There’s a huge delta between what most people perceive as leadership and what true leadership actually entails. The textbook case study of this is President Donald Trump. For mental health reasons we won’t explore here, he’s a big fan of make-believe leadership. The Apprentice was the perfect platform for Trump because it allowed him to play a leader on TV. He didn’t have to make real decisions or face real consequences, because there was a safety net in place to make sure he always looked like a commanding captain of industry. No one on the show could file a complaint with HR about getting fired for some petty contrived controversy because it was a make-believe show. The participants had all willingly signed up for the reality show schtick.
