A task to complete was given to three groups of children. To the first group an authoritative, to the second group a democratic and to the third group quite a lax leader was appointed. In the end, it was revealed that the most amount of job was done by the group leaded by the authoritative one and the best and the most qualified job was done by the group leaded by the democratic one. On the other hand, the members of the third group were not content with anything and did not complete any of the tasks they had to. This is a proof for the fact that a leader is required for people to live together and to lead a peaceful life in an efficient and productive way. Thus the first question to be asked is why a leader is need.
Thomas Hobbes states that in natural condition of mankind man is self-interested and has a tendency to do what he instinctively wants. But it is clear that in the same state of nature the desires, rights and benefits of individuals will contradict because each individual will consider it as legitimate to disregard others` rights for the sake of his own rights. This will bring together a war of all against all. Right at this point, Hobbes` ideas become interesting. He claims that under such a condition it cannot be decided who is right and who is wrong. In other words, in natural condition of mankind, concepts such as true / false or right / wrong become meaningless. Hobbes says that this is how it works and that we cannot talk about laws or rights wherever the power is common and shared. However, on the other hand, man can keep on living only in a society. But this condition of constant war resulting from commodious living causes a fear in man and threatens his life. This danger and the fear stemming from it incline man to find the most logical solution, which is peace. This peace will be made only under the condition that man surrenders his natural rights to an authority for this authority to protect and defend him. Mankind will be able to form a society and go on living in peace only with the help of this social contract in which natural rights are mutually surrendered to the other party. According to Machiavelli, nature has created man with a thirst for possession of everything and with a lack of power to reach everything. That`s why there is always a probability of chaos in each group of mankind. The only way to prevent this is to use power and here he says his famous quotation which gives the authority an infinite power: “the ends justify the means”. Rousseau, who passionately opposes to Hobbes, defends that man, first of all, should be educated by nature so as to become “human”. However, as to the matter of living together of this human-being, Rousseau is inevitably inspired by Hobbes. In fact, the only difference between Hobbes` Social Contract and Rousseau`s Social Contract is the name of the political order. It is appreciated to consider people equal and to leave people free, but the only method to resolve the chaos caused by their living together is to abandon the leadership to someone. More and more theses like these can be added to these ones; each thinker, each historian of politics, each sociologist may add something new. But finally, as can be seen from living examples and from different periods of history, a leader is always needed whether in a group of ten or in a country of ten million.
The common characteristic of all groups around the world is that the leadership in all of them is attributed to the one who can provide continuity. That`s why, in the animal kingdom the throne of the female is always guaranteed with the help of their fertility. On the other hand, in groups of human, continuity is provided by not fertility but by the ability to govern. This ability to govern, first of all, requires that the governor understand the governed people, understand their feelings, expectations and needs. Throughout the history lots of thinkers agreed upon the fact that mankind has natural tendencies towards extremes. Taking these tendencies under control is possible only by the way of education. A good leader is the one who can educate the group he leads in such a way that all the needs of that group are provided. His starting point is his own education. Every morning when he wakes up, he thinks that there are lots of things they are going to learn that day. The first thing that he should learn is “himself”. Why is it important for a leader to know oneself? Because the person who knows himself is aware of his internal power and knows how to use his intellectual and intuitive talents. So he can determine a clear vision and distinct direction for himself. He can concentrate and focus on the matters that are first and foremost important for his vision and aims. He can share his vision, his targets and goals with anyone who takes on responsibility within the group he leads primarily his employees. He listens to what others say. He is always ready to criticize and to give advice. Therefore, he surrounds himself with right kind of people; he has a good team. Again with the help of this, he can give a positive direction to others` feelings and do away with the disadvantages caused by negative feelings. In other words, a leader who knows himself influences others and leads them. And this is how continuity is provided. Do you know such a leader in your agency, firm or community in those days?