Communal decline: The vanishing of high-moral servant leaders and the decay of democratic, high-trust kibbutz cultures

What is the connection between leaders' morality and the output performance of organizations? Can their morality explain, through trust, continuity, a nd change of organizational cultures? Is periodic rotation of managers the right solution for the distrust caused by self-serving conservatism due to Michels's "Iron Law of Oligarchy"? An anthropological study of kibbutzim, w hose innovative and adaptive cultures declined recently, found that past su ccess was dependent on high-moral servant leaders who backed democracy and promoted high-trust cultures that engendered innovation by creative officer s in some kibbutzim, which others imitated. However, conservatism of contin uous leaders as heads of low-trust kibbutz federative organizations, which were ignored by customary kibbutz research, engendered oligarchization whic h rotation enhanced rather than prevented. However, creativity deteriorated only after decades of growing oligarchy, with the vanishing of the high-me tal old guard. Thus, the crux of democratic communal culture sustainability is pinpointed in the superiority of trusted high-moral leaders. A prelimin ary idea for achieving that aim, predicated on officers' continuation in of fice being conditional on periodic tests of trust, is herein presented.