An opinion of a psychologist – by Harry Kyrodimos
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Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche informs us resoundingly that “God is dead, and we have killed him”. For a big portion of the West this is now, the age we live in – the times following the death of God. But how is this relevant to an article about leadership? Among other things the “death of god” is the end of absolute authority. It is the end of a god-given set of rules on how to conduct our lives. It is the end of god-appointed rulers, people who were believed to possess a divine right or in more recent years, an innate “trait” of leadership.
“How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? […] Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?” the quote continues. What the philosopher brings forth here is the matter of personal choice, the ability to choose a path for ourselves. Personal choice, however, brings along responsibility. If I can choose for myself, then I am responsible for everything I do. And we are prepared to walk a long way to escape the responsibility of our freedom.
Who can save us from ourselves then? We need a saviour, a messiah to substitute; namely a “strong leader”.
A “strong leader” can be idolized and perceived as a “god” who gives an “ontological” sense of direction. They advice or command us what to do, how to do it and what end to strive for. Everything is taken care of and we just need to follow the plan. We are relieved from “the evil” of personal choice. We are saved from ourselves. However, we are also alienated from ourselves.
Where there is strictness and excessive direction, creativity is hindered and there are a few things worse for mental health than that. But you will argue that too little direction means there is chaos and no plan to reach the desired goal.
What does a good leader do, then? A “strong leader” dictates, while an effective leader inspires. Contrary to the saviour, a good leader doesn’t take initiative away but rather enhances it. They encourage their followers to learn new ways of doing things and novel ways to think. The leader is the one that carries with them the co-produced vision of the whole team and helps them realize it.
But how can one inspire in such a way? Research says by forming and fostering a relationship. It is self-evident that there can be no leader without people to lead and one should seriously take them into account as subjects and not as objects. Effective leaders care about each member of their team individually. They listen to their needs and empower them to outdo themselves to reach the goal in sight. Authentic connections, though, are built by coming in contact with who the other person is, not what use they are to you. They say Alexander the Great knew each of his soldiers by name. I say that’s a good place to start. And if the populations are now too big for that, leadership should be transferable and supportive of this exact culture.
Research shows that such leaders create an environment where people are motivated, high-performing, but also happy and satisfied. Their creativity is stimulated, they have a clear vision to aim at and receive a lot back from their connection and identification with the team and their leader.
To conclude, a leader should be competent enough to create the necessary framework for their team to work in while at the same time leaving space for innovation. Most importantly, though, leadership is a relationship. The leader should be able to become a part of the team and join the common cause setting the example.
So, is there any room for kings? There is, as long as, instead of sitting on his high throne, the king steps down and joins his people. To paraphrase Napoleon: instead of leading an army of sheep, the leader walks among them and turns them into lions.
References
Buber, M. (1970). I and Thou (Vol. 243). Simon and Schuster.
Lord, R. G., Day, D. V., Zaccaro, S. J., Avolio, B. J., & Eagly, A. H. (2017). Leadership in applied psychology: Three waves of theory and research. Journal of applied psychology, 102(3), 434.
Nietzsche, F. (2010). The gay science: With a prelude in rhymes and an appendix of songs. Vintage.
Shamir, B. (2005). Leaders life stories are social reality: A rejoinder to Gronn. Leadership, 1 (4),
491-500. Yalom, I. (2020). Υπαρξιακή Ψυχοθεραπεία (μτφρ. Ε. Ανδριτσάνου, Δ. Κακατσάκη). Άγρα.
