Predatory Leadership & Louis Pasteur - What is The Connection?

Lack of awareness of the global impact of predatory leaders today is akin to

the lack of understanding of the causes of disease prior the research and
discoveries of Pasteur, Lister and Koch. Until then, doctors knew nothing
about bacteria, virus and other invisible agents; they had no idea that these
microscopic agents existed or were the source of many of the deadliest
diseases affecting humans.

Along the line of thinking that the high offices of government and corporate
leadership harbor a major source of humanity’s problems, prior to Pasteur,
hospitals and doctors themselves were great sources of disease. There were
many theories about the causes of disease – primordial beliefs that illness
was caused by any number of causes: supernatural forces, Greek & Roman
explanations of the humours of the body, Egyptian theories about the
channels of the body, spontaneous generation, and so on. The most effective
descriptions and treatments of illness by doctors and researchers came from
logical deductions based on observations and intuitive guesses. From ancient
times through the 18th century, no significant progress was made in
understanding and effectively responding to the causes of disease.

The Industrial Revolution spawned a massive migration of rural populations

seeking work in the major cities of 19th century Europe. The resultant
crowding of humanity into tight, unsanitary quarters resulted in public health
problems on a scale never before experienced. Plagues of influenza, typhus
and cholera in the 1800’s killed hundreds of thousands of people; doctors
struggled to keep up without knowing the causes of the diseases. While
some researchers such as John Snow and Edwin Chadwick were able to
show links between cholera outbreaks and unclean drinking water, they did
not have scientific proof to support their theories. That lack of proof was
sufficient to allow government officials to deny public health measures that
could have saved millions of lives. Surgeons continued to work on patient
after patient without washing their hands, spreading disease as effectively as
a wind spreads a wild fire. To make any progress in reducing the murderous
rate of death caused by hospital workers and the conditions in hospitals, the
field of medicine needed a complete reconstruction.

After Pasteur discovered microbes and showed the connection between

bacillus and disease, medical researchers developed new tools and
techniques that transformed both their macro and micro perceptions and
abilities in the world of health. As a result they were able to greatly reduce
the devastation caused by numerous plagues and epidemics.
We are potentially on the threshold of a similar transformation in the world
of human leadership. Presumptions about leadership are similar to the
presumptions about medicine prior to 1850. Leaders affect every human on
the planet and most people feel powerless to do anything about the decisions
and actions of their leaders. In much the same way that bacteria and viruses
create a huge impact upon the life forms that they infest, there is an invisible
element that infects the quality of leadership worldwide. That element is the
Predatory Leader.

If you look at a humane and compassionate leader sitting next to an effective

and powerful predatory leader, at first glance it may be difficult to tell the
difference. From Gandhi to Hitler, Martin Luther King to Idi Amin, they all
had a lot in common. They all had ambition and vision. They had supporters
who followed them blindly with adoration and they had enemies who
wanted them eliminated in any way possible. They had the ability to
motivate people and, pretty much every step of their careers, they were able
to achieve significant results that contributed to how they were viewed by
others and how they were able to move forward in those careers.

Just as viruses and bacteria did (and still do) some of their worst damage in
locations dedicated to health, predatory leaders show up within every
institution where we are expecting wise, compassionate and noble
leadership. As these charismatic personalities are working their way into
greater positions of power, they are doing whatever is necessary to get closer
to their goals. The general population is not paying attention to them. By the
time they have great public visibility, power and control, they are as
entrenched as a fourth stage cancer and it is too late for the public body to
get rid of them.

When we learn how to identify, contain and divert such people early in their
careers, then we will have room in our institutions for the kind of leadership
who will do the work we deserve of them. The process will be complex and
will require an immense amount of dedication and research. The results will
be a planet free of war, famine, and plague, and very importantly, a world
where no one is denied the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Matt Kramer