Expulsion due to disobedience is an example of this kind power that Nolan has as a member of the administration. Thus, as discussed earlier, Nolan was able to command the students' respect because he was backed up by the academic institution itself. In fact, the power that he enjoys as a teacher was based on tradition: that, as a teacher, the school's power is transmitted to him as a member of the school administration. Keating, meanwhile, developed his power over the boys by establishing a congenial relationship with them. He was considered a mentor rather than a leader, and his students believed in him because he offered a "fresh" respite from the traditional and oftentimes, boring, culture of the Academy. It is in these aspects that Keating became powerful over the boys, in the same way that Nolan earned his power through the school's support. John Sculley and Steven Jobs became recognized and well-known for their performance as top executives for Apple Computer. However, between the two executives, Jobs emerged as the most popular in the industry, while Sculley became the most successful as a strategist for the industry. Jobs' and Sculley's personalities are parallel with Keating's and Nolan's personalities, respectively. Keating and Jobs became successful as leaders because they inspire people through their attitude, philosophy, and behavior towards life. Schulley and Nolan, meanwhile, became successful because of their ability to deliver on the functions they were hired for (in Sculley's case, as an Apple exec, and for Nolan, as a teacher for the Academy).

From the film, "Dead Poets' Society," it became evident that leaders became successful based on the functions they...

Take the cases of Keating and Nolan. Keating was considered the main character of the film, and his success as a teacher was not gauged on the fact that he was able to teach his students the way literature should be taught. Instead, he chose to teach literature in an unconventional manner, and encouraged his students to live literature rather than read and talk about it. Because of this new, fresh experience in teaching, the students appreciated Keating's courageousness in being unconventional in his ways. It was also from Keating's character that audiences were able to appreciate Nolan's role as the traditional teacher. Due to his limited exposure and development as a character in the film, Nolan's character suffered in terms of the audiences' assessment of his capabilities as a leader. Suffice it to say that in the film, he became successful in the sense that he was able to hold firm his role as a teacher to Keating's students, that he was able to accomplish his function despite the students' obvious preference for Keating.
The film offered a very interesting insight into how, in an organization or institution, it becomes vital that there should be a balance of two kinds of leaders: the first leader being concerned with rational affairs of the organization, while the second one centers on the emotional and interactional aspects that occur in the organization. Since a balance of these two characteristics is difficult, if not impossible, to find in an individual, organizations should be able to find these two individuals who will concern themselves in areas wherein they are particularly talented, skilled, and competent at.