The Bridge Over the River Kwai Syndrome

I recently watched the classic war movie, "The Bridge Over the River Kwai", starring Sir Alec Guinness and William Holden.  It was the highest grossing film during the year it was released (1957) and won 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (David Lean), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor (Sir Alec Guinness).  The movie tells the story of a group of British Prisoners of War (POWs) who build a railroad bridge over the River Kwai in Burma, during World War II.  It is based on the novel of the same name by the French writer, Pierre Boulle, and is loosely based on the real-life construction of the Burma Railway (nicknamed the "Death Railway"because of the large number of POWs and conscripts who died during its construction).  It's a fabulous movie, and I'm not really sure why it took so long for me to sit down and watch it in full (I've seen bits and pieces of the movie over the years).

As it turns out, the movie ends up being all about leadership ("What can we learn about leadership from a movie?").  Guiness stars as Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson, the senior British officer at the POW camp, who provides a very interesting case study in leadership.  At the beginning of the movie, the commandant of the camp, Colonel Saito (played by the actor Sessie Hayakawa, who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the role) tells Nicholson that all of the POWs, including the officers, must work on the construction of the bridge.  Nicholson refuses, telling Saito that according to the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 1929, officers are exempted from manual labor.  Saito, of course, insists that the officers still work.  When the officers still refuse, Saito forces all of them to stand at attention during the intense heat, while the rest of the POWs march off to work on the bridge.

Nicholson and the rest of the officers are placed in solitary confinement (Nicholson's punishment is particular harsh, as he is placed in an iron box) for several days without food or water.  Saito eventually gives up, and Nicholson and the other officers proudly return back to the men.  While all of this is happening, three officers escape, including an American naval officer, Lieutenant Commander Shears, played by William Holden.  Two of the officers are shot, and only Shears successfully escapes.

Meanwhile, as Nicholson slowly regains his strength, he is shocked and disappointed to learn that the British enlisted POWs were sabotaging the construction of the bridge.  Over the protest of a few of his officers, he orders the POWs to be professionals and take pride in their work, for that is what British soldiers and gentlemen should do.  Nicholson drives his men to build and finish the bridge in time, and they even hold a celebration once the job is done.  For Nicholson, it is not only a matter of professionalism, but also a characteristic of the hard work, dedication, ingenuity, and integrity of the British soldier.  When someone challenges him whay he is helping the enemy, he emphatically states that what he is doing is in fact boosting the morale, discipline, and order of his men and upholding the reputation of the British Army.

Again, while all of this is happening, William Holden volunteers for a commando mission to destroy the bridge.  He leads a team back to the POW camp, and later that night, under the cover of darkness, the team places several charges on the bridge.  Unfortunately, overnight the river waters receded to uncover the detonation wires, which are spotted by both Saito and Nicholson.  Nicholson actually tries to prevent the bridge from being destroyed!  Shears and the members of his team are shot, and Nicholson finally realizes what he is doing.  He is shot as he exclaims, "What have I done?"  As he falls, he detonates the bridge just as a train is starting to cross it.  The bridge falls, and the train is destroyed.  

Leadership experts are quick to point out the dichotomy in Nicholson's leadership.  He starts off leading by example, risking his own life to stand up for his principles and for his fellow officers.  His leadership is further on display as he leads the POWs to build the bridge in record time.  However, he seems to lose sight of the fact of the long-term goal of winning the war!  It's a great lesson about goal obsession that has been called the "Bridge Over the River Kwai syndrome".  

As Samuel Bacharach writes in Inc. magazine, "Leadership can be an intoxicating, distracting force that blurs common sense and straight thinking.  The Bridge Over the River Kwai reminds all leaders that they must never forget their bigger mission."  Indeed.