who is most close to Fletcher’s character. The cold-heartedness, the ruthless pursuit to excellence embodied Jobs.

Terence Fletcher – Coercive Leader

Modus Operandi: Demands Immediate ComplianceThe style in a phrase: “Do what I tell you”Underlying emotional  intelligence  competences: Drive  to achieve, initiative, self-controlWhen the style works best: In a crisis, to kick start a turnaround, or with problem employeesOverall Impact on Climate: Negative

Culture / Group Dynamics

Nature of the other band members – Cowed.They had any sense of initiative or creativity beaten out of them, presumably by the treatment we then witnessed being dished out to Andrew. They were a cultural fit for the  band  –  compliant,  molded  to  the  requirements  of  the  leader,  technically competent, and not daring to question the leader’s goals or methods.Another parallel with corporate culture noticed was how this coercive leadership style affected band members when they got the chance to hand it out to others. Andrew is alternate to another drummer who is as rude to Andrew as Fletcher. The culture in which bullying is set up as acceptable is then extended throughout the organization.

Group Dynamics

Video

Theories of Learning

Operant Conditioning:

Operant Conditioning (also, ‘Instrumental Conditioning’) is a learning process in which behavior is sensitive to, or controlled by, its consequences.A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary behavior leads to a reward or prevents a punishment.Reinforcement and Punishment are the core tools through which operant behavior is modified. These terms are defined by their effect on behavior.

Shaping Behavior – Terence Fletcher

Systematically reinforcing each successive step that moves an individual closer to the desired response.

Positive Reinforcement (Learning)Providing a reward for a desired behavior.

Negative Reinforcement (Learning)Removing an unpleasant consequence when the desired behavior occurs.

Punishment (Unlearning)Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an undesirable behavior.

Extinction (Unlearning)Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its cessation.

Fletcher

ENTJ(Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging)(Sociable & Assertive, Unconscious Process, Uses Reason & Logic, Wants Order & Structure)Fletcher:  "I  was  there  to  push  people  beyond  what's expected of them. I believe that's an absolute necessity.Fletcher:  "For  the  record, Metz wasn't  out  of  tune.  You were,  Erickson,  but  he  didn't  know  and  that's  bad enough "Fletcher: "Not my tempo.”

Neiman

INFP(Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving)(Quiet & Shy, Unconscious Process, Uses Values & Emotions, Flexible & Spontaneous)Neiman: “My Dad says I have trouble making eye contact"Neiman:  “You  got  any  friends,  Andy?”  “No,  I  just  never really saw the use”Neiman: “I’d rather die drunk, broke at 34 and have people at  a  dinner  table  talk  about  me  than  live  to  be  rich  and sober at 90 and nobody remembered who I was.”Neiman:  “[after  being  replaced  by  another  drummer]  Are you serious? That s**t?"

:: MBTI ::

9,1“It is apparent from the movie that Fletcher was totally a Task-Oriented person.”

Fiedler’s Model

Terence Fletcher

Video

Criticism perceived as a method of Motivation. 2 Types: Destructive Criticism Constructive Criticism

Fletcher’s Motivation: “I was there to push people beyond what's expected of them.”

Andrew’s Motivation:“I think being the greatest musician of the 20th century is anybody's idea of success.”

Motivation

Pros & Cons of Destructive Criticism

Pros

Strong-willed. Made Andrew all the more determined

& strong-willed. Fletcher wanted to ‘Push people

beyond what’s expected out of them’ Being a Perfectionist - There are no two

words in the English language more harmful than “good job”.

Cons

Excessive coercing leads to bullying. Makes work environment

unsustainable. Leads to an abusive relationship. Loss of confidence in the mentee.

Feedback VS Praise

Feedback

Provides an opportunity to improve on mistakes.

Can push a person to learn and improve. Helps in analyzing the work. Fletcher’s statement: If you don't have

ability, you wind up playing in a rock band.

Provided critical feedback.

Praise

Provides boost to self-esteem. Getting better is the main goal, not

feeling better. Role of language important. Fletcher’s view: “Good Job” induces

complacency and are the most harmful words in English language.

McClelland’s Three Needs Theory

Need for Achievement (nAch)The drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to succeed- Andrew: Being the Greatest Musician of 20th Century. Fletcher: Making the next Charlie Parker.

Need for Power (nPow)The need to make others behave in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise. Fletcher: If you think you will come and sabotage my band, I will f*** you.

Need for Affiliation (nAff)The desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships - Shown neither by Andrew nor by Fletcher. Andrew: “I just never really saw the use of having friends.” Fletcher: Always being a coercive and bullying teacher.

Terence Fletcher

Video

Andrew Neiman

Video

Highly-Ambitious, Awkward, Impulsive, Abrasive, Self-Centered, Dedicated.

Andrew is hyper-focused on his career, and he truly believes that if he works hard enough, he’s destined  for greatness.

Instances that explain this about him:• “I’d rather die drunk, broke at 34 and have people at a dinner table talk about me

than to live to be rich and sober at 90 and nobody remembered who I was.”

• Andrew moved his dorm mattress to the school’s practice room so he can hone his drumming skills at any hour of the day or night.

Personality Traits – Andrew Neiman

Andrew Neiman

Video

Andrew Neiman

Video

The BIG QuestionAndrew's empowerment at the end of the film begs the question: Did the teacher influence the desired effect? The story of “How Charlie Parker became Charlie Parker?” (Parker’s humiliated off-stage so he practices and practices, never to be humiliated again, becoming perfect at his craft.)

Or was it all Andrew Neiman? His ambition/intrinsic motivation to become the best jazz drummer that fuelled him to excel in spite of Terrence’s abuse.

References

Whiplash – Directed by Damien Chazelle https://heroesandvillainsofmbti.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/the-oscars-mbti-terence-fletcher-entj-whiplash/ http://harveychimoff.com/tag/whiplash-movie-leadership-lessons/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-whiplash-effect-lesso_b_6732864.html?section=india https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-clinical-picture/201502/witnessing-abusive-relationship-

whiplash-the-movie http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/10/the-ethics-of-whiplash/381636/ http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0440988/quotes http://theleadershipreview.org/features/whiplash/ http://harveychimoff.com/2015/02/24/whiplash-movie-is-case-study-for-terrible-leaders/#more-5871 http://www.zimbio.com/Beyond+the+Box+Office/articles/QcJ5QPAzECX/6+Deep+Thoughts+About+Whiplash

Aditya Raval Akshatha Neeraje

Arjun Parekh Debolina Choudhury

Naren Shetty Ronak Sharma

Prepared By: Group 8