Cross-reference study on the notion of "Leadership"

Résumé du document

Joan of Arc's public career lasted only for two years but her history has come down through the ages, so that each year, her courage is praised on May 1st. Why is this sixteen-year-old girl engraved in our memory in such an unforgettable way? Answering to this question amounts to go over her hectic and terrific life that made her, according to Mark Twain, “easily and by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced”.

Her childhood in the context of warfare
Joan of Arc was born on January 6th, 1412, at Domrémy, a village in the Meuse valley, in North-eastern France at the boarder of Champagne and Lorraine. (Zupko 1997) Her parents, Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée, were farmers and owned several acres of land.

France was then caught up in a conflict with England, later called by historians the “Hundred Years' War”, that started in 1337 over claims by the English kings to the French throne and the lingering debates over Gascony, Aquitaine and Flanders. The territory was divided in several areas; Britain and its ally Burgundy ruled Northern and South-western France whereas the rest of the country still belonged to France. (Zupko 1997)

This war was to play an important role in Joan's life since it allowed her to carve out her leader status while fulfilling her “mission”: drive away invaders and help Charles VII to be crowned. (Zupko 1997)

Extraits

[...] (Zupko 1997; Tallon 1997) Her influence was great on everyone, even on the king-to-be! The March to Rheims Joan of Arc and Charles VII went through the Anglo-Burgundy territory to Rheims, taking incidentally all the towns in their path such as the city of Troyes. On July 17th, Charles VII was anointed and sacred king of France. (Tallon 1997; Zupko 1997) His coronation had a great impact on the “Hundred Years both symbolically and geographically. On one hand, France had finally managed to crown the king she had been waiting for, breaking definitely the treaty of Troyes; on the other hand, the country had also managed to break into the heart of the enemies' territory for Rheims was situated straight in the middle of the Anglo-Burgundy area. [...]

[...] Mark Twain (1904) assumes that context plays a key role in the leadership achievement. According to him, "Genius is not born with sight but blind; and it is not itself that opens its eyes, but the subtle influences of a myriad of stimulating exterior circumstances". Many contingency theories such as LPC (least preferred coworker), path-goal or situational leadership theory ( have aimed at finding a link between effectiveness and those different leadership styles. Besides the fact that their results are different and that they are only partially reliable, several of them have come up with a classification of leadership style's effectiveness according to the context. [...]

[...] Fortunately, everyone does not use his set of competencies through a leadership attitude. A simple way to explain why some are followers would be to say that they can not be leaders. People who have developed a strong set of competencies can lead, not the others. But this point of view would only provide a partial answer since followers would be viewed as weak and passive. We believe that there are people who have the ability to become leaders and who become followers instead. [...]

[...] But, if leaders can be followers in some occasions, it does not necessarily mean that all followers will be leaders. As Gary Yukl states (2006:130), some of us are “people with a strong commitment to the organization and its mission” and are better at contributing to an effective leadership than at leading. Thus, becoming a follower may also be a matter of personal orientation. We have seen that some people are leaders and others are followers according to the context. [...]

[...] On May 23rd, a Burgundian archer captured her while she was ordering retreat. (Zupko 1997) Joan of Arc, a lonely leader An unfair trial Her short but hectic leadership career was over. The young gifted girl, who had become a charismatic leader, remained nothing more than a lonely leader. Though the rules of war forced the Burgundian to demand a ransom, no one left a finder, neither her followers, nor the king. Joan of Arc was left completely alone. (Mark Twain 1904, Zupko 1997) For 10,000 “pounds she was sold to the English and imprisoned in Rouen on December 18th. [...]