I'm getting a lot of good and thoughtful responses to my Sunday essay. I could have written 2,000 more words on the role of staff and boards in enabling abuse, but in lieu of that, here are a few tweets. /1 frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/the-crisis-o…
In dysfunctional religious celebrity cultures, key staff gain not just their livelihood but also their cultural clout from the proximity to the "great man." They have everything to lose if he falls, so they guard him zealously and often crush internal dissent. /2
As for board members, if they also gain prestige from their association with the "great man," they're often unwilling to hold him accountable. Again, the board member also has something to lose if the leader falls. Their own clout is at stake. /3
The result is that every single internal power dynamic reinforces the celebrity's authority (even the alleged accountability structures), and so it takes immense courage to stand up. /4
And the celebrity? He gets used to the culture of impunity and the layers of protection -- so he often gets more brazen and more reckless until it all spills out. And then people say, "How did he get out of control?" He was enabled, every step of the way. /end
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