Conceptual Development of Leader-Member Exchange Strategic (LMXS): Leadership Solutions to Counter Mass Psychosis

To the casual observer watching the political and cultural discourse occurring in the United States today, they would believe that two separate Nations are functioning within different realities. Violent crimes surge as news stories dominates local newspapers' front pages graphic videos show random acts of violence within major cities (Cox & Miltmore, 2022). One group ignores the data; the other group accepts the data. People living on the Southern border say it is a war zone as millions of illegal immigrants surging across the border and cartels traffic drugs, people, and weapons—their opponents state that the border is secure (Bensman, 2022). One side struggles to make ends meet as inflation surges to a 40-year high, while the other states that inflation is not a problem (Lepore & Earle, 2022). This concept does not aim to prove or disprove competing narratives but to propose a modified Leader-Member Exchange Social (LMXS) to provide leadership solutions when cultural and social divisions within organizations, institutions, and national interests escalate. Competing narratives become dogmatic and potentially violent to opposing beliefs and can be described as a psychotic break from reality. The cause of psychosis is not universally accepted, but groupthink, stress, social pressure, and organizational isolation can trigger personal psychosis (Szanto, 2016). Mass psychosis relies upon four conditions to be met; the lack of societal bonding, people's view that their lives lack purpose, increased levels of anxiety and fear, and high levels of aggression as a mass psychosis epidemic occur when a large portion of society loses touch with reality and descends into delusions (Desmet, 2022).

The LMXS concept aims to develop a proactive strategic leadership approach to identify, prevent, and reconcile potential mass psychosis events. The LMXS concept will incorporate three additional didactic LMX relationships to address the four pre-conditions for mass psychosis; (a) the relationship between societal bonding vis-à-vis social media, (b) lack of purpose, and (c) increased anxiety, fear, and aggression. The LMXS concept will incorporate elements of the traditional LMX model, aspects of the LMXSC model, and the TMX model to capture the impact of social media within the workplace on both high and low dyads. To address the lack of purpose dimension, LMXS will integrate Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and job satisfaction in achieving self-actualization (Maslow, 1943). The concept will include a multi-dimensional approach to capture self-awareness and lack of purpose, including trust, and the development of high-quality dyads designed to reach convergence between leaders' perception of trust of subordinates and subordinates' perceptions of trust of leaders. LMXS will address anxiety, fear, and aggression by introducing strategic-level vertical dyads to counter bottom-up Corporate Social Responsibility, top-down governmentality, and the international influence of Environmental Social Governance (Collier & Whitehead, 2022). Additionally, this relationship will incorporate the trustworthiness dimension of the Principled Leadership Scale, based on the leader's foundation of universally accepted moral principles. The focus of LMXS will be on vertical dyads to maintain checks and balances on leadership (Mallory & Rupp, 2015).

The literature review will identify key leadership theories that provide perspective to the concept of mass psychosis within the framework of the LMXS concept. Leadership theories include the Great Man Theory (Thomas Carlyle), Bureaucratic and Charismatic Aristocracy Theory (Max Weber), Postmodernism/Nihilism (Frederick Nietzsche), Machiavellian, Psychoanalytic Theory (Sigmund Freud), and Groupthink Theory (Irving Janis).

Literature Review

The literature review will briefly discuss the historical development of leadership, academic models and theories, historical episodes of mass psychosis, and identifying gaps and seams within existing leadership theories ranging from autocratic, transformational, Leader-Member exchange, and psychoanalytic models and approaches. A simple search within the Regent Summons database for leadership identified 5,007,241 separate records associated with leadership that included a wide selection of studies with varied leadership/political models addressing the group, corporate, national, and transnational cases of mass psychosis. Leadership listens, inspires, motivates, and gives direction toward achieving a common goal and has been part of the human psyche from the begging of time (Bass & Bass, 2008). Patterns of leadership and the application of those patterns have varied over time and adapted in response to changing realities, morality, and cultural principles (House et al., 2004).

Mass Psychosis Theory

???????????A mass psychosis is an epidemic of madness, and it occurs when a large portion of society loses touch with reality and descends into delusions (Desmet, 2022). Such a phenomenon is not a thing of fiction; common historical examples of mass psychosis were the American and European witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries and the rise of totalitarianism (Ffytche & Pick, 2016). Gustave Le Bon (1968) argued that the conscious personality of the individual in a crowd is submerged and that the collective crowd mind dominates; crowd behavior is unanimous, emotional, and intellectually weak (Le Bon, 1968). Harter et al. (2006) claim that the distinction between leader and follower forms the basis of inequality within the leadership process. For them, inequality is a characteristic that exists between leaders and followers rather than a process at work within either term; leaders have been conceived as autonomous individuals, whereas followers are grouped in a herd (Harter et al., 2006).

???????????The most prevalent psychogenic cause of psychosis is a flood of negative emotions, such as fear or anxiety, that drives an individual into a state of panic (Jung et al., 1977). Arieti (1955) states that combining negative emotions with a weak and insecure sense of self?can trigger?a descent into madness. Within this framework, a population?first?needs to be induced into a state of intense fear or anxiety by threats real, imagined, or fabricated, and once in a state of panic to create a sense of panic (Arieti, 1955). Recent events, such as stating that the earth has less than 12 years to survive and the COVID-19 pandemic instilled fear and panic in those who identified with those causes (Chaudhuri, 2022; Ffytche & Pick, 2016; Richardson, 2019).

The process is a top-down attempt by the ruling oligarchy to consolidate and maintain control. Top-down messaging and rolling narratives began to erode individual thought as controlled media narratives steadily increased information threatening traditional socio-cultural beliefs (Meerloo, 2015). The effects of the COVID-19 lockdown and the constant narrative from the media, official government sources, and social networks repeating eminent danger combined with confinements, isolations, and restrictions generated a disconnection between human beings (Desmet, 2022). Thus, the only alternative for millions was a virtual connection that eliminated real links. Copley (2021) states that the most electronically connected societies are susceptible to weaponized mass psychosis. The COVID-19 lockdown induced large segments of humanity to willingly forego freedom, engage in a legitimate debate, and create long-term economic and personal security issues (Copley, 2021). Versluis (2006) states that in the modern era, the mass psychosis of totalitarianism is society's greatest threat, whether it be fascism, communism, or by technocracy. In a totalitarian society, the population is divided into two groups, the rulers and the ruled. Both groups undergo a pathological transformation as rulers are elevated to God-like status and easily corrupted by power. The masses are viewed as dependent subjects and are tolerated, provided they do as they are told (Adolfo, 2022; Versluis, 2006).

???????????Meerloo (2015) states that by establishing the antecedents for indoctrination of the masses, individuals are flooded with negative emotions such as fear and anxiety that are either real or imagined, propagating fear. Alinsky's (1989) approach to fostering panic and anxiety calls for a steady flow of disinformation, ridicule, lies, and the creation of multiple crises with the threat of violence to silence dissension (Alinsky, 1989; Meerloo, 2015). Szanto (2016) states that groupthink is a precursor to a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a group forms a quick opinion that matches the group consensus rather than critically evaluating the information. Groupthink is often associated with business, politics, and policymaking, but it also relates to the psychology of collective phobias and mass hysteria. Mass hysteria can be seen as an extreme example of groupthink (Szanto, 2016). In the opinions of Desmet (2022) and Malone (2022), modern technology in the last century has allowed violent bullies to organize on a global scale with the aim of global totalitarianism (Breggin & Breggin, 2022). Unlike Le Bon's (1968) explanation of crowds in the French Revolution, the masses never thirsted for the truth but sought the best illusion of truth that was personal and self-serving. Therefore, this enabled the leadership to promote their agenda. Desmet (2022) states that with the advent of modern technology and strategic messaging, the elites incite crowds, which paradoxically created the mechanisms for their oppression ?(Breggin & Breggin, 2022). Social media platforms filter, censor, control, and train—and they may do so without the user's awareness. Artificial computation allows the social media industry to capture individual differences and actions rather than sameness and passivity (Sandvig, 2015). However, when social media giants and government agencies leverage those differences for political gain, democratic institutions shift towards totalitarianism and cultural relativism ?(Brown, 2021; Lungariello & Chamberlain, 2022; Mandler, 2016).

Leadership Theories Contribution to the Manifestation of Mass Psychosis Theory

The focus on capturing the development of written leadership principles shows the unique nature of the mass psychosis theory. Although mankind and the nature of mankind have not fundamentally changed over time, the technical and informational antecedents leading to mass psychosis present modern challenges for legacy leadership theories.

Written principles of leadership go back thousands of years. The instruction of the Egyptian Pharoh Ptahhotep (2300 BCE) taught the merit of authoritarianism uttered from his mouth and enshrined in his soul (Lichtheim, 1973). Confucianism urged leaders to set a moral example for their people by teaching what is right and wrong and making people believe in themselves (Kohn & LaFargue, 1998). Sun Tzu's 5th Century BCE military treatise on warfare and tactics proved to be the most influential military treatise on leadership and tactics for both Eastern and Western Civilizations (Jomini et al., 2004). Antiquity produced sophists and philosophers like Plato, wherein the "Republic," he spoke of the philosopher-king as the most qualified to lead (Patterson, 1963). Aristotle's ethical application of knowledge, wisdom, and continence in leadership stressed the nature of compassion and honor. Marcus Aurelius' mediations taught leaders to view obstacles as opportunities, to love their fate, and turn the other cheek (Hicks & Hicks, 2002; Kraut, 2001). The New Testament introduced the concept of servant leadership and the power of love, how to empower people, teamwork, and forgiveness, and the introduction of the golden rule, treat others the way you like to be treated (Greenleaf, 1977; Manz, 1999; Whittington et al., 2005).

Great Man Theory

The Great Man Theory begins by asking what makes leaders unique (Harter et al., 2006). The Great Man theory has been introduced as one of the earliest leadership theories claiming great leaders are innate and not made in the 19th and early 20th centuries (Hoffman et al., 2011). Spector (2016) states that The Great Man theory was asserted by Thomas Carlyle in a series of speeches in 1840 that specific individuals are gifts from God placed on earth to uplift human existence. The tone of this speech reflected a religious faith vice supported by empirical research and was, therefore, discounted by academics as theory (Malos, 2012). According to Dowd, this theory exposed great leaders as heroic and mythic and intended to increase leadership when essential. Around the late 1940s, studies on leadership started to consider the trait theory of leadership, which coincided with the rise of authoritarian dictators (Dowd, 1936; Mandanchian et al., 2016). Early in the 20th century, the Great Man Theory evolved into trait theories where traits did not make assumptions about the inheritance and divine notion of leadership (Kirkpatick & Locke, 1991). Conger and Kanugo (1987) suggested that Max Weber's concept of bureaucratic leadership was the conduit for the transition from Carlyle's emphasis on the hero as a gift from God to more contemporary constructions of charisma as an attributional characteristic applied by followers.

The Great Man Theory's attendant to manifest destiny is the catalyst that enables narcissistic and tyrannical charismatic leaders' god-like authority to maintain authority and power at any cost (Couch, 1989). Nazi propaganda and the Hitler myth had to give way before the power of the new god (Frankel, 2004). The Great Man Theory created the imagery of elitism associated with divine leadership, which is often cited in the separation and identification of a leadership class that the follower class cannot question due to their god-like status. This theory contributes to addressing; (a) societal bonding and (b) facilitating a sense of diminished worth and lack of purpose that will be addressed in the LMXS concept development section.

Bureaucratic Leadership / Charismatic Aristocracy Theory

Serpa and Ferreira (2019) define bureaucratic leadership as rational action aimed at controlling uncertainty; rational calculation would limit uncertainty in a world that could be controllable. Therefore, bureaucracy may be seen as embedded in the formalization process, focused on increasing the capacity for control and direction, enabling the extension of the modern institutions' field of action (Serpa & Ferreira, 2019). Although Weber considered the application of bureaucratic leadership as a natural execution of democratic capitalism, his protégé Robert Michels coined the Iron Law of oligarchy (LaVenia, 2011). The Iron Law is that all leadership forms are controlled by a small elite group of leaders, especially federal bureaucracies (Drochon, 2020). The changing nature of public service has blurred the lines between economic sectors by intermingling public, private, and nonprofit missions. It made it easier for employees to balance extrinsic and intrinsic motivators, leading to decreased qualified applicants for government service (Fowler & Birdsall, 2020).

Additionally, Weber believed that if a leader's charisma could be transformed into institutionalized routines, it could become destabilizing (Weber, 1947). Weber's concept of charismatic authority is an individual personality trait considered extraordinary, and followers may assume this quality to be endowed with exceptional powers or qualities. Whether such powers exist or not is irrelevant because followers believe that such powers exist and are essential (Mizruchi & Giddens, 1974). Glassman (1975) states that leadership within the Iron Cage can often manifest as clans, classes, and cliques surrounding the charismatic leader. These organizations serve their status by ensuring the messaging surrounding the leadership class is covered by imagery reinforcing their legitimate claim to power using symbols, ideologies, and ceremonies. Charismatic aristocracy is therefore distinguished from the follower class by segregating them from the inner circle or the Iron Cage.

Joosse's (2017) study on charismatic aristocracy considered Weber's theory of aristocratic charisma to be a driving and creative force which surged through traditional authority and established rules. The sole basis of charismatic authority is recognizing or accepting the leader's claims by the followers. The breaking of conventional rules can challenge legal jurisdiction as defined by his three types of authority, the traditional, the rational-legal, and the charismatic can be revolutionary (Conger & Kanungo, 1998). Throughout history, confident, charismatic leaders have proved themselves master manipulators and purveyors of evil. They have been responsible for the collapse of corporations and nations and the murder of millions (Ffytche & Pick, 2016).

Weber's concept of bureaucracy created a stratified inner circle of elites that not only reinforced the leadership initiative it created the apparatus to deepen the divide between followers and leaders (Serpa & Ferreira, 2019). A typical example of a radicalized oligopoly was Hitler's inner circle which believed they were fated to die with him as they competed for power and position until death. This deadly contest accounted for many of the regime's worst excesses, in which millions of people died and which brought Western civilization to its knees (Read, 2011). In modern-day American politics, a clique of neoconservative ideologues inside and outside the administration colludes with mainstream media and big technology to shape the political narrative to support the internal machinations of a group of self-appointed oligarchs to manipulate the will of the people (Lofgren, 2016). The real work is done behind the scenes by invisible bureaucrats working for the vast web of agencies that dictate our foreign policy, defense posture, and security decisions. The 2016 American Primaries represented a populist movement to unseat the Iron Cage of elitism as both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders expressed their concerns against the data surveillance intelligence complex (Parmar et al., 2014; Parmar, 2017).

The Charismatic Aristocracy Theory identifies a ruling class with an “Iron Cage” of confidants closely aligned to the leadership. This alliance creates separation and promotes contempt for the follower class’s station. The historical application of centralized decision-making is that it maintains control with fear, coercion, and threats. This theory is a contributing factor to addressing; (a) societal bonding, (b) facilitating a sense of diminished worth and lack of purpose, and (c) and increased levels of anxiety and fear that will be addressed in the LMXS concept development section.

Post Modernism

Post-Modernism is a late 20th-century movement characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism; a general suspicion of reason; and sensitivity to the role of ideology in maintaining political and economic power (Holtz, 2020). Western civilization has been facing a slow-burning crisis in leadership and morality with the advent of postmodernist socio-political beliefs. Post Modernists such as Nietzsche and Lyotard hinge upon replacing the faith-based ontological view of reality with a metaphysical concept of reality (Smith, 1990). In 1843, Karl Marx claimed that "religion was an Opiate," implying that only the most pathetic of animals would suffer in the hope that upon their death, they may receive eternal salvation (Schnabel, 2020). In 1884, Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed that God was dead and we killed him (Macquarrie, 2001). Finally, Jean-Francois Lyotard (1924-1998) condemned Western Civilization and Christian traditions as bankrupt and that all social-political concepts are of equal value (including religion). Westerhoff (2021) argues that if all social-political concepts are equal, they are equally unequal. If they are all equally unequal, they all have no value, meaning nothing matters. Ontological nihilism is the major proponent of the postmodern argument designed to challenge existing social hierarchies and attack Judeo-Christian principles. Therefore, there are no objects, properties, events, space, time, structures, facts or states of affairs, appearances, or anything (Westerhoff, 2021).

Antifa practices a form of anarchism, which was preceded by Nihilism. The writings of Russian philosophers influenced the Anarchism movement, which believes violence is an accepted and necessary tactic to achieve social change (Etter et al., 2021). The Antifa movement does not embrace the ontological argument as their raison d'etre but represents a classless, free society by opposing all forms of oppression. Antifa significantly destabilized communities and sections of American hierarchies before the 2016 elections (Copsey, 2018). Similarly, the Black Lives Matter movement, led by Marxist-trained leadership, disavowed patriarchal hierarchies and traditional nuclear families, and coalesced with the Antifa movement to bring dramatic change to American society by political or violent means (Miller, 2020). In both instances, the stated goal was to undermine traditional elitist parochialisms and elitist establishments and replace them with an equity-based alternative.

Neitchze’s Post Modernism as a theory contributes to the LMXS concept by addressing; (a) societal bonding and (b) facilitating a sense of diminished worth and lack of purpose. The direct links to the LMXS concept will be discussed in the concept development section.

Machiavellian Theory

Sallust became the template for Machiavelli both as a historian who provides a valuable critique of monarchy and despotism and as a source through which Machiavelli developed his conception of politics in general and republican politics in particular (Fontana, 2003). Sallust came from the ruling class in 86 BC and was expelled by Cesar for supporting Pompey in their civil war, and focused his writings on the decaying Roman Republic and a narcissistic Senate that postured and schemed to achieve power and glory (Grant, 1992). The development of Machiavellian theory originated from Nico Machiavelli's book The Prince, written in 1513 focus was a narrative on maintaining power and control not based upon traditional virtues of honor, courage, and trust but by manipulation and deceit (Kessler et al., 2010). Machiavelli proposes that hypocrisy is necessary and that leaders should unlearn portions of virtue for strategic purposes (Tillyris, 2016). The Prince does not portray evil as some uncontrollable cosmic force but as an evil caused by humans. Machiavelli posits that leaders can eliminate evil if they effectively deal with the corruption and lawlessness of those with power (Cosans & Reina, 2018). The Machiavellian approach to virtue is that democratic politicians operate with conflict and dependence, which renders hypocrisy a necessary political virtue (Tillyris, 2016).

Conversely, Aristotle believed that hypocrisy is the vice of virtue and that power without checks and balances impacts political standards and is susceptible to corruption (Ross et al., 1989). Cultures with a clan mentality led by assertive, charismatic leaders can compel their organizations to adjust their moral compass to facilitate the identified political goal regardless of vice or virtue. Elites, whose primary purpose is accumulating power, cannot achieve their goal without the tacit approval of bureaucratic hierarchies within their organizational structure (van der Wal, 2013). The placement of crucial appointed officials within various levels of the executive branch can yield significant power from their tenure and extensive understanding of the organizational structure (Sinnicks & Sinnicks, 2018).

The combination of bureaucratic leaders who wish to maintain their status quo and job security can often conform to charismatic leaders and allies to enhance and maintain power (O'Leary, 2019). As previously identified, political integrity operates in a different realm that accepts hypocrisy as a virtue (Tillyris & Tillyris, 2017). Within the Machiavellian theory, narcissists, Machiavellians, and a lesser degree, psychopaths exploit contradictions to reinforce the idea that conflict is inevitable (Tillyris & Tillyris, 2018). Directive leaders, who rely upon referent power to push tribal biases, selectively choose the information that supports their tribe's interests and avoids information that harms tribal reality (Clark et al., 2019). Machiavellian leaders with high narcissism and low self-esteem lower their support for democracy as narcissism elicits negative emotions such as malicious envy, accelerates negative consequences for organizations, induces downward emotional spirals, and can lead to panic and malevolent psychosis (Braun et al., 2018; Marchlewska et al., 2019).

Within the organizational environment, Machiavellians usually hold leading positions, from which they manage to manipulate and control others. They are less willing to adhere to rules and procedures, focusing on their power over those around them ?(D'Souza & Lima, ). Psychopathic managers lead their organizations through power, money, and prestige and are indifferent to their colleagues' or employees' fate, generating a generally toxic working environment (Howeden, 2011). Maftie et al. (2022) study on the relationship between Machiavellianism and psychopathy identified powerful associations between moral disengagement mechanisms. In the process of moral justification, people act upon presumed moral imperatives that are used to justify immoral acts. According to Bandura (1999), through the moral justification of violent means, people see themselves as fighting ruthless oppressors, protecting their cherished values, preserving world peace, saving humanity from subjugation, or honoring their country's commitments (Maftei et al., 2022).

Bagus et al. (2021) argue that negative information spread through mass media from authoritative government agencies' politicized social networks censored legitimate social, mental, and physical concerns of isolation and lockdowns. The findings revealed that authoritative moral justification during the COVID-19 crisis demonstrated that fundamental liberties were not defended and that an induced mass hysteria event can inflict the greater the coercive power of the state, the more harm. It could be argued that infection with a virus would constitute a negative technological external effect designed to produce a mass hysteria event within the general population to increase organizational control over personal freedoms (Bagus et al., 2021; Howeden, 2011). Le Bon (1896) theorizes that inserting an idea into the crowd could be radicalized by the fever of the message who would violently intervene to support the concept of that idea when a rational individual would not. The creation of that interpretation from a Machiavellian perspective is an attempt to cultivate a pliable crowd intolerant of other ideas with a docile respect for force (Le Bon, 1968).

Machiavellian leaders are willing to set aside their scruples, resort to deceit, break inconvenient foreign alliances and agreements with fellow citizens, and ride roughshod over civil laws (Benner, 2017). The Machiavellian theory is a fundamental precursor of a mass psychosis event that undermines; (a) societal bonding and (b) facilitates a sense of diminished worth and lack of purpose, and (c) increases anxiety, fear, and aggression. The impacts of Machiavellianism will be addressed in the LMXS concept development section. Machiavellianism is not a mental illness; however, it is a manipulative personality trait addressed by psychoanalyst theorists and contributes to the mental disorder of psychosis (Ffytche & Pick, 2016).

Psychoanalytic Theory (Leaders and Followers)

Waite's (1977) Psychoanalytic theory combines psychoanalytic theory and psychohistory to understand political leaders' actions. Waite proposes in his Psychoanalytic Treatise of Hitler that totalitarians' psychoanalytic relationship coincides with their followers' psychodynamic needs, creating a symbiotic relationship (Waite, 1977). According to Carl Jung (1939), the greatest threat to civilization lies not with the forces of nature, nor with any physical disease, but with our inability to deal with the pressures of our psyche (Adler et al., 1977). Psychoanalytic theories did not emerge until Freud's (1922) "Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego" but were preceded by concepts of mass hysteria by Le Bon's book The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind (1896) (Desmet, 2022; Ffytche & Pick, 2016; Freud et al., 1989). Freud viewed group behavior as emotional and irrational, while followers are both intolerant and obedient to authority requiring strong and forceful leaders (Cluley, 2008). Leaders are seen as individuals, followers are seen as a group, leaders rule by fear, followers become oppressed, leaders are perceived as autonomous individuals, and followers are the herd. The separation between the groups enables leaders to avoid emotional attachment to anyone and become narcissistic, independent, and self-confident (Freud et al., 1989).

With the introduction of the Reality Principle, Freud posited that the mind could assess the reality of the external world and act upon it accordingly to redirect narcissistic impulses following social rules. Therefore, within the Reality Principle, humans rely upon other people psychologically and are easily influenced by group dynamics (Freud & Rieff, 1963). Groups contain the psychological antecedents that bind people, enabling reconciliation, as group members idealize the criterion that formed the group identity into a Group Ideal (Freud, 1920). When group ideals replace individual group members' identification within the group, the group becomes linked to the idealized image of the leader (Akhtar, 2018). Manipulative leaders are then able to turn groups into emotional, violent, erratic, inconsistent, and extreme mobs that promote tribal biases, even if that means having knowingly erroneous beliefs (Clark et al., 2019). Ffytche and Pick (2016) state that an extreme narcissistic break can lead to violence, create an unfounded sense of entitlement, and desire to enslave their opponents. The phenomenon of the Moscow Show Trials in the 1930s elevated political brainwashing and cultural nullification (Ffytche & Pick, 2016).

Political brainwashing is not limited to totalitarianism but begins with the corporation's or nation's ruling class; whether or not they are politicians, board members, or crony capitalists, they seek to augment their power by convincing the population to accept their rule (Rose, 2016). Fear is the most effective psychoanalytic method of psychic subordination and ultimately binds the group's identity (Meerloo, 2015). Driven by technology, our world has become more interdependent and dependent on technical, social platforms that can be used to manipulate the message between the people and the government. Recent episodes of mass hysteria incidents include the destruction of the world due to global warming, the COVID-19 pandemic, the threat of a Russian nuclear war, and the semi-fascist assault on democracy for the 2020 election cycle (Biden, 2022; Obschonka et al., 2021; Tankersely & Wong, 2022; Toles, 2019).

Arendt (1973) states that the elites understand that mass phenomena require particular cultivation by a careful indoctrination process. In this process, followers are taught that without the elites, they would be incapable of understanding the facts and distinguishing between truth and falsehood (Arendt, 1973). Psychoanalytic theorists like Arendt (1973) postulate that manipulative elites who promote a mass psychosis event are the guardians of a hysterical, fictitious world surrounded by a protective wall that controls thought and diversity of thought. The psychoanalytic theory, at the core, is the principal antecedent for a mass psychosis event and contributes to the development of the LMXS concept for; (a) societal bonding, (b) facilitating a sense of diminished worth and lack of purpose, and (c) increased anxiety, fear, and aggression.

Groupthink

Asch (1956) focused on the theory of conformity which led to Milgram's (1963) theory of obedience to authority (Woolf, 2018). If by definition, groupthink is equated with premature concurrence-seeking, then such behaviors should be the primary criterion for detecting the phenomenon. This represents the first step when organizations transition from open to closed communication systems that reinforce sanctioned organizational communication patterns (Morgan, 2007).

Janis (1982) established the concept of groupthink to explain why highly cohesive groups under pressure make decisions that prevent the successful completion of a task. The groupthink syndrome, first described by Irving Janis (1972, 1982), manifests itself in teams prioritizing consensus-building and group unity over critically analyzing issues and potential solutions. Janis identified that the symptoms of groupthink are displayed when there are: (a) illusions of invulnerability, (b) belief in a higher moral purpose, (c) cloistered decision-making process, (d) applying negative stereotypes to detractors, (e) internal pressures on dissenters, (f) self-censorship, (g) illusion of consensus, and (h) self-appointed guards (Hackman & Johnson, 2018; Janis, 1982; Schafer & Crichlow, 1996). Leana's (1985) partial test of Janis' groupthink model demonstrated that individuals in less cohesive groups tended to self-censor information more than individuals in cohesive groups. Teams with directive leaders discussed fewer potential solutions to the issue than those with participatory leaders, partially corroborating Janis' hypothesis of groupthink (Leana, 1985).

Herek et al.'s (1987) quantitative study discussed the processing of Janis' antecedents and identified that group norms, leadership style, and situational constraints impacted decision-making errors. However, Schaefer and Crichlow's (1996) quantitative study identified that group homogeneity and recent group failure did not correlate with Janis' antecedents. Their research indicated faulty decision-king was impacted by poor leadership, procedures, and organizational culture (Schafer & Crichlow, 1996). Although Janis (1982) initially identified GT within directed organizations, GT occurs in multiple leadership models when social influence, thoughts, or ideas are affected by other people's attitudes, opinions, and beliefs, impacting the group dynamics process (Hassan, 2013).

Mackenzie's (2005) qualitative study on groupthink identified the concept of group hope as another antecedent in groupthink. The research was predicated by Lowenstein and Lerner's (2003) qualitative study that recognized that immediate emotions that emerge before decision-making contributed to Janis' original antecedents of groupthink (Davidson et al., 2003). Mackenzie's study revealed that hope was positively related to self-censorship, illusions of vulnerability, collective rationalization, and pressuring dissenters' findings suggest that hope directly impacts the information processing stage in the group decision-making process (MacKenzie, 2005). Mckeever's (2009) qualitative examination of Janis' groupthink model from the social media perspective revealed that the groupthink landscape impacted decision-makers organizational framework. Facebook, by design, embodies an atmosphere where subjects are observable unknowingly during regular group interaction. Participants in the study operate under their social agenda, and interactions proceed untainted by the perception of being studied. The illusion of transparent groupthink contributed to adverse organizational outcomes (McKeever, 2009).

Kaymak (2011) explained that cohesion is an essential organizational phenomenon that increases levels of belonging and organizational citizenship. Kaymak (2011) found an inverse relationship between group cohesion and absenteeism. Leadership decisions created a poor work environment manifested in decreased job satisfaction resulting from their inability to nurture cohesion in a workgroup and increased groupthink (Kaymak, 2011). Wekselberg's (2014) empirical study revealed that groupthink could distort reality through desocialization, de-problematization, and deinstitutionalization. Within that framework, social pressures within the organizations suppress and discount alternative ideas and suppress them within the dominant culture's vision of reality (Wekselberg, 2014). Hirunyawipada et al. (2015) noted high-level organizational citizenship increased cohesiveness and decreased groupthink within the team. In these circumstances, teams are rewarded for contributing their knowledge to achieving company objectives (Hirunyawipada et al., 2015). Although groupthink is traditionally defined as a group phenomenon, the main focus is on individuals; groupthink should focus on what groups do to individuals, not what individuals do to the group (Paulus, 2015).

Groupthink can change ideas, attitudes, and beliefs, but it can reorient social-cultural ideologies when persuasive leaders coordinate and control the messaging process (McKeever, 2009). Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram create the illusion of invulnerability derived from a sense of moral superiority that discounts and mocks alternative viewpoints (Janis & Mann, 1977). Groupthink is a bottom-up, top-down coordinated effort that enables malevolent leaders to isolate individuals, increase dependency, increase anxiety, and foster fear (Meerloo, 2015). Groupthink theory is a contributing factor to addressing; (a) societal bonding, (b) facilitating a sense of diminished worth and lack of purpose, and (c) increasing anxiety, fear, and aggression that will be addressed in the LMXS concept development section.

LMX Theory and Proposed LMXS Concept

The proposed LMXS concept will incorporate three additional didactic relationships to address the four pre-conditions for mass psychosis—the relationship between societal bonding vis-à-vis social media. Lack of purpose, by combining Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and self-actualization (Maslow, 1943). Lastly, addressing anxiety, fear, and aggression, propagated by Corporate Social Responsibility, top-down governmentality, and the international influence of Environmental Social Governance (Collier & Whitehead, 2022).

LMX Theory

LMX theory strives for the proper mix of relational characteristics to promote desired outcomes while continually evaluating leaders' and followers' mutual influences. LMX theory stands out among the many scholarly leadership approaches with its unique focus on the leader-follower dyads?(Erdogan & Bauer, 2014). A key premise that spawned the development of LMX theory was that leaders tend to have high-quality relationships with only some of their employees. Original research by Dansereau et al. (1975) began as an alternative to vertical dyad linkage and has progressed into a robust leadership approach through developing and maintaining leadership relationships (Graen, 1976). However, the emergence of the LMX leadership theory was introduced by Graen (1976) when defining role-making processes within complex organizations. LMX theory relates to other active approaches to leadership personality-based, contextual, information processing, and new leadership schools designed to inform and stimulate a deeper understanding of leadership.

A cross-sectional research study by Scandura et al. (1986) attempted to identify the antecedents of decision influence in managerial dyads. LMX and decision impact measured subordinate and leadership points of view, identifying critical antecedents for decision-making within the dyads. Focusing on the dyad revealed that superiors show a non-compensatory model regarding decision influence while subordinates must possess high performance and exchange skills. In contrast, associates show a compensatory model in which higher performance can compensate for lower LMXs (Scandura et al., 1986). It was not until 1995, until the first revision to LMX theory, that Graen and Uhl-Bien's (1995) findings applied a multi-level multi-domain perspective in LMX leadership theory. Within this construct, LMX theory falls within the broader category of followership and the mutual influence on leadership captured in three domains: (a) leadership domain, (b) followership domain, and (c) relationship domain as defined where leaders develop multiple dyadic relationships amongst peers, subordinates, and members outside the organization (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995). Linden et al. (2000) conducted a field investigation of 337 employees and their immediate superiors to test the mediating role of empowerment in relations between job characteristics, leader-member exchange (LMX), team-member exchange (TMX), and work outcomes. TMX was directly related to job performance, suggesting that work satisfaction is primarily explained by job characteristics (through empowerment) but that LMX and TMX combine with job characteristics and empowerment to explain variation in organizational commitment and job performance (Liden et al., 2000).

In 2003, Graen published a second revision to LMX theory that advocated the role-making frame of reference where LMX can be analyzed within a group. Scandura and Pellegrini's (2008) research identified that even in high-quality LMX relationships, trust and loyalty could be compromised if the supervisor's demands overwhelm the subordinate, resulting in increased stress for the follower (Harris & Kacmar, 2006). Accordingly, followers in a high-LMX relationship may start reevaluating the costs and benefits of sustaining the relationship (Scandura & Pellegrini, 2008). Effective relationships are referred to as having high-quality leader-member exchanges (HQ LMX). Ineffective relationships are referred to as having low-quality leader-member discussions (LQ LMX). Gajendran and Josi's (2012) quantitative research on globally distributed teams revealed that LMX enhanced decision-making while simultaneously improving communication. The net effect was that team participation, decision-making, and motivation positively affected innovation (Gajendran & Joshi, 2012). Graen et al. (2016) state that LMX is the quality of the relationship that emerges between leaders and their direct reports during role-making. Successful leadership influences followers to adjust their behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes to apply a common good.

Demographic shifts have created a new generation of employees that are shifting away from traditional cultural and organizational leadership behaviors and principles (Wang et al., 2018). Wang et al. (2018) conducted a quantitative social exchange framework analysis to measure the effectiveness of LMX leadership theory within an emerging demographic workforce. The findings revealed that job satisfaction improved when employees' participative decision-making was high. Hu et al. (2018) qualitative study revealed how factors such as LMX leadership, psychological safety, and empowerment encouraged employees' willingness to speak out. The findings reinforce the value of ethical leadership and suggest that to enhance long-term returns, organizations should pay more attention to employees' psychological feelings and personal values (Hu et al., 2018).

The primary premise of the LMX theory is that leaders develop an exchange relationship with each subordinate as the two parties mutually define the relationship domain (Yukl & Gardner, 2019). Personal compatibility, subordinate competence, and dependability are used to shape exchange relationships. Seele and Eberl (2020) identified that unfulfilled leadership expectations are crucial in leader/follower relationship development and may affect socialization outcomes. LMX has broadened its horizons beyond focusing on dyadic exchange to more relational approaches that consider dyads relationally within a group context (Miscenko & Day, 2015). The focus on applying the LMX theory addressed the impact of cultural and social values on leaders and followers in high and low-quality relationships. Given the domains of leadership described above, LMX incorporates an operationalization of a relationship-based approach to leadership. According to the theory's core principle, successful leadership processes arise when leaders and followers establish leadership relationships (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995). The proposed LMXS concept addresses three leadership relationships that have not been fully vetted. They include the lack of social bonding vis-à-vis social media, social isolation, and governmental messaging via CSR and ESG, contributing to collective fear mechanisms, anxiety, and anger.

LMXS Concept

This concept does not aim to prove or disprove competing socio-political narratives but to propose a modified Leader-Member Exchange Strategic (LMXS) to provide leadership solutions when cultural and social divisions within organizations, institutions, and national interests escalate. Within such organizations, competing narratives become dogmatic and potentially violent to opposing beliefs and can be described as a psychotic break from reality. The cause of psychosis is not universally accepted, but groupthink, stress, social pressure, and organizational isolation can trigger personal psychosis (Szanto, 2016). Mass psychosis relies upon four conditions to be met; the lack of societal bonding, people's view that their lives lack purpose, increased levels of anxiety and fear, and high levels of aggression. Mass psychosis epidemics occur when a large portion of society loses touch with reality and descends into delusions (Desmet, 2022). The LMXS aims to develop a proactive strategic level approach to identify, prevent, and reconcile potential mass psychosis events. The concept incorporates three additional LMX didactic relationships to address the four pre-conditions for mass psychosis. Societal bonding vis-à-vis social media will be handled with a modified LMX and LMXSC (Social Construct) model and the (Team) TMX model that captures the impact of social media within the workplace on both high and low dyads. Lack of purpose is addressed by integrating Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and job satisfaction in achieving self-actualization (Maslow, 1943). LMXS will address anxiety, fear, and aggression by introducing strategic level vertical dyads to counter bottom-up Corporate Social Responsibility, top-down governmentality, and the international influence of Environmental Social Governance (Collier & Whitehead, 2022).

The proposed LMXS concept will build upon Brower et al.'s (2000) trust-building research, Sparrowe and Liden (2005) social network perspectives, and Walumbwa et al.'s (2009) organizational justice LMX studies. Lovink (2019) critical analysis of the growing social media controversies, such as fake news, toxic viral memes, and online addiction, states that personal highs and lows of melancholy are coded into social media platforms. After all the clicking, browsing, swiping, and liking, we are left with the flat and empty aftermath of time lost to the application can be called platform nihilism (Lovink, 2019). Recent trends for younger generations reveal that they are more vulnerable to the indirect effects of COVID-19 perceptions on their engagement in Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB) than Generation X (Mahmoud et al., 2021). Additionally, Mahmoud et al. (2021) showed that Generation Z experienced more job dissatisfaction, higher feelings of burnout, and higher turnover rates. Meshi and Ellithorpe's (2021) analysis of social media and Generation Z revealed that problematic social media use was significantly associated with decreased real-life social support and increased social support on social media. Unhealthy social media patterns increase anxiety, depression, and isolation (Meshi & Ellithorpe, 2021). Foster (20021) explains how authoritarian leaders in Russia and China used COVID diplomacy to reassure domestic audiences and win favor with select foreign audiences. China gained acceptance with a broader audience. COVID diplomacy also reveals a longstanding objective: spreading epistemological nihilism in target audiences to render them more vulnerable to future messaging and distrustful of their media, institutions, and state. This serves as a mechanism through which these states achieve additional objectives (Foster, 2021). The identified gaps offer a unique opportunity to develop dyadic relationships between leaders and followers, individuals and groups, and corporations and nations to counter the effects of mass psychosis.

Never before have such effective means existed to manipulate society into the psychosis of totalitarianism. Furthermore, the addictive nature of these technologies means that many people voluntarily subject themselves with remarkable frequency; when alone and lacking regular interactions with friends, family, and coworkers, an individual becomes far more susceptible to moral nihilism.

LMXS, Social Media. Technical innovation in mass media has expanded through access to personal computers, the Internet, hand-held technology such as iPods and smartphones, and social media. Social media now serves as the primary source of news and information, meaning that news and information are now controlled by their users and are viewed as more credible than traditional (David, 2019; Goldys, 2014; Stever, 2017). Goodwin et al. (2009) identified in a quantitative study to measure the impact of informal power relationships and leadership within the LMX framework. Findings revealed that leaders must manage relationships with connected followers to harness their power and avoid the pitfalls of having a powerful subordinate. A subordinate with informal power may challenge the manager's objectives and could influence others in support of or against departmental goals. Informal subordinate power was compromised by a high LMX relationship (Goodwin et al., 2009). Takeuchi et al. (2011) research indicated that a new didactic relationship has emerged, attributing social power to well-connected subordinates' social influence within social exchange relationships. Therefore, the leader-member dyad simultaneously exists with other formal and informal organizational relationships involving followers, and LMX should not be studied in isolation (Takeuchi et al., 2011). Van Zoonen et al. (2016) research on job satisfaction and social media revealed that younger employees are likely to use social media for non-work-related activities. Specifically, they found a significant positive relationship between job dissatisfaction and using social media to voice it (van Zoonen et al., 2016). Scutto et al. (2017) research on the social antecedents termed the LMX Social-Comparison (LMXSC) to study how employees use positive or negative social network engagement to voice their support of organizational initiatives. When leaders encourage employees to express their work-related ideas and suggestions (promotive voice) and concerns and fears (prohibitive voice) to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their team and organization, improve self-belief and self-esteem of the workers (Sguera et al., 2018; van Zoonen et al., 2016).

Escorcio Soares et al.'s (2020) study proposed a leader-network exchange model that considers the impact of follower expectations on a leader's behavior. In this model, the leadership process and effectiveness result from the interaction between four components from these two dimensions: leaders' network awareness, followers' shared image of a leader, network characteristics, and leaders' network position. Social networks are considered from a multi-level approach at the individual and network levels, necessitating a more integrative strategy for leadership (Escórcio Soares et al., 2020). Research conducted by Arian et al. (2022) on the dark side of LMXSC on LM-LMX relationships marginalized their desire to engage in social commenting for fear of repercussions. Although introducing social engagement was to increase worker satisfaction and engagement, marginalized workers withdrew from such behaviors and increasingly felt insecure and marginalized within the organization (Arain et al., 2022).

Arian et al.'s. (2022) findings reinforce the influence of authoritative leaders who, with the advent of social networking technologies, can force groupthink and reinforce the concept of Robert Michel's Iron Law of oligarchy (LaVenia, 2011). Although social media has encouraged positive and negative feedback, narcissistic leaders view any assault on their authority. Machiavellian leaders with high narcissism and low self-esteem lower their support for democracy as narcissism elicits negative emotions such as malicious envy and accelerates negative consequences for organizations (Braun et al., 2018; Marchlewska et al., 2019).

Within this context, LMXS will incorporate elements of the traditional LMX model, aspects of the LMXSC model, and the TMX, and develop a new measurement that captures the impact of social media within the workplace on both high and low dyads. Lapointe et al.'s (2020) study on the differences between LMX and LMXSC showed that employees' self-concept levels contributed to strengthening commitment. The LMXSC model showed that more substantial levels of self-concept increased employees' organizational commitment (Lapointe et al., 2020). Chen and Wei's (2020) research compared individual employee behaviors based on vertical and horizontal LMX relationships based on social media usage. The challenge with social media is that it creates a virtual connection, often leading to different social exchange relationships (Chen & Wei, 2020). TMX is related to but distinct from other variables, such as LMX, satisfaction with coworkers, and perceptions of cohesiveness. LMX focuses on the vertical relationships between leaders and subordinates (Banks et al., 2014). Chen and Wei's (2020) findings reveal the importance of TMX in determining employee behavior and that the use of social media can alter exchange relationships. Including a social media element in the LMXS mediates adverse performance levels, stress, and social media over-dependence (Kiziloglu et al., 2021). Voicing dissenting viewpoints on highly opinionated social media platforms can be counterproductive for individuals because such behavior results in member alienation and possible removal from the group by administrators. This social construct can potentially develop the illusion of unanimity and, if left unchecked, can develop into more problematic organizational patterns, behaviors, and practices (McKeever, 2009).

LMXS Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, Lack of Purpose. Maslow (1943) outlined hierarchal needs that motivate individuals to seek fulfillment in a five-step ladder approach with subsequent increases in internal transcendence. The steps begin with physiological needs, safety needs, social affiliation, and self-esteem and ending with self-actualization (Maslow, 1943). Maslow (1954) stated that people are motivated by achievement levels and needs; however, if lower needs supersede higher needs along Maslow's hierarchy of needs, job dissatisfaction is likely (Maslow, 1954).

Trust is central to self-actualization, and LMX when followers and leaders reach an equilibrium as the relationship develops (Sparrowe & Liden, 1997). However, if the leader's concept of trust varies from the follower's, the didactic relationship will never be reciprocal, increasing the differentiation between perceived and actual. Therefore, the LMX relationship's structure is based upon a multi-dimensional model representing convergence between the leader's trust of subordinates and subordinates' trust of leadership (Brower et al., 2000). Therefore, the recommended approach within the proposed LMXS concept is the Graen and Uhl-Bien (1995) three-dimensional conceptualization LMX model that includes loyalty, respect, and trust.

Trust plays a significant role in achieving self-actualization and developing a sense of purpose to counter the effects of manufactured fear, anxiety, and confusion designed to create distrust within the individual, group, and organizational settings. Freud et al. (1989) state the separation between the groups enables leaders to avoid emotional attachment to anyone and become narcissistic, independent, and self-confident. Kaufman's (2018) research on self-actualization identified ten characteristics of self-actualization (CSAS) that were associated with greater well-being across a number of indicators of well-being, including greater life satisfaction, self-acceptance, positive relations, environmental mastery, personal growth, autonomy, purpose in life, and self-transcendent experiences (Kaufman, 2018). Additionally, the researchers' findings showed strong connections to aspects of well-being, including self-acceptance, positive relations, personal growth, autonomy, environmental mastery, and purpose.

The LMXS concept will include a multi-dimensional approach, including trust and the development of high-quality dyads designed to reach convergence between leaders' perception of trust of subordinates and subordinates' perceptions of trust of leaders. Self-awareness will be measured using Kaufman's ten dimensions of self-awareness and well-being. ??The psychological aftereffects of the COVID-19 lockdown, the increased reliance upon distance working, the growth of social media and politically correct speech have reduced the capacity of individuals to establish the inner coherence of their value systems and have allowed the community to assert its presence of preferred shared ideas (Bagus et al., 2021; Jonsson, 2013).

LMXS Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The objectives and purposes of CSR have evolved; initially, it was considered a marketing tool aimed at achieving legitimacy or improving its image. Today, however, it is regarded as a fundamental strategic element in organizations, essential for the long-term sustainability of companies (Dey et al., 2018) Cropazanno and Mitchell (2005) see CSR as a form of organizational justice, where internal shareholders can hold leadership responsible from an external perspective. CSR now includes Creating Shared Value (CVC), defined as operational policies and practices that improve a company's competitiveness while promoting economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates (Porter & Kramer, 2006). A political agenda could be advanced by groups that see the private property and related commercial rights as rights secured by the government and views industrial organizations as social institutions that should be shaped to meet the needs of society (Ireland & Pillay, 2010). The fear is that a mandated acculturation process will negate a cultural interchange and exchange that may erase cultures in favor of a common culture. At face value, CSR seems like a win-win scenario for the community and organization alike until political philosophies are allowed to enter the debate (Sheehy, 2015). Sheehy (2015) states that as political ideologies mimic society-wide agendas about the public-private divide, the role of government can replace private corporations' political rights. Private organizations could be forced to establish normative and affective commitment based on the agenda of the political class that possesses the power to enforce their concept of CSR, Social Justice, and Equity Theory.

From the LMX perspective, employees and external shareholders recognize that employees make justice judgments about multiple sources; the model asserts that these source-specific observations engender source-specific social exchange relationships that target perceived areas of injustice (Bauer & Erdogan, 2015). CSR engagement creates the potential for employees to be hierarchically separated from particular management levels and the opportunity to form unique, one-way LMX relationships with leaders (Mallory & Rupp, 2015). CSR may engender parasocial LMX or perceived and indirect LMX relationships employees can develop with leaders at multiple levels. Parasocial relationships are?one-sided, where one person extends emotional energy, interest, and time, and the other party, the persona, is completely unaware of the other's existence (David, 2019). However, when leaders across the organization are given both the authority and opportunity to engage in high-visibility CSR behaviors, CSR becomes an additional resource on which managers can rely in influencing and empowering their reports, whether directly or indirectly. David's (2019) parasocial relationship research revealed that excessive usage of social networks affected the likelihood that normal parasocial bonds would form.

Additionally, the findings revealed that parasocial bonds may influence identity development and may be used to persuade behavior and perspectives on real-life social interactions (David, 2019). High-level leaders may use parasocial LMX relationships to negatively impact low LMX employees leading to decreased job satisfaction and turnover. Directly or indirectly, CEO LMX's parasocial actions can create a workplace with like-minded individuals more susceptible to groupthink and charismatic, authoritative agendas, censorship, and control (Desmet, 2022).

From the bottom-up perspective of CSR, social movements that effectively gain public approval have the reverse effect when high-quality LMX relationships are pushed from organizational leadership. However, social movements that pressure corporations to modify their business models, HR practices, and capital resource investments are not spontaneous and leaderless. Desmet (2022), Jonsson (2022), and Le Bon (1896) articulate how movements are controlled by an elite leadership class that embodies contempt for the crowd by urging the crowds to serve as martyrs for their cause. Modern firms feel ever-increasing pressure from internal and external stakeholders to act in ways that are perceived as socially and environmentally responsible (Aguilera et al., 2007). Organized activism associated with the BLM movement has transformed corporate HR practices and has contributed millions of dollars to BLM initiatives while turning a blind eye to their anti-American socialist agenda (Briley, 2020).

When corporate CSR postures shift away from LMX relationships based on improving the organizational identity to moral and cultural identities. Vertical leadership dyads within the CSR framework will fail when the moral and cultural identifiers of the organization are viewed as unethical and would therefore compromise the integrity of high- and low-quality dyads (Mallory & Rupp, 2015). A more significant threat in developing a form of mass psychosis is when elites and subordinates engage in CSR activities designed to persuade large portions of society to disengage from reality in support of moral agenda. However, when bottom-up and top-down CSR converge, social media giants like Facebook and Google possess the resources to create an imaginary world that is neither true nor false but a pseudo-reality energized by their perception of a reimaged ideology and beliefs (O’Shaughnessy, 2017). Beyond the individual corporation, when nations coalesce around similar insular beliefs with a common voice, the dangers of creating a world-wide psychosis event are drastically increased.

LMXS, Environmental Social and Governance. The main drivers for ESG focus on environmental situations like climate change, nuclear energy, or sustainability in general. The secondary concerns focus on social matters like diversity, human rights, consumer protection, or animal welfare; corporate governance concerns lie in the management structure, employment relations, as well as questions of responsible investments are considered (Kiehne, 2019). From the international perspective, international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015) were instituted to affirm that developed countries take the lead in providing financial assistance to less developed nations (United Nations, 2022). Lending institutions like the World Bank publish guides and incentives for sovereign issues to invest in ESG issues while discouraging investment in areas not in concert with their agenda (Kayaalp, 2020). International and National pressure placed on corporations to engage in more socially responsible investing from investors, consumers, regulators, and government agencies could potentially undermine a corporation’s solvency (Botelho, 2019). In essence, the concept of forced investment based on ESG initiatives is centered around stakeholder capitalism (Schwab & Vanham, 2021). At the center of the approach are governments, civil society (from unions to NGOs, academia), companies, and the international community.

World Bank ESG initiatives coerced the tiny nation of Sri Lanka to eliminate the use of nitrogen within their agriculture sector, which devastated their agricultural output causing 50% annual inflation, 80% cost in food costs, and a 128% increase in transportation costs. Forced ESG initiatives caused an 85% crop failure rate (Follett, 2022). Baumgartner (2014) states that questions of a company's vision and mission and the fit between sustainability engagement and organizational culture should be the focus at the normative management level. This concept can be applied at the strategic level and long-range planning for political leaders in the same manner that corporate leaders develop their sustainable strategic initiatives. This framework for corporate sustainability management is supported by instruments clustered in different areas like performance measurement, assessment, valuation, operational management, or strategic management (Baumgartner, 2014). In the Sri Lankan example, a global agenda not only obliterated the Sri Lankan economy, but the people were also objectified, starved, and dehumanized, creating a spontaneous rebellion that expelled President Rajapaksa (Follett, 2022). In this instance, an ESG worldview not only created fear, anxiety, distrust, anger, and isolation as the world watched the nation coming apart at the seams. The issue within this issue was whether President Rajapaksa believed that the ESG model would benefit his people or if the infusion of money by the World Bank would benefit the ruling class.

The proposed LMXS concept, as identified in the LMXS Social Media discussion, reverts to the principle of followers' perceptions of trust in leadership. Jawahar et al.'s (2019) LMX research on trust as a mediator as followers' perceptions of leader trustworthiness and empowerment influenced followers' perceptions of LMX quality, which in turn influenced leaders' trust in followers. Furthermore, LMX mediated the trustworthiness–trust relationship, and this mediated relationship became stronger at increasing levels of empowerment. Within the confines of the ESG, bottom-up stakeholders are empowered to influence organizational initiatives; however, at the international and regional levels, international stakeholders are not swayed by the follower class. LMXS (ESG) will incorporate the trustworthiness dimension of the Principled Leadership Scale developed by Hendrikz and Engelbretch (2019). Trustworthiness is based on the leader's foundation of universally accepted moral principles. These principles include being committed to something greater than oneself and having a deep-seated sense of calling, humility, integrity, honesty, transparency, self-discipline, and reliability (Hendrikz & Engelbrecht, 2019).

At the ESG level, employees' and managers' influence will be during regional and national elections. The proposed LMXS concept will focus more on the CSR vice ESG and will be based on the convergence of trust between leaders and followers.

LMXS Governmental. Collier and Whitehead's (2021) proposed three typologies of corporate governmentality based upon the Foulcauldian (2004) perspective that when threatened, the state's desire to project strength can lead to repressive action against anything considered a threat to its continuation (Collier & Whitehead, 2022). The typologies are deliberate corporate governmentality (when corporations act like governments), incidental corporate governmentality, and forced corporate governmentality (when corporations are directed to act on behalf of the government). When the state can collude with social media and traditional media platforms, the building blocks of symbolism and a propagandized world that is neither true nor false, but a pseudo-reality can quicky energize fear and anxiety constricted by a sanctioned ideology (O’Shaughnessy, 2017).

Unlike some Western countries, the Chinese state uses social media platforms as an extension of its security apparatus. It has become a policing tool to punish users who post sensitive content to induce self-censorship (Qin et al., 2017). For China and Russia, forced governmentality within the social media plane achieves five goals (O’Shaughnessy, 2017). The five goals are as follows; (a) the consolidation of power by censoring contradictory statements to government policy, (b) to contradict, ridicule, shun, and discredit dissenters, (c) to coerce and intimidate (d) to promote coherence and to entice the mob to act on its behalf, and (e) to send messages and threats to other nations that may try to influence internal hegemony.

Recent revelations have uncovered similar actions within the United States by various government agencies and employees of the executive branch of the government. Starting in July 2020, the White House press secretary disclosed that the Biden administration was working with Facebook to censor information related to COVID-19 (Denton, 2022). In August 2021, the White House implied that cybersecurity insurance companies should force better behavior throughout the industry by increasing premiums for companies that do not improve their cybersecurity postures (Zakrzweski et al., 2021). In August 2022, Alex Berenson was reinstated on Twitter after his lawsuit filed against Twitter and the Biden Administration colluded to censor his constitutional rights of free speech for political reasons (Ramaswamy & Rubenfeld, 2022).

???????????The LMXS governmental discussion has indicated that political agencies are willing to coerce private corporations to act on their behalf to restrict dissenting opinions. Still, it has also contributed to creating a feeling of mass hysteria, anxiety, and distress by reorganizing and manipulating collective feelings in a prescribed manner (Bagus et al., 2021). The LMXS governmental will use the trustworthy dimension as discussed by Jawahar et al. (2019); however, the application must include an upward vertical dyad that not only addresses trust issues but enables downward vertical dyad action to mobilize dissent. Anderson et al.’s (2020) literature review on social and economic LMX dimensions revealed that LMX disagreement indicates divergent perceptions in including more economical or transactional qualities with the leader-follower relationship. Their findings reinforce the proposed LMXS governmental dimension measuring trust and self-awareness that could contribute to an enhanced concept that could not only identify antecedent shifts to mass psychosis events but could potentially mitigate the action writ-large (Andersen et al., 2020).

Conclusion

The LMXS concept aims to develop a proactive strategic leadership approach to identify, prevent, and reconcile potential mass psychosis events. The LMXS concept will incorporate three additional didactic LMX relationships to address the four pre-conditions for mass psychosis; (a) the relationship between societal bonding vis-à-vis social media, (b) lack of purpose, and (c) increased anxiety, fear, and aggression. The literature review identified antecedent conditions in existing leadership theories that contribute to the concept of mass psychosis and provided insight into developing three strategic-level relationships within the existing LMX framework.

The Great Man Theory created the imagery of elitism associated with divine leadership, which is often cited in the separation and identification of a leadership class that the follower class cannot question due to their god-like status. The Charismatic Aristocracy Theory contributes to the “Iron Cage” concept of confidants closely aligned to the leadership responsible for making the decision regardless of the organizational or political structure of the corporation. This alliance creates separation and promotes contempt for the follower class’s station. The historical application of centralized decision-making is that it maintains control with fear, coercion, and threats. Post Modernists like Nietzsche and Lyotard questioned the legitimacy of Western Judeo-Christian principles by replacing the faith-based ontological view of reality with a metaphysical concept of reality (Smith, 1990). Extreme postmodern nihilism is often considered vulgar relativism, where no criteria exist for choosing one value, knowledge claim, or course of action over another. This nihilistic debilitation is usually associated with moods of despair, random destructiveness, and longing for nothingness and contributes to the hopelessness discussion of mass psychosis events (Woodward, 2005).

Machiavellianism is not classified as a mental illness; however, it is a manipulative personality trait addressed by psychoanalyst theorists and contributes to the mental disorder of psychosis (Ffytche & Pick, 2016). Machiavellian leaders are willing to set aside their scruples, resort to deceit, break inconvenient foreign alliances and agreements with fellow citizens, and ride roughshod over civil laws (Benner, 2017). Within this theory, the absence of trust isolates and contributes to anxiety, fear, and anger experienced in mass psychosis events. Psychoanalytic theory its core is the principal antecedent for a mass psychosis event and contributes to the development of the LMXS concept when manipulative leaders can turn groups into emotional, violent, erratic, and extreme mobs that promote tribal biases, even if that means having knowingly erroneous beliefs (Clark et al., 2019). Ffytche and Pick (2016) state that an extreme narcissistic break can lead to violence, create an unfounded sense of entitlement, and desire to enslave their opponents. Although the psychoanalytic theory is often cited in the creation of authoritarian, communist, and fascist states, it has ancillary relationships with the concepts of top-down and bottom-up groupthink.

The final leadership theory addressed in the literature review was Groupthink. The Groupthink theory possesses the ability to change ideas, attitudes, and beliefs, but it can reorient social-cultural ideologies when persuasive leaders coordinate and control the messaging process (McKeever, 2009). Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram create the illusion of invulnerability derived from a sense of moral superiority that discounts and mocks alternative viewpoints (Janis & Mann, 1977). Groupthink is a bottom-up, top-down coordinated effort that enables malevolent leaders to isolate individuals, increase dependency, increase anxiety, and foster fear (Meerloo, 2015). Based upon the concept of mass psychosis and the antecedent relationships within the leadership theories in the literature review, the LMXS concept identified three LMXS dimensions.

The LMXS (Social Media) concept incorporates elements of the traditional LMX model, aspects of the LMXSC model, and the TMX model to capture the impact of social media within the workplace on both high and low dyads. To address the lack of purpose dimension, LMXS (Maslow) integrates Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and job satisfaction in achieving self-actualization (Maslow, 1943). Included in this dimension is a multi-dimensional approach to capture self-awareness and lack of purpose, including trust, and the development of high-quality dyads designed to reach convergence between leaders' perception of trust of subordinates and subordinates' perceptions of trust of leaders. The final dimension within the LMXS concept incorporates three subcategories to address fear, anxiety, and anger.

LMXS (CSR) develops vertical dyads to address parasocial relationships that rely upon the excessive usage of social networks that influences identity development and may be used to persuade behavior and perspectives on real-life social interactions (David, 2019). The purpose of the LMXS (CSR) subcategory is to identify the antecedents that lead to bottom-up and top-down CSR activities possess the resources to create an imaginary world that is neither true nor false but a pseudo-reality energized by their perception of a reimaged ideology and beliefs (O’Shaughnessy, 2017).

LMXS (ESG) incorporates the trustworthiness dimension of the Principled Leadership Scale (PLS) developed by Hendrikz and Engelbretch (2019). Within PLS, trustworthiness is based on the leader's foundation of universally accepted moral principles. These principles include being committed to something greater than oneself and having a deep-seated sense of calling, humility, integrity, honesty, transparency, self-discipline, and reliability (Hendrikz & Engelbrecht, 2019). The purpose of the LMXS (ESG) dimension is to capture international vertical dyads that place the needs of others ahead of regional and national interests. When elitist transnational narratives become dogmatic, exploit national sovereignty, and are left unchecked, manipulative initiatives may lead to mass psychotic breaks from reality.

LMXS (Governmentality) is the last subcategory to develop vertical dyads to address fear, anxiety, and aggression leading to a mass psychosis event. When political parties are willing to coerce private corporations to act on their behalf to restrict dissenting opinions, they contribute to feelings of government overreach, surveillance, and censorship (Bagus et al., 2021). The LMXS governmental will use the trustworthy dimension discussed by Jawahar et al. (2019), focused on upward vertical dyads that not only address trust issues but also enable downward vertical dyad action to mobilize dissent.

Within the mass psychosis framework, a population is induced into a state of intense fear or anxiety by threats real, imagined, or fabricated, and once in a state of panic to create a sense of panic (Arieti, 1955). Leaders who can perceive an existential threat to society (such as COVID-19, Global Warming, and Russian Nuclear Annihilation) demand that individuals forfeit their freedoms to save mankind. This demand for obedience can be defined as the inequality of characteristics that exists between leaders and followers' leaders have been conceived as autonomous individuals (Meerloo, 2015).

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