○Organizations and Leaders [5]

     When a person with a strong ego becomes the boss, the patterns that follow tend to be similar. It progresses like this:

    When a person with a strong ego becomes the boss, like attracts like, and other people with strong egos gather around. They become underlings and yes-men. These underlings are skilled at flattery, adept at showing the boss words and actions that would likely please them. They then receive special treatment from the boss, are promoted faster, given special positions, and may receive higher salaries or more shares than others.

    Since both the boss and the underlings are driven by self-interest, they prioritize themselves. As a result, other members of the organization, who work seriously, start to feel that working hard is futile and ridiculous. The sense of solidarity and self-restraint in the organization disappears, and corruption and malfeasance advance as people stop caring or paying attention.

    At this stage, it becomes difficult for the serious members to call out and stop the behavior of the boss and the underlings. This is because people with strong egos are aggressive and have a bullying nature, and those who try to point out their behavior feel the risk of being attacked and fired.

    People with similar personalities, namely strong egos, get along well, and the initial relationship between the boss and the underlings feels good. However, due to a lack of self-control over their desires, the boss starts to overdo things and lacks stable decision-making. For example, their share might be abnormally large, they might misuse the organization's assets, or their instructions might lack moderation. The underlings, too, will become jealous and dissatisfied if their allocation isn't as large as the boss's. As the underlings are basically yes-men and are afraid of the boss, they can hardly assert themselves face-to-face.

    Thus, no one can stop the boss's rampage, the management of the organization tilts, and the underlings also start to feel their own danger. Then the underlings start to become enemies of the boss. Internal strife begins, and they act as if they had never received special treatment from the boss by flattering him, and they start to wave the flag of justice. Typically, a boss with strong self-interest can blame others no matter how much they are at fault, and they can claim to be a victim, even if they have to lie. They will also be the first to assert this to outsiders, try to increase their allies, and build a dominant situation. In this case, depending on the situation, the boss may run away from the scene and hide.