By Wayne Buchanan
PSYCHOLOGY OF LEADERSHIP
EXPLANATION
Leadership does not take place within a vacuum. Leadership must be placed within the context of the human experience. And within such a context, leadership and leaders are not immune to the insight of psychology.
Psychology is the science concerned with understanding and explaining cognitive (mental) processes and behaviour. Through and by the insights of psychology we come to understand the emotional and behavioural characteristics of an individual, group or activity.
This insight gives us the ability to know where people are at. It reveals motives and desires and ambitions. It tells us not only what people are capable of doing, but also why they do it. We shall look at leaders and their leadership by understanding their personalities and we may see why they lead. The same insight is required in understanding people who have a need to follow a leader and his leadership. That is why I have submitted the title PSYCHOLOGY OF LEADERSHIP.
The objective of this paper is twofold:
1) To learn
good leadership skills which can be applied to our natural leadership style.
2) To disclose "false" leadership principles. These are not to be
applied to our leadership but are rather to be recognised in those who hold
positions around us.
It is important to recognise that although some of the following principles may draw a crowd they are not only non-biblical but also un-biblical tactics, not supported by scripture but endorsed by some church leaders.
THE FRAME WORK OF LEADERSHIP
As I have already stated leadership does not take place in a vacuum. Leadership (for our purpose) takes place within the framework of three dynamics, each feeding off each other and totally dependent upon each point of reference.
POSITION - POLITICS - POWER
Leadership's framework and reference points are POSITION - POLITICS - POWER.
The leader achieved the position of leadership through political events within the group/government structure that needs a leader. The leader is in the position of leadership to execute power.
No matter how one arranges these three points of reference, they remain as compass points to the leader and his leadership. The leader therefore must understand his position as leader. He must understand how he became the leader (or else he will lose his leadership), that is, he must know the political processes that he used to become leader. The leader must understand the principles of power. He has been empowered by others to use power. He has been given authority to use authority.
Each point of reference within the suggested framework gives insight to the personality and character of the person who wishes to become a leader. To desire leadership must be encouraged just as Paul the Apostle did in 1Tim 3:1 "…If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task."
But this noble task must be achieved within people relationships, it cannot be achieved outside of human contact, so people could be the fourth point of reference for our compass in understanding leaders and leadership.
However, I have not included people in the above. Because the leader, in order to achieve and maintain his leadership, must use the principles of position, politics and power over and above, and most of the time out of sight, of the people he will use to achieve his leadership.
ITS JUST THE OLD STORY AGAIN
This may sound like power games and to most people that notion of consciously playing power games - no matter how indirect - seems evil, and in bad taste, if not a relic of the past. Such naiveté only shows ignorance of the history that is recorded in the Bible.
The Bible faithfully records the power struggles between prophets and Kings, priests and prophets, God and His people, position, politics, and power all interlocked into an eternal struggle which even caused satan to be cast from heaven itself.
Jesus Himself finally fell victim to the three points of reference, of leadership. He endangered the position of His leaders, they through their political contacts moved power to have Him crucified and the people were not far behind screaming crucify, crucify adding the fourth point to our compass.
LEARNING THE GAME
Learning the principles of position, politics and power requires a certain way of looking at the world, a shifting of perspective. It takes effort and years of practice. The leader cannot afford to be naïve to how people work and why they do what they do and to whom they do it.
One must discover that there is no innocence in the world. Not even genuine naiveté is free of the snares of power. The position they hold, the politics they are using, or are the victim of, and the power they use towards others or that is used against them, in any form make them players in the human struggle and most driving of desires - significance in the group.
Children may be naïve in many ways, but they often act from an elementry need to gain control over those around them. Children suffer greatly from feeling powerless in the adult world, and they use any means available to get their way.
The leaders, who understand the psychology of people, will understand that genuinely innocent and honest people are playing their power game as well, as they are not free of some personal motivation. In fact, the use of honesty is a power strategy intended to convince people of one's noble, good-hearted, selfless character. Honesty is a form of persuasion, even a subtle form of coercion.
Courts
are unquestionably the seats of politeness and good breeding,
Were they not so they would be the seats of Slaughter and desolation.
Those who now smile upon and embrace would affront and stab each other if
manners did not interpose…
Lord Chesterfield 1694-1773
JESUS THE PSYCHOLOGIST
There is no doubt that Jesus has a wonderful insight to the human mind and personality. His depth of understanding surfaces by way of humour when we find Jesus assigning animal profiles to people.
When He did this it gave instant recognition of where that person was coming from, but it also conveys the fact that Jesus was neither naïve nor a sucker for those who were trying to have it on with Him.
Like Jesus, a good leader must understand and pigeonhole the people they meet and the people who will follow them including those they will replace as they rise into leadership. There will be blood spilt. You have to make sure that it is not yours.
JESUS LABELLED PEOPLE AS ANIMALS, PLANTS, TREES AND THINGS
One must know whom one is dealing with, Jesus did! In your rise to leadership you will come across many breeds of opponents. Part of the exercise of politics and power as you move towards your position of leadership, is the ability to distinguish the wolves from the sheep, the lambs from the goats, the dogs from the pigs, the foxes and the birds of the air including the hawks and the vultures, the serpents and the snakes, those that can just bite and those that can kill you with their bite.
Jesus not only called people by the names of animals, he actually pigeonholed people into groups, those that are wise and those that are foolish. There are the proud and the arrogant, the hopeless and the immoral, the greedy, the covetous, the boastful and the powerful (power for the lust of it).
People are weeds that choke, rocks that are too hard to break through, soil that is too shallow to grow anything in. A nation is like a fig tree that is to be cursed. People are like trees that grow and will bring forth good or bad fruit or people who are springs of water, which are bitter or sweet to drink.
That is why we see Jesus using sarcasm, irony, wisdom, humour or rebuke to bring insight and understanding concerning the people around Him.
When you
meet a swordsman,
Draw your sword.
Do not recite poetry to one
Who is not a poet
Buddha
Those who desire to be in leadership must have the same insight into people. Chances are many personality types that Jesus revealed through an animal or a plant or a bird may be in your church, all are definitely in the Church. Chances are many of the personality types that are in the book of Proverbs will be in your church, and all are definitely in the Church.
John Bunyan in his book Pilgrims Progress, considered to be the second most inspired piece of Christian literature ever written, cleverly and insightfully pigeonholes everybody he meets on his pilgrimage. There is no one that he meets on his pilgrimage that is a nobody.
He uses such labels as Mr Carnel Delight, Mr Contrite, Mr Cruelty, Mr Darenot Lie, Mr Desire Of Glory, Mr Emnity, Mr Facing Bothways, Mr Fairspeech, Mr Fearing, Mr Feeblemind, Mrs Flirt, Mrs Filth, Mr Gripman, Mr Hatelight, Mr Having Greedy, Mr Heady, Mr Highminded, Mr Holdtheworld, Mrs Knownothing, Mr Legality, Mr Liar, Mr Liveloose, Mr Lovelust, Mrs Lovetheflesh, Mr Malice, Mr Moneylove, Mr Saveall, Mr Selfwill, Mr Skill, Mr Timeserver, Mr Two Tongues. This is the discerning insight Christian the pilgrim has into the psychology of all those he encounters. These are just a few of the 110 labels that Bunyan uses in his book.
And believe me, they are also in the ministry, in leadership. They were in the ministry in the days of Jesus and they still are today. Without this insight you are blind. Not only will you offend the wrong people, you will choose the wrong types to work with. Without this insight when you think you are flattering people you will actually be insulting them. Never rely on your instincts. You will make the greatest mistake of all if you rely on such an inaccurate indicator when dealing with people. Nothing can substitute for gathering concrete knowledge from first hand observations.
NEVER TRUST APPEARANCES
In judging and measuring people (including other leaders, especially other leaders) never trust appearances. Anyone with a serpent's heart can use a show of kindness to cloak it. A person who is blustery on the outside is often a coward.
A sincere person may not be an honest person. Many take sincerity as an indicator of character, which it is not! That is why fallen leaders have suckered so many people. Their victims will tell you, 'but he was so sincere'. Yes and his sincerity was hiding his true colours and character, which was found out in the end.
All con artists are very sincere people, because they sincerely want to suck you in, take you for a ride and more importantly, get your money off you.
I have been
the pastor of over 900 people during a 15-year period of ministry. Most of
those people tried to keep me off balance with false appearances of who and
what they really are. Their criticisms, and often their high moral ground,
are a cover for sins like adultery, stealing, and homosexuality. The list
is endless.
The trouble is this, once they know that you know, or if they have the slightest suspicion that you know about them, they will be 'lead by the Lord to another fellowship, where their real needs can be meet by a real pastor who cares'.
All human interactions require deception on many levels, and in some ways this is what separates humans from animals, it is this ability to lie and deceive. Deception is a developed art of civilisation and the most potent weapon that will be used against the church in the last days. The false prophets and the false teachers and the false apostles will use false appearances with lots of sincerity to deceive the very elect, if it were possible.
The leader and the church member, who is creating a deception, will often construct a smoke screen through their appearance. In a group situation people can make the mistake of believing that if someone seems to belong to their group, then their belonging must be real. This is how a false ministry and false people last so long and go so far in the church. Coupled with their sincerity they can milk it dry before they are discovered.
WHAT GENERATES MOTIVATION FOR PEOPLE
One of the great goals of leaders and leadership is to motivate people into a purpose or into a vision - to fulfil a mission. Often preachers fall into the trap of believing that people are motivated by truth, justice, and a passion for the Lord, a love for the church, a respect and love for their leader. This is why many pastors fail in motivating their flocks; they are appealing to ideals, which usually belong to fairy tales.
One may look at large and successful churches and from the outside you may believe that the great leader of such a large church is using the above to create such a positive, motivated feel in the congregation.
But if you listen carefully you will understand the greatness of that leader. He does not appeal to idealism, although he will constantly be talking about passion, vision, mission, reaching out to a nation, the nations. We in turn believe that it is this that is motivating and creating the success. But you would be wrong, what he is artfully doing is appealing to self-interest.
Self-interest is the leaver that will move people. Once you make them see
how you can in some way meet their needs and their petty wants or advance
their cause, their resistance to your request for help will magically fall
away.
Countless people have moved from small churches to big churches (Very little
the other way, but it does happen). What they never did in a small church
you will find they are doing in a big church. What happened? What was the
miracle that turned their life around?
Usually, they came to realise that in their small church, their desire for power and leadership will not come to pass. Often people who are not in leadership in one church will end up being in leadership a few weeks later once they have started in their new church. Musicians love a crowd, singers love to sing in front of a crowd. The song leader needs to discharge his ministry and the bigger the crowd the more anointed they will be. The budding preacher is of course called to win the world from a large platform.
Will they be motivated to stay in the small church that saved them, trained them, and released them into them gifts? No! Why?
It is a mistake, on the part of the leader, to appeal to their mercy or gratitude. Never remind people of your past assistance and good deeds! They will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your need for their help that will benefit them and emphasise it. They will respond enthusiastically when they see something to be gained for them.
Look at what motivates you, your desires and wants. You will want to serve the church and the leader who will give you want you really want!
The shortest
and best way to make your
fortune is to let people see clearly that
it is in their interests to promote yours.
Jean de La Bruyere (1645-1696)
Motivating Factors
Things
People Want To Gain:
Health, Time, Money, Popularity, Improved appearance, Security in old age,
Praise from others, Comfort, Leisure, Pride of accomplishment, Advancement:
Business and social, Increased enjoyment, Self-confidence, Personal prestige.
Things People Want To Be:
Good parents, Sociable, hospitable, Up to date, Creative, Proud of their possessions, Influential over others, Efficient, "First" in things, Recognised as authorities.
Things People Want To Do:
Express their personalities, Resist domination by others, Satisfy their curiosity, Emulate the admirable, Appreciate beauty, Acquire or collect things, Earn others affections, Improve themselves generally.
PEOPLE NEED TO TALK - LET THEM!
The leader needs to know what is going on. The best way to find out is to allow people to talk. They are going to talk any way no matter how many sermons you preach on gossip. The preacher that is warning about gossip and preaching against it is destroying his greatest source of information and revealing his deep insecurities, which could be part of a personality disorder.
Leadership is about position, politics and power. In order to maintain a degree of control over future events you need to know what is happening now!
People will not tell you all their thoughts, emotions, and plans, (Most pastors don't know that some of their best families were planning to leave months before they did) they keep it to themselves. They often keep the most critical parts of their character hidden - their weakness, ulterior motives, obsessions - their secrets.
The result is that you cannot predict their moves, and are constantly in the dark. The leader needs to know, he cannot afford to be in the dark.
Knowing that people talk, and love to talk, is a great tool in leadership. People tell other people their secrets. The trouble is people cannot keep secrets, they have to talk. The best words a pastor will every hear is the sentence that starts with, "don't tell another living soul, but…"
Now, the
reason a brilliant sovereign and a wise general conquer the enemy whenever
they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men, is their foreknowledge
of the enemy situation. This "foreknowledge" cannot be elicited
from spirits, nor from gods, nor by analogy with past events, nor by astrologic
calculations. It must be obtained from men who know the enemies situation
- from spies
Sun-tzu, The Art of War, Fourth Century BC
Note:
Preachers and leaders often try to impress people with words, however, sometimes
the more you say, the less like a leader you will appear. Powerful people
impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you
are to say something foolish!
Often silence will make other people uncomfortable. Humans are machines of
interpretation and explanation: they have to know what you are thinking. When
a leader carefully controls what they reveal, people cannot pierce their intentions
or their meaning.
Never
start moving your own lips and teeth before the subordinates do. The longer
I keep quiet the sooner others move their lips and teeth. As they move their
lips and teeth I can thereby understand their real intentions. If the sovereign
is not mysterious the ministers will find opportunity to take and take.
Han-fei-tzu, Chinese Philosopher, third century BC.
Note:
There are times when it is unwise to be silent. Silence can arouse suspicion
and even insecurity, especially in your superiors. A vague or ambiguous comment
can open you up to interpretations you had not bargained for. Silence and
saying less then necessary must be practiced with caution, then, and in the
right situations.
It is occasionally wiser to imitate the court jester who plays the fool but knows he is smarter than The King. He talks and talks and entertains. No one suspects that he is more than just a fool.
ISOLATION IS DANGEROUS - DO NOT BUILD FORTRESSES
Jesus stated that we must love our enemies. The reason for this is that in the ministry you will have enemies. The late Rob Muldoon, ex-Prime Minister of New Zealand, once said, " I did not achieve anything in politics until I made enemies". The ministry is the same. The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere - every one has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from - it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to circulate among people, find allies, and mingle. The crowd shields you from your enemies.
Solitude
is dangerous to reason without being favourable to virtue. Remember that solitary
mortal is certainly luxurious, probably superstitious, and possibly mad.
Dr Samuel Johnson, (1709-1784)
The fortress is invariably a mistake. It becomes a symbol of power's isolation, and is an easy target for its builders' enemies. Designed to defend you, fortresses actually cut you off from help and cut into your flexibility. They may appear impregnable, but once you retire to one, everyone knows where you are, and a siege does not have to succeed to turn your fortress into a prison.
With their small and confined spaces, fortresses are also extremely vulnerable to the plague and contagious diseases. In a strategic sense, the isolation of a fortress provides no protection, and actually creates more problems than it solves.
In moments of uncertainty and danger, the leader needs to fight this desire
to turn inward. Instead, the leader needs to be more accessible, seek out
old allies and make new ones, force yourself into more and more different
circles. This has been the trick of powerful leaders for centuries.
Leadership
is about position, politics and power. The leader can only gain these things
through contact with people. Instead of falling into a fortress mentality,
you the leader need to float in and out of different circles and mix with
different types.
That kind of mobility and social contact will protect you from plotters who
will be unable to keep secrets from you, and from your enemies, who will be
unable to isolate you from your allies. Always on the move, you mix and mingle.
No hunter can fix his aim on a swift-moving target.
A good
and wise prince desirous of maintaining that character and to avoid giving
the opportunity to his sons to become oppressive will never build fortresses,
so that they may place their reliance upon the good will of their subjects
and not upon the strength of citadels.
Niccolo Machiavelli, (1469-1527)
NOTE:
The great danger of isolation is that it breeds all kinds of strange and perverted
ideas. The leader can lose sense of his smallness and limitations. Also, the
more isolated you are, the harder it is to break out of your isolation when
you choose to - it sinks you deep into quicksand without your noticing. If
you need time to think, then choose isolation as last resort, and only in
small doses. Be careful to remember your way back into people contact.
USE SURRENDER, TRANSFORM WEAKNESS INTO POWER
When you are weaker, never fight for honour's sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to wait, for another opportunity. Do not give those who attack you the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you - surrender first. By turning the other cheek you infuriate and unsettle those who strike you. Make surrender a tool of power.
What gets us into trouble in the realm of politics and power is often our overreaction to the moves of our rivals. That overreaction creates problems we would have avoided had we been more reasonable. For every action there is a reaction. Overreaction can create a rebound effect, for the rival as well. It is always our first instinct to meet aggression with some kind of aggression. But the next time someone pushes you and you find yourself starting to react, try this: Do not fight back, but yield, turn the other cheek, bend.
You will find that this often neutralises their behaviour - they expected, even wanted you to react with force and so they are caught off guard and confounded by your lack of resistance. By yielding, you in fact control the situation; because your surrender is part of a larger plan to lull them into believing they have defeated you.
Inwardly you stay firm, but outwardly you bend. Deprived of a reason to get angry, your opponents will often be bewildered instead. They are unlikely to react with more violence, which would demand a reaction from you. Instead you are allowed the time and space to plot the countermoves that will bring them down.
In the battle of the intelligent against the brutal and the aggressive, the surrender tactic is the supreme weapon. But it requires self-control! Those who genuinely surrender give up their freedom, and may be crushed by the humiliation of their defeat. You have to remember that you only appear to surrender, like the animal that plays dead to save its hide.
Ye have heard
that it hath been said, an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth but I say
unto you that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right
cheek turn to him the other also.
Jesus Christ Matthew 5:38-39
NOTE:
The point of surrendering is to save your hide for a later date when you can
reassert yourself. Try not to be the martyr. However, if you are willing to
die, others may gain power and inspiration from your example. Yet martyrdom,
surrender's reversal, is a messy inexact tactic and is as violent as the aggression
it combats. For every famous martyr there are thousands more who have been
inspired by such a death. But the outcome is so unpredictable. Finally there
is something selfish and arrogant about martyrs, as if they felt their followers
were less important than their own glory.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CROWD BUILDING:
TACTICS OF SUPER APOSTLES
Step One: Keep It Vague; Keep It Simple.
To create a crowd the leader must first attract attention. This is not done through actions, which are too clear and readable, but through words, which are hazy and deceptive. The crowd gatherer's initial speeches, conversations and interviews will include two elements: on the one hand the promise of something great and transformative and on the other a total vagueness.
This combination will stimulate all kinds of hazy dreams in the gathering crowd and they will make their own connections and see what they want to see. In order to make the vagueness attractive use words of great reason, but with cloudy meaning. Use words full of heat and enthusiasm. Use fancy titles for simple things and the use of numbers and the creation of new words for vague concepts are a must.
All of these
create the impression of specialized knowledge, giving the crowd gatherer
a veneer of profoundness. By the same token, effort must be made to make the
subject for the gathering crowd new and fresh, so few will understand it.
Vague promises, cloudy but alluring concepts and fiery enthusiasm will stir
people's souls and a group will form very quickly. Giving details and benefits
must be avoided, if you explain too many people will expect too much and then
that expectation will have to be satisfied. You must not disappoint the crowd.
Most people's problems have complex causes: deep-rooted neurosis, interconnected social factors, roots that go back in time and are exceedingly hard to unravel. Few however, have the patience to deal with this, most people want to hear that a simple solution will cure their problems.
The ability to offer this kind of simple solution gives the crowd gatherer great power and will build a following. Instead of the complicated explanations of real life, the leader of the crowd will return to the primitive solutions of our ancestors, to good old country remedies, to mysterious cures.
Step Two: Emphasise the Visual and The Sensual over the Intellectual.
Once people begin to gather two dangers will arise: boredom and Scepticism. Boredom will make people go elsewhere, scepticism will allow them the distance to think rationally about whatever is being offered. Therefore, amuse the bored, and ward off the cynic.
The super apostle will do this through theatre, or other devices of its kind. The crowd gatherer will surround himself with luxury, dazzle his followers with visual splendour, filling their eyes with spectacle. Not only will this keep them from seeing the ridiculousness of his ideas and the holes in his belief system, it will also attract more attention and more followers. Appealing to all the senses by music, colour and presentations giving a feeling of awe.
By using new technological gadgets gives the crowd gatherer a pseudo-scientific veneer. As long as it helps people not to think too deeply about what is going on.
Step Three: Structure the Crowd to Protect the Throne.
The crowd is now growing, it is time to organise it. The best way to structure the crowd is to ensure that the super Apostle holds to an unquestioned authority. Put into the culture of the crowd the concept that any searching questions asked is a negative attitude and those questions show a lack of faith, if not out right criticism of the beloved leader. Remember kill the cynic, for it is only he that can see through the game.
Create rituals for the followers like dress codes that suit the culture of the crowd. Organise the crowd into a hierarchy, ranking them in grades, giving names and titles with spiritual overtones and biblical references, asking them for extra sacrifices of time and money to make them worthy of the position they have received.
Sometimes a leader will re-write or re-place the constitution that brought him to power so that no one else will be able to get to the same position the way he did. Still others will actually remove themselves from the organisation or movement from which they have gathered their crowd, so that they are free from investigation if trouble arises.
But above all else emphasise the nature of the leader's position to a "more-or-less-god" like status, which is clearly confirmed in his talking and acting like an apostle/prophet. The dictator of the crowd has now hidden his real scam and power in the mist of religion.
Men are
so simple of mind and so much dominated by their immediate needs that a deceitful
man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived.
Niccolo Magiavelli (1469-1527)
Step Four: Money.
The crowd has now grown and it has become structured the way it should be and the coffers are beginning to fill with money. Yet the leader of the crowd must never be seen as hungry for money and the power that comes with the crowd. The followers want to believe, they need to believe, that if they follow the leader all good things will fall into their lap. By surrounding himself with luxury the leader is living proof of the soundness of his belief system. Yet he will never reveal that his wealth actually comes from his followers' pockets, instead it will be the result of the truth of his methods and the blessing of God Himself!
The crowd will copy the leaders each and every move in the belief that it will bring them the same results, but their imitative enthusiasm blinds them to the true nature of the super apostles wealth.
Step Five: Find a Common Enemy to Unite Against.
The crowd is now large and thriving, a magnet attracting more and more particles. If the leader is not careful though, the growth will slow and in time boredom will demagnetise the group. To keep the followers united the leader must now create an "us versus them" dynamic.
First make sure the crowd believe they are part of something special and different to what God is doing or not doing elsewhere. This will unify by a bond of common goals. Then, to strengthen this bond, an enemy to the crowd and the leader must be identified. That there is a force of non-believers that will stop at nothing to topple the high calling that the leader and the crowd have before them.
A person that questions and is probing for answers will be seen as an outsider. Someone who questions has not come under authority, is clearly not a team player and is obviously in deception, because they cannot see the sincerity and goodness of the leader and the impact that the crowd is making.
This enemy is usually manufactured and may come from the government, the media (bad press, things are leaking out), or even from within the same organisation or movement. The super apostle will give his crowd a straw man to react against and he will tighten his grip on them. They will have the leader's cause to believe in and now infidels to destroy!
Note:
The Magnet. An unseen force draws objects to it, which in turns become magnetised
themselves drawing other pieces to them with the magnetic power of the whole
constantly increasing. But take away the invisible force that attracts people's
imaginations and holds them together and it all falls apart. The super apostle,
the super leader is that invisible force and power. Once they have clustered
around him, no power can wrestle them away.
The source
of the crowd gatherer's power is simply the opening of a possibility for people
to believe what they already want to believe. The gullible cannot keep at
a distance; they crowd around the wonder worker, entering his personal aura,
surrendering themselves to illusion with a deep personal commitment, like
cattle.
Grete de Francesco
Step Six: Play to People's Fantasies.
The super leader will avoid the truth because it is ugly and unpleasant. He will never appeal to truth and reality because it makes people angry. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy is like an oasis in the desert, everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the crowd.
Fantasy can never operate alone. It requires the backdrop of the humdrum and the mundane. It is the oppressiveness of reality that allows fantasy to take root and bloom. The super leader can spin a fantasy out of an oppressive reality and as a result has access to untold power. The crowd searches for fantasy, they will not join the bland old truth that weighs heavily upon them.
The Reality/
The Fantasy
R. Change is slow and gradual. It requires hard work, a bit of luck,
a fair amount of self-sacrifice, and a lot of patience.
F. A sudden transformation
will bring a total change in one's fortunes, bypassing work, luck and self-sacrifice,
and timed in one fantastic stroke.
R. The social realm has hard-set codes and boundaries. We understand
these limits and know that we have to move within the same familiar circles,
day in and day out.
F.
We can enter a totally new world with different codes and the promise of adventure.
R. Society is fragmented and full of conflict.
F. People can come
together in a mystical union of souls
R. Death. The dead cannot be brought back, the past cannot be changed
F.
We can always believe in a sudden reversal of this intolerable fact.
The super leader knows that the crowd is hungry for
fantasy. People rarely believe that their problems arise from their own misdeeds
and stupidity. Someone or something out there is to blame - the other, the
world, God, Satan, demons, parents.
Therefore salvation must come from outside of oneself as well. Often this surfaces in the super apostle's crowd as the need to give more money. To give more is to tap into the power that will set you free from all the problems that others have given you. To keep the crowd, the super leader never promises a gradual improvement through hard work. Rather he promises the moon, the great and sudden transformation, and of course the pot of gold that will be theirs after they have given a little more than what they currently give.
No men
need despair of gaining converts to the most extravagant hypothesis who has
art enough to represent it in favourable colours.
David Hume (1711-1776)
As humans, we have a desperate need to believe in something, anything. This
makes us eminently gullible.
Look at history. The chronicles of the new trends and cults that, have the
masses following them, could fill a library. But after a few centuries, a
few decades, a few years, a few months, they generally look ridiculous. But
at the time they seem so attractive, so divine.
Cult leaders believe in the rule, 'Do not let the gullible go to waste'. So
they will manufacture themselves into super saints or super ministries. What
is it they say, that's right, 'there is sucker born every second'.
One of the rules that governs cults and deceptive groups is, "The larger
the group that you can gather around, the easier it is to deceive".
It has been thought that Adolf Hitler once said, " When telling lies,
tell the biggest lie you can think of, in that way you will get more people
to believe and follow".
Often that is the danger of a crowd. In large groups humans are known to be
more emotional and less intelligent. If the cult leader spoke to individuals,
they would see him for what he is but lost in a crowd humans can get caught
up in a communal mood of rapt attention. Any deficiencies in the cult leader's
ideas are hidden by the zeal of the crowd.
The crowd helps to lose the sceptic and the cynic. The crowd becomes an endorsement
or even a mandate for the leader to peddle his wares.
Beware of false teachers, who have perfected the science of attracting and
holding a crowd, moulding the crowd into followers and the followers into
a cult.
Closing Remarks, The Forum, March 2003
Characteristics of Spiritual Neurosis