Manpacks

Humans could learn a lot from canines. So concludes this short piece concerning the social hierarchy and vocabulary of wolves and canines that run throughout our culture, incorporating terms like an alpha male, underdog, lone wolf, and pack mentality (click, Alpha Males). Animal instincts drive human dynamics far more than our neocortex might acknowledge.

We may start with political theater. Even with your television on mute, you would likely have subconsciously written off sweating, overly-smiling, water-guzzling Rubio as Dead Candidate Walking during that televised 2016 Republican primary, a point anchored by Trump as he belittled him as "little Marco." We then bore witness in the later presidential debate to the way Trump presumed top dog status by brazenly invading Hillary's personal space. No words needed.

Those who spent time in the corporate world may have noted similar hierarchical jockeying -- from the raw power exhibited in boardroom positioning to the manager who gains dominance by most "looking and sounding" the part. Even the most subtle things can sometimes signal subordination like that annoying uptalk i.e. the habit, often unconscious, of ending simple declarative sentences with a rising inflection thereby making everything sound like a question.

Gravitas might be the suitable word for that force in the eye, the voice, the bearing that signals elevated stature. The term alpha male suggests gender association but women alike manifest alpha status (disclaimer: "man" in the title and throughout is a reference to the human species, not to male), from the quintessential Margaret Thatcher to the more contemporary example of Angela Merkel with her strong, self-contained reassurance.

Our previous MM 8/5/19 Watch Your (Body) Language! addressed the power and importance of non-verbal communication. Yet true gravitas suggests something beyond simple technique, not easily faked. It is a phenomenon of power but the forms and styles of power are various. It may announce itself as eloquence (Winston Churchill) or proclaim itself as silence. The Japanese believe a man's gravitas emanates from densities of the unspoken.

We are here to simply observe rather than cast value judgment. Gravitas might be overrated in the world of human complexity in that it suggests a measure of substance not necessarily there. In fact, dominant bearing might be little more than an optical illusion, serving to distract from the substance of thought. We may share instances where the best ideas or opinions modestly delivered may have been lost amidst overbearing overtalk. Besides, a world filled with alphas would likely be internecine hell. Our focus piece further suggests the critical role played by underdogs, even (especially) those among the so-called omegas of the group.

All that said, where do you see yourself in the pack?