One thing that stuck out to me in these readings was a point made in the Von Reuden and Van Vugt article. In my 102 class, we talked a lot about over-confidence, and how people with narcissistic traits are more likely to assume leadership roles. Furthermore, we talked about the numerous issues of charisma within both leaders and followers.
I think that this article highlights an important issue in our society that we may not notice. In SSSs, the authors write that community members were easily able to distinguish competent leaders from those who were merely over-confident and narcissistic because they were able to interact with them on a day-to-day basis. This personal relationship between others allows them to better see how that leader would benefit them in the long run. However, we have evolved into a world where charisma is everything, and we are willing and able to overlook substance behind a potential leader in order to focus on their charm or ability to socialize. This ability we have leads to unrealistic expectations and frustrated followers if the leader cannot live up to their expectations and, as we described in our 102 class, fulfill the followers’ need for “continuing magic”. I believe that this idea is detrimental to our society, especially as we are in a world of social media where people can make themselves a brand that appeal to large groups. I think that this reading is very important to keep in mind when evaluating our society and the people who want to lead it.
This also reminds me of how is SSSs, individuals are very close with one another, so they can quickly see when one’s narcissism turns detrimental. But for us … I’m reflecting even on our job hiring process. Given how massive and fluid our communities are, we never really know anyone. An employer must judge applicants on a few documents and an interview. Narcissists can thrive in this environment, since all they need is that charisma throughout the process, and boom, they’re hired …
I also thought of the conversation we had about narcissism in my 102 class; narcissistic people aren’t always good leaders, but they’re the ones that tend to fill leadership roles. Charisma is such a dangerous trait, because someone who is charismatic can almost sweet talk you into going against your beliefs. Someone can have an entirely different personality on social media, which adds a whole other level of deceit.
In 101 last semester we discussed narcissism and charisma and how you can never truly know what’s going on in a person’s head. It can be hard enough to distinguish between true intentions and not, and that only gets harder as that leader is more and more removed from your daily life like LSS leaders often are.
I agree, it gets so much harder the farther removed the leader is from the followers, LSS, meaning that the personal relationships that followers have with leaders is so much more far fetched. I think that this is a problem that we see in our society today because often with the most high up leaders do not truly understand the needs of the followers, and what it is like to live the day to day lives.
My 102 class also thoroughly discussed the narcissistic and overruling tendencies of leaders in LSSs, especially in our modern day world where we tend to thrive in LSSs. Your point about leaders looking to fulfill the followers hope for “continuing the magic” makes me wonder how a leader may choose which portion of the “magic” to uphold, because obviously each follower has a differentiated view of what their leader should aim to change and uphold within their society.