alexander

Leadership Process Four: Directing Symbols 119
28: Reign of Terror
Symbolism can keep far-flung administrators in line, but only if
you make an example of one or a few. How enduring the amalgamation
will be depends on how visible the symbolism is.
Near the end of his life, after surviving the debacle in the
Gedrosian Desert, described in this chapter, Alexander
began the long march back to Babylon. As he passed
through the various administrative units, he discovered that
many of the satraps whom he had appointed had usurped
their territories and presumptuously taken royal powers,
behaving as though they were kings, not Alexander’s administrators.
Alexander’s appointed satraps obviously presumed that
they would never see him again. This presumption cost numerous
governors their lives, and yielded serious punishments
for most others. This revealed that the administrative
structure of the empire was fragile at best. There is no evidence
that Alexander corrected the process of administering
this huge realm, and the empire disintegrated shortly after
his death. However, he made examples of the presumptuous
and acted swiftly.
Inferences and Allegations
Alexander recreated reality. He redefined the problem from
how to administer lands to how to keep ‘‘decentralized’’
administrators in line—a common problem in all organizations
today. The symbolism is that the leader could return.
Should a leader return, punishment will be swift and severe.