One of the most often misunderstood thing about humans is that we forget that we are animals. We imagine that because we wear clothes, wait patiently in elevators with strangers and don't punch people in the face whenever they covertly dis us, we think we're logical, rational and above all that.
We're not.
Whether we like it or not, humans our primates. And we can learn a lot when we study other primates. One the one hand, we notice that many primates behave a lot like humans, but sometimes we misunderstand the ramifications of that. Just because we have some advanced communication and
interpersonal skills, we think we've left the jungle behind.
However, we are very much like our chimpanzee cousins. One way this happens is whenever we get into a group of a few strangers, especially people we don't know.
We will almost always choose a leader, either subconsciously or consciously. It's not like on TV where people are stranded on a desert island and they fight to see who's in charge. We just automatically assume who's in charge.
We do this by watching body language, facial expressions, and other non-verbal clues. We do it quickly and often times, without really knowing it.
All of us would love to be leaders, but we also love to be followers. Whenever we find ourselves in groups, we tend to sniff out each other, so we can find our proper "place."
This is just one example of the power of our instincts, and how we often don't even notice that they are controlling a large part of our lives.
Since most people don't even know this is happening, simply understanding this dynamic can open up huge doors of massive social power.
Most people just go with the flow without really knowing what's going on. Their attitude is to just wait around until somebody tells them what to do.
Whenever you see that happening, all you've got to do is assume a leadership position. This is much, much easier than you think. Most of us are afraid of doing this. As if somebody's going to say, "Who the heck are you?" But they won't.
Sure, if you ask everybody's permission, and try to always include everybody in the decision making process, that will backfire. Why? People don't want to be involved in the decision making process. They just need to be told what to do by a strong leader.
