Leadership, Work, and the Dark Side of Personality

Overview

One of the most fundamental questions that we can ask about leadership is, can it be taught (e.g., Doh, 2003)? Is it presumptuous even to try? Before I can hope to provide serious guidance, we need to nail down what “leadership” means. Many times, I find, the question of what a thing is can best be addressed by looking at a case of what it isn’t. So, for a moment, let us consider the Roman Emperor Nero, last of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the founders of the empire. While there is evidence that Nero was liked by at least a segment of the common citizens of the Roman Empire, especially its eastern reaches, he has not been judged well by history (e.g., Suetonius, 1914; Tacitus, 1876; cf., Josephus, 1895).

Among other things, Nero frequently ...