Essay Question:
Compare Bean and Ender's leadership qualities and decisions. Which was more successful and
why?
The Power of Two
Peanut butter and jelly. Han Solo and Chewbacca. Salt and pepper. Batman and Robin.
Famous pairings exist in every culture and every time. Each part of the pair functions
independently, but when they come together the real magic happens. So it is in Orson Scott
Card’s pairing of Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow with the two main protagonists, Ender and
Bean. Both had distinct yet complementary leadership styles that ultimately allowed them to
create their own kind of “magic” and successfully accomplish their combined objective.
Ender’s leadership style focused on team building, particularly in placing the needs of the
group over the needs of the individual. He delegated as much responsibility as possible to those
underneath him, trusting them completely and allowing them almost complete autonomy. He
expected his toon leaders to assess the battlefield and make their own decisions in the moment,
as when Bean and Crazy Tom’s toon win their first battle. (ES 274) Ender also expected his
army to problem-solve on their own, such as when he asked Bean to come up with crazy ideas
that could be employed at some future time. (EG 199) And he broke convention by creating
smaller, more agile toons that allowed for even great autonomy and additional team building
within the ranks. (EG 175) Each of these leadership choices brought his team together and made
them more effective.
As a leader, Ender also was willing to use non-traditional ways to solve problems he was
given and to further solidify his team. When Ender was first put in charge of Dragon Army, he
chose to upend the traditional bunk sleeping order, placing the youngest in front because he
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“knew that didn’t intent to be like other commanders.” (EG, 157). Later Bean observed, “Most
commanders make sure all good news comes from them. ... Wiggen’s whole technique is
building up his toon leaders.” (ES 275) These actions, along with others, created a sense of
camaraderie in his army.
Ender’s willingness to break the rules was amplified when he felt the rules were unfair.
When Dragon army faced overwhelming odds against two armies in what turned out to be its last
battle together, Ender broke all the rules and ended the game before the traditional fighting had
ended. Bean’s observation summed up Ender’s approach – “they thought they were putting
Ender to the ultimate test, making him fight two armies ... [but] he beat them – he sidestepped
the test.” (ES, 345) In every situation, Ender lead by finding novel ways to solve each problem
given to him while further endearing his followers to him.
Ironically, while Ender naturally brought people together with his egalitarian style of
leadership, he personally struggled with feeling completely alone. On several occasions, when he
was in his most precarious and deadly situations, the adults orchestrating his education ensured
that he received no help. First with Stilson on Earth and later with Bonzo at Battle School, Ender
faced a mortal enemy, and he did it alone. Both times he succeeded because he was willing,
against his better nature, to do whatever it took to make sure he was never threatened again. But
the result was that in these moments, Ender falsely learned that he could depend on no one but
himself. In this respect, this instinct of not being able to depend on those around him closely
resembled Bean’s leadership style.
In contrast to Ender, who comfortably lead his group from within, Bean’s leadership style
mimicked his loner and rebel personality. Throughout the book, Bean went off on his own to
solve problems. In Rotterdam, Bean discovered the truth about Poke’s death because he
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suspected something and sneaked away from the family at night. When he first arrived at Battle
School, Bean crept through the air vents alone to learn about the station. Even when working
with his fellow soldiers in a toon, Bean had no trouble taking initiative and moving “without
taking orders.” (ES 274) And similar to Ender, Bean was also comfortable breaking the rules –
but he chose to break the rules to accomplish his own ends. When he figured out how to login to
the computer as a teacher and had access to all the system’s records, his goal was to learn as
much as possible about his new location. (ES 184) In each case, Bean worked alone – keeping
his thoughts and motives to himself, even when it could have benefited the others.
This desire to serve himself carried through into how he approached his leadership role
and relationship with Ender. Yes, he wanted to win battles with Dragon Army. But he always
approached situations with the inevitable arrogance that came because he was smarter and faster
than everyone else – including Ender. “The real test for me will be seeing if I can stand it when
Wiggen makes some stupid mistake and I have to sit here as an ordinary soldier and watch him
do it.” (ES 280) Later, Bean’s thoughts betrayed his arrogance again – “Have you finally seen
and understand who I am? That I’m you, only smarter and less likeable?” (ES 296) And this
approach kept him from sharing valuable information when Ender began to confide in him.
“Better to keep silence,” he thought to himself as they talked. (ES 298) For most of the book,
Bean saw his leadership role as separate and above everyone around him –and one that was selfserving.
Although he often worked alone, Bean was able to use his extreme intelligence to benefit
others around him when he chose to. But even then, he still did so to also serve himself. His
innate ability to size up other people and see how their natural aptitudes would benefit the
dynamics of a specific group made him an invisible leader in each group he became involved in.
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In Rotterdam, Bean sized up Poke and her crew and saw what they needed. And then he was able
to use his persuasive skills to convince her to use his plan to capture Achilles and convince him
to protect the “family” to everyone’s benefit, including Bean’s. Later, Graff asks him to create a
recruit list for Ender’s new army. Bean responded by strategically choosing an ideal,
underappreciate group of soldiers for Ender. Ender agreed when he stated “It was no accident
that I got the soldiers I got. The launchies, the rejects from other armies, but put them together
and my worst soldier could be a toon leader in another army.” (ES 297) Again, while Dragon
Army was indeed everything Bean thought it would be, it also allowed Bean to become more
prominent and further his own agenda.
Bean’s instinct to always put his personal agenda ahead of others stemmed from his life
experience, which taught him that his survival depended completely on taking care of himself.
Like Ender, he also believed that no one would come to his rescue and that he must always look
out for himself. His earliest memories were of saving himself, a scenario that played out over and
over again from the streets of Rotterdam to his ingenious entrapment of Achilles at Battle
School. However, Ender tended to protect himself with brute strength seasoned with the element
of surprise, Bean depended on his superior intelligence to out-think and outsmart his opponent.
In the end, both Bean and Ender’s leadership styles were influenced by their similar innate desire
to survive at all costs.
When they approached their final goal, both Ender and Bean had to use their leadership
styles, as well as push past their natural instincts to succeed. Ender had to lean on his team,
especially as he became more and more exhausted by the end of the mission. He was able to do
this because he had delegated most of the individual decisions as he had done in Battle School,
and his team was trained to take responsibility and make spur-of-the-moment tactical decisions.
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They also trusted and loved him because of the relationships he had built with them. But doing
so meant he had to trust that they would be there for him – holding him up in a moment of dire
consequence. He had to trust that he wouldn’t be alone.
Bean’s ability to work both alone and with a team became increasingly important as he
took on the responsibility of both managing his squadron and watching Ender’s overall strategy
unfold in each battle. Again, Bean’s ability to size up the situation and the individuals in the
group became increasingly important as other members of the team began to fail. (ES 439, 442)
Acting as unseen backup for Ender and supporting him when he started to fail meant that Bean
was unable to perform at his personal best, but he willingly made the sacrifice. Thus, the success
of the group required Ender to rely on Bean and the others when he needed help the most and
required Bean to fully join the group by placing the groups needs above his own.
The goal was the total destruction of the Bugger home world and the salvation of Earth. It
could only have been accomplished by two brilliant complementary commanders working
together. “Lincoln and Grant,” as Bean said. (ES 266) Thus, by leveraging their strengths and
overcoming their weaker instincts, both Ender and Bean made decisions with their unique
leadership styles that allowed them to succeed in saving the human race. Alone, neither could
have accomplished the goal. But together, using the “magical” power of synergy that happens
when two great minds come together, they succeeded.
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