Harry as Leader (was: What has Harry learned? (Re: Hans)

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 127436


>>Catkind:
<snip>
>There's also the question of Harry's possible leadership skills.  
Do people think Harry is a great leader?  I've seen more sign of him 
being a good /teacher/, though he hasn't had much competition on the 
DADA front.  Hermione is still doing a lot of the leading in my 
opinion.<
<snip>

Betsy:
I think where Harry's leadership skills are lacking is in his 
*reluctance* to lead.  From PS/SS to OotP, Harry tries to go on his 
big adventures alone.  (I think he was more forceful on this point 
in OotP, but he was fairly innocent of danger in PS/SS.)  
Fortunately for him, no one listens, and he survives to fight 
another day.

But, other than that, I think Harry is actually a pretty good 
leader, much better than Hermione, for one simple reason: charisma.  
Harry can rally the troops, which is absolutely vital for a leader, 
especially one facing not so great odds.  Even Hermione admits 
this.  Students will join the DA for Harry, not for her.  Hermione 
is a brilliant strategist (something Harry wisely recognizes and 
uses - more leadership skills) but all of her plans would be for 
naught if no one cared to follow.  Harry, they'd follow.

It could be argued that the students flocked to Harry because of his 
background and his press.  After all, he defeated Voldemort when he 
was a mere infant, surely he can do it again!  But I think there's 
more to it.  After all, by OotP, word on the street is Harry's 
crazy.  He'd popped his magical mojo in his first go around with 
Voldemort, and now he's just an attention-grabbing misfit with 
delusions of grandeur.  The interesting thing is, when the students 
first started showing up for DA meetings, several seemed to believe 
the reports.  So why did they come at all?

They came because even with the constant bad press, they could tell 
there was something more to Harry.  Hell, even Draco noticed it in 
his very first scene.  Why else would he bother with a skinny little 
kid, from an unknown family, in ill-fitting clothing?  And if anyone 
can spot someone with leadership skills, I imagine Draco, our 
resident sycophant, would be the one.

And once in front of the group, Harry had them eating out of the 
palm of his hand.  I mean, Harry's no craver of the spotlight, but 
the boy's got a natural sense of drama.  Reread the very first 
meeting at the Hog's Head, and you'll notice Hermione stuttering 
and "um"ing her way through the introductionary bit.  But when the 
spotlight finally turns on Harry, he speaks smoothly, quietly, and 
lays it all out in a few simple sentences.  "The whole group seemed 
to have held its breath while Harry spoke." (OotP Scholastic Ed. 
hardback p. 341)

In the classroom, Harry again, uses his sense of the dramatic to 
bring the class in line.

" 'Oh *please*,' said Zacharias Smith, rolling his eyes and folding 
his arms.  'I don't think *Expelliarmus* is exactly going to help us 
against You-Know-Who, do you?'
'I've used it against him,' said Harry quietly. 'It saved my life 
last June.'
Smith opened his mouth stupidly.  The rest of the room was very 
quiet.
'But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave,' Harry said.
Smith did not move.  Nor did anybody else."  (ibid p. 392)

Faced with someone with the skills of a professional heckler, Harry 
quietly and efficiently brings, not only Smith, but the rest of the 
class into line.

"It felt odd to be issuing instructions, but not nearly as odd as 
seeing them followed." (ibid pp. 392-393)

When Harry makes his mind up, he gets people to do what he says.  
Remember, this class is made up of students pulling down higher 
grades, students a year or two ahead of him, and the twins.  And 
yet, it runs incredibly smoothly, because they all follow Harry.

This translates into the leadership Harry shows at the MoM.  Going 
to the MoM was not a brilliant idea, no, but Harry gets his troops 
there, gets them in, and when faced with overwhelming odds, keeps 
them alive for an incredible length of time.  Remember, this is 4th 
and 5th year students going up against Death Eaters.  And Harry 
manages to prevent a slaughter.  Yes, the Death Eaters would have 
won in the end, if Lupin and co. hadn't shown up.  But Harry's gang 
lasts longer than the Order memembers do, and they put some serious 
hurt on a few of the Death Eaters before they're taken down.  Not 
bad for a panicked teenager and his group of Hogwarts weirdos.  
(Anyone else get an Ender's Game vibe, here?)

Hermione is definitely the planner; she's also the ideas gal. But 
anytime she tries to get support for her cause, she fails rather 
miserably.  (SPEW, anyone?)  Harry comes up with a hairbrained 
scheme to storm the MoM, and he gets people *begging* to come 
along.  Now *that's* leadership.

Betsy