I was highly intrigued by the story told of Jim Jones and the endeavors he once took hold of during his lifetime. It would have never occurred to be that Jones was not only a preacher but a racial activist who advocated hard for socialist values. One of the speakers in the podcast mentioned just how hard Jones vouched for black people, wanted to help black communities and even encouraged integration within his church. At first, I was thinking to consider Jones to have been a charismatic leader because of his ability to reach and relate to good amount of people, especially those who were being oppressed and were nothing like him. Yet, maybe his sense of “charisma” could have been ingenuine because of the way he spoke “like a black minister” and had the cadence of a black preacher to reach the black community. One could definitely consider Jones to have been a controlling and narcissistic leader. According to the researcher from the podcast, Jones began to talk about himself as if he were a living god after the death of Father Divine. Jones saw just how effective this was for Father Divine and soon became intensely opportunistic.
I am also unsure of whether or not to consider Jones to have been a transformational leader. His church, People’s Temple, was once regarded as a safe haven and he did seek to aid disparaged communities around him. Yet, it was almost as if Jones tried too hard to do a “good thing” and that goodness backfired severely. Initially, Jones was sincere about fighting against racial inequity. When People’s Temple became established and up on its feet, Jones apparently would recruit people using fear. He would publicly shame people through lashings, harassment by followers, and others for anyone who defected. One could consider him a dictator, transformational leader, servant leader, tyrant, and toxic charismatic all wrapped in one. I believe that some of his followers were definitely victims of groupthink who tried not to deviate from the norms that surrounded them in order to survive.
I see what you mean about him trying to do a good thing, however, I feel that he had the ability to lead and create change however he went too far and it is possible that he went crazy, and he was overwhelmed. He thought he was doing the right thing but the circumstances allowed to slip from reality I feel.
You brought up many interesting points when it comes to what type of leader we can define Jim Jones as. I agree in that he was initially transformational with the social justice work he did in communities. But, looking later into his life it appears as if that goal completely diminished and his goal instead was to build up a group who only praised and respected him and his wishes. It is difficult to put him in one category as it seems that his intentions and actions do not align overtime.
I really like this analysis of Jim Jones; in class we often discuss if leaders can overlap in which types of leadership they demonstrate, and the answer is usually yes, but it is extremely rare. In Jones’ case, a lot of these rarities overlap and he becomes a toxic charismatic and transformational leader all at once.