Evolutionary leadership theory
Evolutionary leadership theory analyses the concept of leadership from an evolutionary perspective. Evolutionary psychology assumes that our thinking, feeling and doing are the product of innate psychological mechanisms. These mechanisms evolved because they enable people to effectively deal with situations that are important for survival and reproduction.
Evolutionary theory suggests that both leadership and followership were important for the reproductive success of human ancestors. Evolutionary leadership theory was introduced by Professor Mark van Vugt, a professor of social and organizational psychology in the book Selected: Why Some People lead, Why Others Follow and Why it Matters.
The German-language books
and
by Dipl.-Psych. Michael Alznauer also approach the theme of leadership from an evolutionary viewpoint, but with a slightly different focus.
The theory distinguishes itself from other theories of leadership practice by postulating that:
- Leading and following are adaptive behavioural strategies that have evolved to solve social-coordination problems in ancestral groups.
- The relationship between leaders and followers is fundamentally ambivalent. Leaders can abuse their position of power for their own benefit at the expense of others.
- Modern organizational structures are sometimes inconsistent with innate psychological mechanisms of leading and following. This inconsistency provides one possible explanation for problems in the relationships between managers and subordinates in modern organizations.
Evolution of Leadership
Humans evolved as social animals. The group offers protection and cooperation in hunting, gathering and sharing food to make group membership attractive to the individual. Some form of coordination may benefit group activities. Research shows that groups with leaders generally do better than groups without a leader. The core premise of evolutionary leadership theory is that the primary function of leadership lies in facilitating group performance and effectiveness.Considerations for followers
If leadership benefits group performance then it is in the evolutionary interests of individuals to follow. ELT uses game theory to show that it is often more attractive for individuals to follow or not follow. When deciding whether or not to follow the individual will have two considerations:- the added value of following a leader
- who is the right person to follow in this particular situation
Leader prototypes (CALP)
Evolutionary leadership theory suggests that in deciding whom to follow people use evolved cognitive leader prototypes. These prototypes are called "cognitive ancestral leader prototypes" CALP. The CALPs help people choose the best person to lead in a specific situation. In times of conflict, this is a physically strong and younger masculine individual not afraid to take risks. In peacetime, this is usually a more feminine person or older person with more social skills. We still see these decision rules in our modern age, as do people in times of crisis still automatically select a Big Man.Leadership and dominance
Leadership is often confused with social dominance as we see in other social species. When animals compete for limited resources, the stronger animals benefit at the expense of the weak. By submitting to its stronger peer they avoid an aggressive act from the dominant animal. The dominance hierarchy reduces violence in the group. This kind of dominance hierarchy is also characteristic of other great apes such as chimpanzees and gorillas.Dominance is difficult within species in which cooperation is important. Weaker animals can form coalitions to attack stronger animals, something we see happening for example in chimpanzees. In human evolution, cooperation has led to a reversal of the balance of power. Someone is not a leader because he is able to dominate, but because his abilities benefit the group. Studies of hunter gatherers also show that there is no formal power relations, and attempts to dominate the group are punished. The leader leads by consent of the group.
The position of leader has obvious evolutionary advantages. A good leader has great respect and prestige, and this may translate into greater privileges and more sexual liaisons.
The problem of power
Power is still a relevant factor for humans, making it possible to increase own interests at the expense of others. People therefore prefer to follow leaders who show integrity and generosity. In hunter-gatherer societies there are a number of corrective mechanisms to keep leaders in check- gossip.
- criticism
- disobedience
- departure
- murder
The mismatch hypothesis
The mismatch hypothesis in ELT is a variation on the savanna principle that plays an important role in evolutionary psychology. The Savanna principle states that our brains have evolved to help humans survive in a specific environment, namely small nomadic groups on the savanna of Africa. This condition is called the environment of evolutionary adaptedness, or EEA. Because the modern conditions differ in critical respects from the EEA, some innate psychological mechanisms may not be functional any more. A good example is our preference for sweet, salty and fatty foods.Leadership in modern organizations differs in critical respects from the leadership in the EEA. Examples include:
- Physical and biological factors such as sex and stature still play an important role in the selection of leaders which may not be functional in modern organizations.
- Leaders no longer emerge from the group bottom up but they are usually assigned top down.
- Nowadays leaders have a lot more power over group members.
- Modern forms of organization limit the STOP correcting mechanisms.