Leadership in the Glory
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Colonel Shaw in 'Glory'
When Colonel Shaw decided to accept the challenge of commanding a division of black soldiers for the Union army, he knew that it would be no small task. The majority of the men were runaway slaves who had no idea how to be a soldier. Col. Shaw learned that he had to be flexible and that he had to get to know these men in order to achieve any success with the division.
When the division, 54th Regiment was first established, Shaw's efforts were mainly geared toward getting the men trained in becoming soldiers for infantry. It was obvious that Shaw's preferred a task-oriented style of leadership. When he came upon a particular training session, where his second in command, Major Cabot Forbes, was leading an exercise in target practice, Shaw interrupted and proceeded to express his displeasure for the manner in which the men were being trained. Forbes was of the mind that the men would never see combat, and therefore did not see the necessity of training the men in the same manner as white soldiers. Shaw on the other hand felt that proper training was in order so that the battalion would be prepared for any situation. Shaw's tendency to be task oriented, rather than relationship oriented, was also evident in the stern manner in which he dealt with Thomas (a black corporal under his command) and Major Forbes who had both been his childhood friends...