Manipulation vs. Leadership

“A leader is a person who is capable of influencing others; they are the reference in a group of people.”

“Manipulation is premeditated, devious, and a clear abuse of power.”

I personally believe that there’s a difference between leadership and manipulation. In today’s media, the dark side of leadership is discussed frequently because it involves a high dose of manipulation. Without going far, we have a local example of leadership turned into manipulation. A clear example of this is whenever teachers protest for their rights, the man who leads them (Joel Acevedo) is a teacher but his interests are not always noble. It asks the question as to who is really obtaining benefits from the strike.

A leader is truly interested about his coworkers; they work side by side. A leader sets the example, the goals and in a proactive way makes the team follow them as if it were their own. Meanwhile, with manipulation, the peoples’ emotions are played in an unfair way; one example of this is fear. Manipulative people are always looking for their benefit and satisfaction above the greater good.