Below is a long quote fom LRH. It speaks for itself. (And for those of a political bent, I have no current political figure in mind.)

It has been found by actual experiment (LA 1950) that groups of people called on to select a leader from among them by nomination and vote routinely select only those who would kill them.

They select the talkers of big deeds and ignore the doers. They seem to select unerringly the men of average skill. That is never good enough in a leader and the people suffer from his lack of understanding. If you ever have occasion to elect a leader for your group, don’t be “democratic” about it. Compare records as follows.

Take the person who is a good auditor, not just says he is.

Take the person who has a good, not necessarily the highest, profile and IQ.

Take the person who can grant beingness to others.

And look at the relative serenity and efficiency of any past command he may have had.

And even then you are taking a chance.

So always elect temporarily and reserve the right of recall. If his first action is to fire people, recall him at once and find another leader.

If the organization promptly prospers, keep him and confirm the election by a second one. If the abundance of the organization sags in a month or so, recall and find another.

Popularity is some criteria – but it can be created for an election only, as in the US. Select in an election or by selection as an executive the person who can get the work done. And once he is confirmed, obey him or keep him. He’s rare. But beware these parliamentary boys and girls who know all the legal and time wasting processes but who somehow never accomplish anything except chaos.

A skilled, successful leader is worth a million impressive hayseeds.

Democracies hate brains and skill. Don’t get in that rut. In the US War Between the States, militia companies elected their officers with great lack of success in battle. They finally learned after tens of thousands of casualties that it was skill, not popularity, that counted. Why be a casualty – learn first.

Democracy is only possible in a nation of Clears and even they can make mistakes. When the majority rules, the minority suffers. The best are always a minority.

Org Series 12 HCOPL 2 November 1970, Issue II The Theory of Scientology Organizations.