After becoming an IT professional, my perception of watching movies has changed overtime. Now, it’s not just about entertainment. I find myself observing the characters more closely, analyzing their traits and how they manage the people around them.What’s even more intriguing is that I often recognize glimpses of these characters in the people I work with, finding real-life counterparts to their on-screen personas in the office. If the plot revolves around a company offering products or services, it becomes even more fascinating. Recently, I revisited a film where autocratic management is on full display, The Devil Wears Prada. Watching it through this new lens, I couldn’t help but notice how the leadership style took centre stage, dominating every aspect of the workplace dynamics.
In The Devil Wears Prada, we enter the world of high fashion, where a young, aspiring journalist named Andy Sachs lands a job as an assistant to Miranda Priestly, the feared editor-in-chief of Runway magazine. What follows is a journey of personal growth, career ambitions, and the heavy price that comes with working under an authoritarian boss. The film cleverly portrays the pressures and challenges of surviving in a high-stakes corporate environment where the leader holds absolute power.
Let’s dive deeper into the characters, explore their management styles, and see how their employees are either coping with or being affected by this extreme leadership approach
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) offers a rich portrayal of autocratic management style, particularly through the character of Miranda Priestly, the editor-in-chief of Runway magazine. Let’s break down the management style as reflected by the key characters, focusing on how this autocratic style drives the office dynamics and affects the team.
Autocratic Management Style: Miranda Priestly
Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, embodies the essence of autocratic leadership. She runs Runway magazine with an iron fist, making all the decisions and giving little to no input from her employees. Miranda exercises absolute authority and expects her team to follow her commands without question.
Lack of Delegation or Empowerment:
Miranda does not believe in delegating decision-making power. Every task is dictated by her, down to the smallest detail. When she assigns tasks to her assistant, Andy Sachs, such as obtaining an unpublished Harry Potter manuscript, she gives no room for negotiation, flexibility, or discussion. This is typical in an autocratic style where the leader assumes they know best and doesn’t need feedback from subordinates.
Centralized Decision-Making:
Miranda rarely consults others before making major decisions, even if those decisions directly affect her employees or the company. She operates in a highly centralized manner, where all decisions flow through her, reinforcing a top-down approach. This centralization leads to a high level of control, but it stifles creativity and input from the team, which often leads to a disconnect between leadership and the workforce.
High Expectations and Demand for Perfection:
The pressure Miranda puts on her staff is relentless, as she expects them to execute her vision flawlessly. In several scenes, we see Miranda demanding perfection without providing clear guidance. This mirrors the way autocratic leaders can often impose unrealistic expectations, causing stress and burnout among their employees. For example, she dismisses Andy’s first attempt to help her, coldly remarking, “That’s all,” leaving no space for clarification or improvement.
Micromanagement:
Miranda oversees every detail of Runway, from editorial choices to personal matters like her assistants’ fashion sense. She not only manages the company’s strategy but also dictates the day-to-day tasks of her assistants. For instance, Andy’s choice of outfits becomes a subject of scrutiny, as Miranda expects even her personal assistants to reflect Runway‘s high-fashion brand. This tendency to micromanage demonstrates how autocratic leaders often control not just large decisions but minutiae as well, limiting employees’ autonomy.
Fear-Based Environment:
Miranda’s autocratic style creates an atmosphere of fear. Her employees are terrified of disappointing her and are constantly anxious about being reprimanded. This is clear when the staff, including senior employees, panic whenever Miranda enters the office. A good example of this is when Nigel (Stanley Tucci), a senior editor, prepares meticulously every time Miranda arrives, ensuring every aspect of her expectations is met without fail.
This culture of fear prevents employees from taking risks or offering new ideas, which ultimately limits the growth of both individuals and the organization.
Impact on Subordinates:
Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), the protagonist, experiences the brunt of this autocratic management style. Initially, she struggles with the rigidity of Miranda’s leadership. Andy’s personal autonomy is crushed under Miranda’s expectations, leaving her constantly stressed and disconnected from her personal life. Despite performing well, Andy receives little praise or encouragement, a common issue in autocratic workplaces where positive reinforcement is rare.
Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), Miranda’s senior assistant, also suffers under this management style. Emily is constantly on edge, as her every move is scrutinized by Miranda. Emily’s intense dedication stems from her fear of failure, not from intrinsic motivation or support from Miranda. Her obsession with meeting Miranda’s high standards leads to exhaustion, exemplifying the toll that autocratic leadership can take on employees’ well-being.
Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci), a senior employee and fashion editor, is more seasoned and adept at managing Miranda’s autocratic nature. However, even he must comply without question, as seen when he is abruptly sidelined from an expected promotion when Miranda makes a unilateral decision to save her own position. This moment highlights how even senior employees under autocratic management are left powerless in critical decisions.
Justification from a Management Perspective:
From a management perspective, Miranda’s autocratic leadership has both strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths:
Control and Consistency: Miranda’s firm control ensures that her vision for Runway is executed precisely. There is no ambiguity in direction, and the magazine’s success is largely due to her singular vision and her tight grip on the business.
Quick Decision-Making: In an autocratic style, decisions are made quickly because there’s no need for lengthy consultation. This allows Miranda to move swiftly, especially in the fast-paced world of fashion, where trends change rapidly.
Weaknesses:
Low Employee Morale: The fear-based culture leads to high stress and low job satisfaction. Miranda’s employees are motivated more by fear of failure than by inspiration, which can lead to burnout and high turnover.
Lack of Innovation: By not encouraging input from her employees, Miranda stifles creativity and innovation. An autocratic leader like her may be excellent at maintaining control, but such rigidity often hinders the flow of fresh ideas.
Dependence on the Leader: Miranda’s control is so absolute that the company would struggle to function without her. This can be risky for any organization, as it creates a dependency on one person, making it vulnerable if they leave or are unable to lead.
Conclusion:
“The Devil Wears Prada” illustrates the classic traits of autocratic management, where the leader controls every aspect of the organization with little input from others. While Miranda Priestly’s leadership style brings success to Runway, it comes at the cost of employee morale, autonomy, and personal growth. Her management style is effective in delivering results but leaves a trail of unhappy, overworked, and uninspired employees in its wake, making it unsustainable in the long term for fostering a healthy work culture.