Leadership Dynamics, also known as Leadership Dynamics Institute (LDI), was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, for-profit company, owned by William Penn Patrick. The company focused on executive training, personal development and

self-improvement Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...

. Leadership Dynamics was the first form of what

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

s termed " Large Group Awareness Training".

History

William Penn Patrick wrote a booklet entitled ''Happiness and Success through Principle'', in 1967, and founded Leadership Dynamics based on those principles. Every employee in the management of Holiday Magic were then expected to take part in the Leadership Dynamics coursework, which was described as having "overtones of strict military training techniques." William Penn Patrick was the financial backer of the company, and also provided the financial backing for

Holiday Magic Holiday Magic was a multi-level marketing organization, founded in 1964, by William Penn Patrick (1930–1973) in the United States. Originally the organization distributed goods such as home-care products and cosmetics. Company distribut ...

and Alexander Everett's

Mind Dynamics Mind Dynamics was a seminar company, founded by Alexander Everett in Texas in 1968. The company ceased operating in December 1973 after the death of co-owner William Penn Patrick and the resignation of President Robert White, alongside investiga ...

. Patrick stated that students of the Leadership Dynamics Institute would be able to lead "a more creative and constructive life." Patrick utilized the principles of Everett's Mind Dynamics in his company. Ben Gay, a high-level instructor at Leadership Dynamics, was President of Holiday Magic in the United States. Though he claimed Leadership Dynamics was a separate company, "..in no way related to Holiday Magic, Inc.", author Gene Church pointed out many inconsistencies in this statement. According to a lawsuit brought against Holiday Magic by the

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

, in order to advance to the positions of Instructor General, Trainer General, and Senior General within the company, employees were mandated to take part in the Leadership Dynamics training. In 1970, William Penn Patrick bought Mind Dynamics, and the Leadership Dynamics coursework soon became popular in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. However, Patrick's businesses became involved in

pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products. As recruiting multiplies, recruiting becomes quickly im ...

s, and Leadership Dynamics, Holiday Magic, and Mind Dynamics shut down in 1973.

Techniques

Michael Langone Michael D. Langone (born 1947) is an American counseling psychologist who specializes in research about cultic groups and psychological manipulation. He is executive director of the International Cultic Studies Association, and founding editor o ...

wrote in ''Business and Society Review'' that Leadership Dynamics was one of the first "transformational trainings". The extreme form of

human potential movement The Human Potential Movement (HPM) arose out of the counterculture of the 1960s and formed around the concept of an extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in all people. The movement takes as its premise the be ...

training led to a series of lawsuits for the company. This extreme training involved subjecting course participants to abusive practices such as beating, food and sleep deprivation, being placed inside of coffins, and degrading sexual acts. Lawsuits against the company by former participants in the coursework alleged that students were sexually abused and tortured, including being placed in coffins or on crosses.The Role of Small Business in Franchising, Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Minority Small Business.", United States Congress. United States House of Representatives. House Permanent Select Committee on Small Business., 1973, P. 127, 137, 157, 203. The

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

book, '' The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled'' described some of these practices in great detail, and this was later made into a film, ''

Circle of Power ''Circle of Power'', also known as ''Mystique'', ''Brainwash'' and ''The Naked Weekend'', is a 1981 film, co-produced by Gary Mehlman, Anthony Quinn and Jeffrey White, and based on the non-fiction book '' The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled''. It ...

''.

Influence

Langone noted that many forms of transformational trainings were at the least, indirectly influenced by Leadership Dynamics. While working for Holiday Magic,

Lifespring Lifespring was an American for-profit human potential organization founded in 1974 by John Hanley Sr., Robert White, Randy Revell, and Charlene Afremow. The organization encountered significant controversy in the 1970s and 1980s, with various a ...

founder John Hanley attended a course at Leadership Dynamics. Chris Mathe, at the time a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

candidate in

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

, wrote that most of today's current forms of Large-Group Awareness Training were modeled after the Leadership Dynamics Institute.Mathe, Ph.D., Chris.
Choosing a Personal Growth Program: Ten questions to help you make an informed decision
Chris Mathe 1999
Alternate site
/ref> Mathe cited Lifespring, Insight Seminars,

PSI Seminars PSI Seminars is a private company that offers large-group awareness training (LGAT) seminars for professional and personal development. Programs are held in many locations in the U.S., Canada, Japan and worldwide. There are PSI Seminars offices i ...

, New Warriors, and Impact as groups that were influenced by Leadership Dynamics.

References

External links

current Web site of Alexander Everett Large-group awareness training Personal development

History

Techniques

Influence

References

Further reading

External links