[January 31, 2014] Leadership means many things but ultimately it means getting people to accomplish a goal. Leaders come in a range of abilities and outcomes in performance – great, good, bad and yes evil. But there is one category, the evil leader, which deserves special mention.

Several years ago I was presented with a DVD of recordings that contained TV broadcasts by then-President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. What surprised me was his practical advice to and positive comments about the people of Iraq. He came across as a highly respected, grandfatherly figure – guiding his children to do good things and the importance of family life.

It struck me at the time that this was in radical contrast to his position as a strong-arm dictator versus his role as father over his country. It got me to thinking that evil dictators must have, like all leaders, many of the same positive characteristics of leadership. They do. Most of them instill trust and confidence of those they lead.

Some will call this a contradiction by noting that leaders who do not have appropriate values internalized, will not succeed. Yes, even the most evil of leaders must be trusted by the most numbers or most powerful members of their group, organization, or society. This certainly does not make them good, for they are still evil leaders; the point is that regardless how evil, there will be followers.

The most common flaw in the evil leader is not ignorance but excessive megalomania enabled by others who also desire power. It has been said that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The evil behavior of these leaders must be directed toward damaging or destroying an outside group, thereby exercise power for all to see – a visible demonstration of the force that the evil leader possesses.

Saddam Hussein was ruthless with his enemies (which were many) yet kind to many in his country. Like Hitler against the Jews, Mao against the Capitalists, Saddam opposed the state of Iran, the Persians, and the Shia sect of Islam (and later America).

There are, of course, lesser evil leaders, those that do not necessarily kill and maim others but do destroy the livelihoods and families through their quest for power. These people are most frequently found in significant positions of authority within governments or control large amounts of resources via large organizations (legal and illegal).

Those involved in the production, transportation, distribution, and selling of illegal drugs, sex slaves, and other commodities (like gun running) are examples of an emerging evil enterprise. Many believe an example is Capitalist corporate corruption and illegal toxic waste dumping is also dangerous.

The key ideas here are that evil leaders exist, they can be very successful, and they possess many key leader traits found in the best and most successful leaders of our times. But they are still evil … and directly responsible for some of humankind’s greatest tragedies and we should never, never forget.