Glengarry Glen Ross

"Why?"

"Because I don't like you."

Imagine your boss saying this to you.

They are willing to screw you over, granted you did something illegal, just because they simply don't like you. Not because turning you in is the right thing to do. Just because they don't like you.

What kind of leader does that? 

As a leader, you don't need to like everyone and you don't need everyone to like you. 

But what you do need to do is set a good example for the rest of your team.

The team of men in Glengarry Glen Ross isn't even a team. If you took the most random people you could find on the street and threw them in a room and told them to SELL, that's what this group of men would be. 

Our first introduction to a "leader," if he can even be called one, is Alec Baldwin's character, Blake. Imagine the worse boss you've ever had. Now imagine them screaming the F-bomb at you every other word. Blake was no leader. He wasn't even trying to instill fear into the employees. He was trying to make them feel inferior. 

Leaders should support their employees but that is exactly the opposite of what Blake was doing. 

I don't disagree with the incentive of a car to sell more, but what I do disagree with is that second place is a set of knives. Sure it'll make them want to sell more to get the car, but if one employee sees they aren't going to win, they have no reason to keep selling. 

Next, there's the duo of George Aaronow (Alan Arkin) and Dave Moss (Ed Harris). In this dynamic, it is clear that Moss is the leader. Aaronow doesn't have any original thoughts and all he does is agree with what Moss is saying, which leads Moss to believe he would be easy to manipulate. 

No leader should use their power to try and manipulate those underneath them. Ethically it's the wrong thing to do and in this case, legally it could lead to major consequences. It isn't until the end of the movie where we see that Aaronow finally got his wits about him and denied Moss's proposition to steal the leads from John Williamson's (Kevin Spacey) office. 

But, Moss got to Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon). 

If Williamson had just helped Shelley when he asked for it, without trying to extort him for money, the whole situation could have been avoided. Williamson is a inexperienced and sleazy boss who would rather see his employees fail. 

A supportive boss would have given him a lead to help him get back on his feet. Shelley had already proven himself in the past of being one of the best salesmen in the company. 

He was desperate. No boss should have to extort his employees to get them to do well in their job. His youth and inexperience as a leader made him malleable, and that's exactly what Blake did. Williamson saw a leader act the way Blake did and believed that was how all leaders were meant to ask.

The only man who could even be considered a leader was Richard Roma (Al Pachino). He made connections with people and he made them feel heard. 

When Shelley finally made a sale, Roma listened to him. Roma wanted to listen to him because he knew how important that sale was to him.

No one else cared or wanted to listen but Roma did. 

All these men are sleazy and cunning, only trying to get money from people. This movie really didn't show any positive leadership, so warning to those who dare take on this movie. The only thing you'll remember is the 151 f-bombs dropped and a young Alec Baldwin.