Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders? A Better Way to Evaluate Leadership Potential

INTEGRITY IS CONTAGIOUS

For years psychologists and sociologists have been intrigued by the change in human behavior that occurs when people move from an individual to a group setting. In particular, the tendency of large numbers of people to act in the same way at the same time has fueled intense intellectual debate. Freud called this the “herd” or mob mentality, and it manifests in many ways. We see it in apparel trends, for example, and the consumer craze that sometimes accompanies the introduction of a new product such as the iPad. When kids get together, they often converse in their own language or act out special games. University students engage in binge drinking.

An especially disturbing brand of the herd mentality is a group's propensity ...