WHY YOUR BOSS IS PROGRAMMED TO BE A DICTATOR

Pioneering and leading thought in applying Systems Thinking to boss behavior

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When I first started thinking about power and its relationship to bosses and subordinates, I looked at the problem without looking at other relationships where power was a major factor.

After my manifesto was ‘published’ on ChangeThis.com, I received an email from Dr Robert Fuller saying he thought it was a great contribution to the awareness of rankism. I had no idea what rankism, a term Dr Fuller has coined, was. But I discovered through his website that fundamentally, it is the abuse of power in any form.

On the face of it, this may not seem like a big deal. But the idea of rankism is actually a stunning and profound insight. Dr Fuller uses the analogy of cancer to illustrate. In earlier times, every individual cancer was considered a disease on its own. Only after a while did people realize that every separate cancerous disease – of the lungs, skin, stomach and so on - was really a form of the same illness, cancer. So it was actually lung cancer, skin cancer or stomach cancer. Similarly, forms of power abuse to which we currently give different names – racism, sexism and the like, are actually all forms of the same thing – rankism.

Viewed from this perspective, we can better understand what’s going on, which in turn puts us in a better position to do something about it. As Dr Fuller says in an article, "Attacking the familiar isms, one at a time, is like lopping heads off the Hydra of discrimination and prejudice. Going after rankism, which underlies all forms of discrimination, would drive a stake through the Hydra’s heart."

Most of us dream of a society in which everyone is treated fairly and with dignity. I always thought this dream was in the distant future, little realising that someone - Dr Fuller - was already working towards this dream. We need to fully comprehend the scale of the challenge that Dr Fuller has taken on - rather than focusing on a specific cancer like racism or sexism which are massive enough challenges in themselves, he's going after the root of them all.

I strongly recommend that you read Dr Fuller's books, Somebodies and Nobodies and All Rise. Of course, also make sure you visit his website, breaking ranks.