Primitive Leadership

• We think of leadership as a process - one based on influencing skills.
• But we forget that a leader (traditionally) is always at the top of a hierarchy.
• This is a very primitive concept of leadership.
• Chimpanzees and other animals also form themselves into hierarchies.
• Traditional leadership is biologically and psychologically primitive.
• Why have we not progressed beyond our animal cousins?
• The first priority of the positional leader is to maintain a hold on that position.
• Leaders and followers collude to maintain the status quo.
• Aspiring leaders want to get to the top too - they need to preserve the hierarchy.

• We look for a parental figure (normally a father figure) in all our leaders.
• Everyone likes to have a confident, self-assured person to look up to.
• In particular, t hose with lower self esteem feel secure with a strong leader to take charge of them.
• Traditional leadership is debilitating - aspiring leaders compete to overthrow the leader while the more submissive are afraid to challenge their leader for fear of disapproval.
• Neither contributes as much to enhancing organizational effectiveness as they should.
• Chimpanzees and other animals are similarly preoccupied with their hierarchical position.
• Traditional leadership is psychologically primitive - this means it is paternalistic - the traditional leader needs to care for employees and they, in turn, look up to leaders and depend on them, much as they once did their parents. This is highly disempowering and a waste of human talent.

What to do about it

• Holding down a fixed position was OK when the world changed slowly.
• Today, leadership must be more fluid, coming from many directions as the needed.
• We need to relinquish our primitive desire to regard one person as the leader.
• We and our colleagues can take the lead on different occasions.
• Becoming fully empowered and self reliant will be anxiety producing for many.
• View leadership solely as a process whereby anyone with good ideas who can persuade others to follow is displaying leadership regardless of their hierarchical status.
• For more on this topic see Beyond Folk Leadership

Challenging conventional thinking about leadership