Reasons we choose to follow the leader

Evolution can explain what makes a leader and why as followers we tolerate them, but Darwin's theory tells us much less about why we so often choose a bad leader.

The finer points of leadership were discussed yesterday during a Festival of Science session called "Layers of the cultural mind". Prof Mark van Vugt of the University of Kent explained new theories about leadership and also described experiments showing how leaders emerge.

"New theories of leadership are finely embedded in Darwinian evolutionary theory. If we want to understand leadership we have to understand why people want to follow."

Humans and many primates adopt leaders as a part of their social framework, he said. He described laboratory experiments where participants were asked to pool money and then decide how to use it for beneficial purposes. Typically, within three minutes a leader spontaneously began to emerge from the group.

There is also a clear "genetic basis for leadership", Prof van Vugt suggested. "Personality traits associated with leadership have a heritable basis. There are also benefits for followers to be associated with a good leader."

There is often an assumption that there is a "harmonious relationship" between leader and follower but typically it is "ambivalent at best". Problems also arise when we select a leader, particularly if it is done when there is danger or uncertainty. When done under stress, we take too little time to consider our choices before we accept one leader over another. "That is why we often make wrong decisions, because we have to choose quickly."

The attractions of leadership also work against a wise selection, Prof van Vugt said. "The status and benefits make sure attract the wrong sorts of people to leadership."