The History of Leadership

There are five different eras of leadership that we learned about on Wednesday. Each era is very different from another and chronologically they changed according to what was going on in the world at the time.

 It all began with the first era, tribal leadership. The leaders in the tribal leadership era were always the most skilled people. They knew the most survival skills, where usually the biggest, and the strongest. The leader in tribal leadership didn’t just give orders and watch his people to they work. He taught his people what to do, and led them in doing it. Following the leader in tribal leadership was key to the success of the people because failure to follow usually resulted in death. 

The second era of leadership was the pre-classical era. This was the era of kings and queens. They became very interested in spirituality and death was greatly feared.  Because the king was male he had the most power and worked closely with the church to influence his people. Followers in this era listened to the king because the spiritual beliefs they were taught by the church told them they had to. It was implied that if they didn’t obey, they should fear the after life. 

The third era is the classical leadership era. In this era the leaders job was to lead and do nothing else. They demanded, controlled and made sure that things got done no matter what. This was a new era of major production that needed lots of workers to do very dangerous jobs.  The followers in this era listened because the leaders taught them that the work would make them a better person. They said that it would “build character. ”

 The fourth era was the progressive leadership era. In this era a lot of change was made. It wasn’t about the quantity, but the quality of thing being made. The leaders in this era preached to everyone that they would, “unlock the potential of everyone.” The followers in this era had value and were told they were equal to their leaders. 

The fifth and last era, is the post-progressive leadership era.  This era focused on change and making society better for all. The leaders in this era tested new ideas and had a new demographic agenda. The followers had a great relationship with their leaders, as they became partners. 

Although each of these leadership eras has passed, the world of leadership has grown and little parts of the theories in each era are still used today. The eras that I see in leadership roles the most today are the fourth and fifth. Maybe its because their the most recent but they also seem to be the most effective.  Still, little pieces of the first era of leadership are used today. In picking a leader you want someone who “has survival skills” someone who can take care of his or her people just like in the first era. As in the second era of leadership the male domination is still present today. I realize that women have much more power then they used to but I won’t be content until there is a woman president someday.  It’s amazing how much leadership has changed throughout the years. I can’t wait to see how much more it changes in my lifetime.