Guidance to green action: Environmental leadership through the lens of evolutionary psychology

Mitigating environmental problems requires not only individual action and commitment to sustainability but also strong leadership to mobilise individuals, coordinate collective efforts and resolve conflicts among relevant agents and parties. But what do people look for in a strong environmental leader? Building from evolutionary models of leadership and followership, we posit that what followers regard as ideal environmental leaders depends critically on what they believe is required to deal with a particular ecological threat (e.g., pollution, water conservation, biodiversity loss). Specifically, we argue that some aspects of the environmental problems we are facing resemble those of recurrent problems faced by early humans and, as such, activate the same fundamental follower needs. Because of this, different environmental problems may result in different leader preferences. While a dominant and authoritarian leader might be appealing to followers when they seek active protection in an immediate environmental crisis, such as a nuclear disaster or oil spill, they may want a guiding and visionary leader in dealing with environmental problems when outcomes are delayed and therefore more uncertain, such as climate change. In addition, when environmental threats are primarily seen as distributive problems - who is going to pay for the green taxes? - they might want a leader who is fair and high in integrity. In this contribution, we examine how different environmental challenges tap into different basic follower needs, thereby affecting what people regard as ideal environmental leadership. We distinguish between three fundamental follower needs that might be relevant to different environmental issues, namely, protection, guidance and fairness. Finally, we elaborate on theory-based recommendations, reflect on whether leaders who meet context-specific follower needs actually produce better environmental results and provide suggestions to further develop this literature.