Leadership, Followership, and Evolution - Mark …

← Back to document page

leadership , followership , and EvolutionSome Lessons From the PastMark Van VugtUniversity of KentRobert HoganHogan Assessment SystemsRobert B. KaiserKaplan DeVries article analyzes the topic of leadership from an evo-lutionary perspective and proposes three conclusions thatare not part of mainstream theory. First, leading andfollowing are strategies that evolved for solving socialcoordination problems in ancestral environments, includ-ing in particular the problems of group movement, intra-group peacekeeping, and intergroup competition. Second,the relationship between leaders and followers is inher-ently ambivalent because of the potential for exploitation offollowers by leaders. Third, modern organizational struc-tures are sometimes inconsistent with aspects of ourevolved leadership psychology, which might explain thealienation and frustration of many citizens and authors draw several implications of this evolutionaryanalysis for leadership theory, research, and : Evolution , leadership , followership , game the-ory, mismatch hypothesisWhy is leadership important?

Leadership, Followership, and Evolution Some Lessons From the Past Mark Van Vugt University of Kent Robert Hogan Hogan Assessment Systems Robert B. Kaiser Kaplan DeVries Inc.

  University, Leadership, Evolution, And evolution, Kent, Followership, University of kent