The Leadership Qualities of Richard Dawkins

Leadership is a difficult quality to assess because it is not inescapably linked to quantifiable outcomes. Although effective leadership may lead to increases in production or improvements in win-loss records, these consequences only serve to describe causal relationships of leadership without defining it. Multiple definitions of leadership share themes of leadership as an interpersonal behavioral process that is aimed at influencing and motivating others toward a goal (Chelladurai, 2005, p. 274). The notion of influencing others is of considerable importance, and the terms leadership and influence have been considered synonymous by Hollander and Julian (1969) because of this importance (as cited in Chelladurai, 2005). Interpersonal influence is exceedingly difficult to measure empirically, so it is not surprising that behavioral characteristics and quantifiable outcomes are so readily used to describe great leaders throughout history.

Although British evolutionary biologist and author, Richard Dawkins, does not have a calculable win-loss record, he does display leadership qualities through his influence as a scholar, and secular icon. Dawkins demonstrates leadership in the etymological sense, as an individual entering new territory, and as a figure who initiates “action based on personal convictions” (Chelladurai, 2005, p. 272). This perspective of leadership is less concerned with the organizational roles of efficient institutional managers, and includes the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr., Mohandas Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela. As Packianathan Chelladurai eloquently writes, “[t]he essence of this type of leadership is that the leaders not only initiate a movement or activity but also spearhead it by engaging in it directly” (2005, p. 272).

Richard Dawkins was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1941 to an agricultural civil servant in the British colonial service (Richard Dawkins, n.d.). He took an interest in the natural sciences at an early age, and went on to study “zoology at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was tutored by Nobel Prize–winning ethologist Nikolaas Tinbergen, graduating in 1962” (Richard Dawkins, n.d.). Dawkins is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and held the inaugural position of Professor for Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008.

Most notably, Dawkins exhibits scholarly leadership through his contributions to the field of evolutionary biology. Dawkins popularized the gene-centered view of evolution with the publication of The Selfish Gene in 1976, in which he coined the term meme to describe an idea or piece of culture that can evolve or change as it transmits from person to person. Since the publication of The Selfish Gene, Dawkins has become the “foremost modern explicator of Darwinian evolution” (Hall, 2005). His theories helped to identify the gene as the basic unit of selection for the evolution of phenotypes (Gene-centered, n.d.). Perhaps his greatest contribution to the field of evolutionary biology is his theory of extended phenotype, which proposes that phenotypic effects of a gene are not necessarily limited to an organism’s body, but because genes synthesize proteins apart from retaining heritable information, they would have an impact on their surroundings as well (Dawkins, 1982).

Dawkins is effective as a leader because of his precision, ability to communicate, persistence, and mastery of the field. In a 2005 article in Discover Magazine, Dawkins was called “perhaps the best-known popularizer of science in the English language,” which the author attributed to his precision. Because he takes such care when precisely building an argument, drafting an essay, and nit-picking details, Dawkins is unabashed and unapologetic when his work is criticized. As the article’s author accounts, Dawkins has been increasingly thrust into a role beyond professor and writer, and has been driven to feverously defend his rationale. Because of his persistence in the face of adversity, and a need to be “ruthlessly right,” Dawkins has earned himself the nickname Darwin’s Rottweiler – an allusion to Thomas Henry Huxley who was known as Darwin’s Bulldog for his unyielding defense of Darwinian evolution (Hall, 2005).

Dawkins’ curt ferocity is surely his biggest disadvantage.  Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, called Dawkins “one of the most aggressive secularists of the age,” and says that his aggressiveness and abrasiveness could be doing his cause more harm than good (Mohler, n.d.). It seems this ridicule only serves to tighten the strings in Dawkins’ arguments, as his is forced to deliver air-tight arguments time and again. Yet, as the most prominent, outspoken pubic figure in his area, Dawkins serves as a leader by bearing the brunt of the intellectual attacks. His fame (or infamy) has also given him a louder voice, allowing him to continue building trust with his followers, and communicating effectively to reach new audiences.

A leadership style that I can glean from Richard Dawkins’ career as an advocate for the public understanding of science is his persistence and tolerance of criticism. It is necessary for a leader to listen to feedback from his constituents, but there is also a time to march forward. Dawkins demonstrates that, if you believe your logic to be sound, there is no reason to compromise your beliefs. This lesson should, of course, be considered in the context that appearing too outwardly brutish could ultimately result in a reputation as a Rottweiler rather than an effective leader.

References

Chelladurai, P. (2005). Managing organizations for sport and physical activity: A systems perspective (2nd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway.

Dawkins, R. (2007). The god delusion. London, England: Black Swan.

Dawkins, R. (1982). The extended phenotype. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

Dawkins, R. (1976). The selfish gene. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

Gene-centered view of evolution. (n.d.) Retreived May 18, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene-centered_view_of_evolution

Hall, S. S. (2005, September 9). Darwin’s Rottweiler. Discover. Retrieved from http://discovermagazine.com/2005/sep/darwins-rottweiler/

Mohler, A. (n.d.) Darwin’s Rottweiler: Richard Dawkins’ aggressive secularism. Retrieved from http://www.christianity.com/1350327/

Richard Dawkins. (n.d.). Retrieved May 18, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins

Tags: atheism, leadership, Richard Dawkins, Selfish Gene