A KEY ABILITY OF THE ALPHA OVER THE BETA IS ORATORY SKILL. IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE GIFT OF THE GAB, YOU MAY AS WELL FORGET ABOUT IT. THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY So, what differentiates the ‘good’ Alpha from the ‘bad’ Alpha? Comparing Negan and Rick, the difference in style is stark. Rick’s approach to leadership within his community is to establish a sense of collaboration and ownership. Rick issues orders, but also listens. He will try and persuade the group to accept unpopular decisions through reasoning. Negan, on the other hand, expects his orders to be followed like edicts without question. To ensure this, he uses cunning, coercion, and threat. Negan uses punishment as a method of control, making these severe and public to serve as examples.
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Whether Negan is actually a ‘bad’ Alpha is a matter of debate. Certainly, morally he is repugnant, but as a leader he is extremely effective, and from the point of view of a ‘grunt’ Savior, Negan keeps them relatively safe. Where Negan showed himself to be a poor Alpha was by tormenting his closest lieutenant, Dwight, fomenting rebellion. Without Dwight’s collusion, it is doubtful whether the communities of Alexandria, Hilltop, and The Kingdom would have emerged victorious at the end of volume 21, ‘All Out War: Part Two.’
THE WALKING DEAD