Why do we follow leaders at all? Today, we kick off a new mini-series on the history of leadership from prehistoric campsites to the rise of kingdoms. As leaders and decision-makers, understanding why humans abandoned egalitarian structures for centralized authority helps us better grasp the hidden forces shaping organizations today.
We’ll explore how early humans lived in remarkably flat social structures, where leadership was temporary and earned through respect, rather than dominance. But everything changed once survival required unity against external threats.
By the end of this series, you’ll understand the evolutionary pressures that led humans to embrace hierarchy, the trade-offs that came with it, and the lessons this holds for modern leaders navigating power, authority, and organizational survival.
In this episode:
Introduction to the evolution of hierarchy
Evolving from egalitarian bands to complex hierarchies
The role of warfare in hierarchy formation
How early states and empires were established
Conclusion and next episode preview
