Leadership By Donald Triumph

What explains the shocking popularity of the Donald Trump's reality series The Apprentice? There are a number of possible reasons. It certainly could be our endless curiosity about the lives of the rich and famous. It may also be explained by our current interest in staring into the fishbowl drama watching real life struggles, humiliations and victories. Perhaps it's the chance to witness, from a safe distance, the scary and possibly all-to-familiar horror of being fired from a desirable position. These are reasonable answers however, there seems to be much more to it than this. The wildly successful show, The Apprentice, has hit on something big. It responds to an ongoing and unresolved fascination with the mysterious, complex and universally meaningful phenomena called LEADERSHIP.

A walk through the business section of any major bookstore and you'll count dozens of titles which include the word 'leadership'. A quick internet search of "leadership" turns up over 19 million hits. The classic big name leaders throughout history, Lincoln, Thatcher, King, Welsch, frame a story within which we all play a part, affected each and every one of us. We have each had some kind of deeply personal experience of leadership, positive or negative, either as followers or as leaders ourselves.

Donald Trump can be appreciated for his cunning business savvy and an ability to at various times throughout his career, make it big. By co-creating this reality show with Mark Burnett, not only has he capitalized on the public's desire to fantasize about (and for a precious few, compete for) achieving a high-profile, financially lucrative career as a business mogul, he has also brought to the mainstream audience a heated, emotional and stimulating debate about something that we all seem to have an opinion on: what it takes to be a great leader.

Seven Leadership Lessons Courtesy of THE DONALD: A How Not-To Guide of Great Leadership

LESSON #1

The leader is in complete control, taking charge of everything, and holding the key to success.

According to Donald Trump, leadership is all about control and power. Trump's words, as well as his actions, throughout the series indicate that he lives what we call, "The Great Man theory" of leadership. He interrupts, commands, directs, instills fear, controls, and makes all the decisions. He has "advisors" who play the role and he allows them a brief opportunity to speak, yet rarely do they disagree. We saw this with both of his weekly side-kicks.