Rejecting Bad Leadership

Leadership came into being when our ancient ancestors first realized they needed to form groups for defense and survival.  It must have been a conflicting time for those who survived the care and protection of their mothers until they found themselves on their own. 

I believe that family units eventually became defense and survival groups. Leaders naturally emerged, whether it was the best hunter, the strongest, or the brightest. Leadership is a natural result of two or more humans living together.  

My long experience has taught me that “good leadership” is a rarity among people. There is no reason to believe this would have been much different in the lives of our ancestors.  Then, as today, leadership was a valued prize, one that a host of people would kill for.

Obviously, I believe leadership is an essential part of human existence. While good leadership profits the group and the individual, bad leadership can potentially destroy the individual and the very world we live in. Our history is filled with good and bad leaders, one dynasty after another over thousands of years, continuing to this day. Assuming that we can readily recognize the difference between good and bad leaders, the question remains: What can we do about it? Will we ever learn to reject bad leadership?  Maybe not. After all, what does the evidence say?

Leadership is rare—When has it not been like this? —I can only hope

Sy

Author: Sy Ogulnick

Sy Ogulnick received a BA from UCLA, Teacher’s Credential from Los Angeles Board of Education and completed phase I (Master’s portion) in a Doctor of Behavioral Science program at California Coast University. Sy leased and operated a summer day camp in LA. He and his wife then purchased virgin wilderness land in Northern CA, where they built and operated a coed summer camp. They moved to Las Vegas, NV, and purchased, built and operated a community children’s program for families staying in a major resort casino in Las Vegas. They have created programs for children nationwide that employed many people and in the process developed successful training programs for personnel. This led Sy to lecture on how to train staff and the creating of community within the workplace. Sy was then invited to speak at professional conferences on how best to hire and train employees, which led to his becoming a consultant in the art of improving relationships in a work environment and eventually to his epiphany that “Leaders are the primary problem and the answer to the personnel issues that arise in the workplace.” Sy has written numerous papers on the subject of interpersonal relationships, leadership and power. He has lectured throughout the United States, has been interviewed by the media and has appeared on many radio and TV talk shows

One thought on “Rejecting Bad Leadership”

  1. Sy, you put leadership in an evolutionary perspective, showing how it was necessary for early human groups to coordinate themselves, be prepared for all natural and human obstacles ancient peoples had to deal with. Some must have sought leadership for self-aggrandizement, but the good leaders sought the safety and progress of the group, and must have been willing to sacrifice their own egos (and even their lives) at times for the group they led.

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