Friday, September 16, 2011

Leadership and ambivalence

Leaders are advantaged when they can pursue a goal without ambivalence. It is interesting to ask about the character type associated with such a leader. One such character type is the person who presumes that his or her passion or commitment should be shared as a matter of course by his followers, that persuasion is unnecessary and all that counts is the example one sets. One basis for this assumption is the leader's disinterest or inability to see into the psychic life of others. This need not reflect an underlying hostility toward others, but just a naivete about  others, a lack of familiarity with the idea and experience of psychic depth.  If substantial talent can be wedded to this immaturity good results may follow. But most likely should the goal environment itself prove too complex, too multidimensional, this kind of leader is likely to fail.

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