A Game-Changer for Leadership Intelligence

A piece in today's New York Times suggests that ties that became increasingly close between the American CIA and the governments of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia in the wake of 9/11 blinding the U.S. leadership to the extent of Arab unhappiness with the dictatorships.  I am not sure that "blinded" is apt; rather, this seems to be a case of U.S. intelligence AND leadership over-valuing titular leaders and formal power, rather than paying enough attention to the increasing power accruing to informal leaders in the Internet age.

Leaders of all types of organizations ignore informal power at their peril: opinion-leader faculty, for example, usually wield more power with their peers than any held by the school head or university dean.  What is on display in the Middle East is the way that the Internet and new media such as social networking gives informal power a platform and magnifies its voice.  Accurately estimating this capacity in all factions is as important as counting warheads (for countries) or asking the administrative team what it thinks (in schools).  The game of leadership intelligence is changing.