34 | New Scientist | 4 July 2020
is in their interests to emphasise potential
threats and play on people’s fears.
However, van Vugt and Smith identify
a way that we might shift the balance more
towards prestige leadership. Other animals
tend to rely on different leaders depending
on the situation. If the group is threatened, it
is generally a male, or males, who will lead the
defence or counter-attack. But when it comes
to deciding when to move on, find food or
seek sanctuary, a female is more likely to
take the lead. “Females, particularly elderly
females, often have the most experience and
knowledge, so they are followed to food
resources, watering holes and to safe places
away from danger,” says Smith. Some human
societies have traditionally adopted a similar
approach. For example, the traditional
authority system of the Navajo people in the
south-west US had distinct leaders of war and
peace, and also separate leaders for hunting,
medicine and ceremonial songs. Of course,
all societies have experts who lead in their
own field. Yet countries and organisations
currently tend to devolve ultimate power
to a single leader at the top.Dethroning dominance
In an attempt to buck this trend, some
businesses are consciously promoting a
more distributive approach to leadership.
Gore-Tex in the US and Semco in Brazil,
for instance, have adopted a system of
decentralised management called holacracy,
which gives decision-making powers to fluid
teams, who can then choose the best person
for a particular job. It has been argued that
flatter organisational structures like these
also help get more women into leadership
roles, which might give another boost to
prestige-style leadership. However, Carter
is sceptical. “There is evidence to suggest that
men tend to be granted leadership informally
in self-managing teams more often than
women, despite equal capabilities,” she says.
At the national level, it may be even harder
to shift away from dominance leadership.
The difficulties are exemplified in US politics,
according to van Vugt. Before the 2016
presidential election, he and his colleaguesused their model to predict a Trump victory
over Hilary Clinton. This time around, given
the current US position both domestically
and in its relations with other powerful
countries such as China and Russia, and given
who leads these countries, it again seems
unlikely that a prestige-style opponent could
beat Trump. His inept response to the Black
Lives Matter protests and to the threat posed
by covid-19 may act as a counterbalance.
Still, things don’t look good for Democratic
challenger Joe Biden. “Biden has been
counting on a prestige approach, appealing
to people who fear and detest Trump’s
dominance model,” says Mansbridge.
Despite the trajectory we appear to be on,
van Vugt believes that things could change.
“One result of economic prosperity is that
people want more freedom, a more liberal
approach, which favours more prestige-based
leaders,” he says. Mansbridge, meanwhile,
sees hope in research suggesting that
humanity is becoming less violent. As people
become increasingly interdependent, both
within and between nations, dominance
leadership undermines our goals and the
need for prestige leadership increases.
“If that is the case,” she says, “then Jacinda
Ardern in New Zealand and Sanna Marin
in Finland are the wave of the future.” ❚Emma Young is a writer
and journalist based in
Sheffield, UK. Her latest
book is Here Lie the SecretsHow effective are our world leaders?
According to a 2014 survey of World
Economic Forum members, not very.
To be better, respondents said that
leaders should develop greater
empathy and courage, work more
collaboratively and prioritise social
justice and well-being over financial
growth. That same year, the Oxford
Character Project was launched,
with a mission to do just this. As
part of the project, Edward Brooks
heads the Oxford Global Leadership
Initiative, a course for postgraduate
students that seeks to develop key
virtues including humility, honesty,
generosity, gratitude and service.
Last year, a preliminary analysis
found that the initiative produces
measurable growth in gratitude
and service, and helps students to
assess humility and generosity in
leaders. Brooks hopes that virtue
education will become integrated
into leadership courses elsewhere.
We need a new generation of wise
leaders and good thinkers, he says,
“with a deep commitment to serve
the welfare of society”.How to be a
good leader
For the Navajo,
a healer was
traditionally one
of several leaders
with distinct remitsBE
TTMANNARCHIVE