Leadership Lessons from the Salem Witch Trials
I bet the title of this tip caught you off guard. I wrote this tip because I recently visited Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is a historic coastal city north of Boston that was first settled by English colonists in 1626. By 1790, Salem had become a world-famous seaport. But for all its wealth and notoriety as a seaport, Salem became famous (or infamous) for the Salem witch trials.
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft between February 1692 and May 1693. During that time, more than 200 people were accused. Thirty of the accused were found guilty. Nineteen were executed by hanging, and one man was pressed to death by rocks after refusing to enter a plea. At least five others died in jail without trial.
My visit to Salem coincided with the anniversary of the hanging of five of those convicted of witchcraft. As I was listening to a presenter at a museum talk about the executions, I wondered if there were any modern leadership lessons that could be learned from this unfortunate period in American history.
I concluded that while the historical context of Salem in 1692 is obviously vastly different from today’s workplaces, the trials offer timeless warnings about poor leadership, group dynamics, and decision-making under pressure. Here are a few key leadership lessons:
Leaders must rely on facts, not fear or hearsay.
In Salem, accusations were often based on “spectral evidence” or personal grudges. There was no demand for absolute proof.
Leaders today must ensure decisions, especially disciplinary ones, are based on objective, verifiable evidence, not gossip or emotion.
Good leaders resist pressure to conform to mass hysteria or trends.
Community leaders in Salem allowed a climate of fear and hysteria to cloud their judgment.
Leaders today must be cautious not to go along with a dominant but misguided group opinion. As a leader, don’t fall under the spell of moral panic or groupthink. Embrace critical thinking and examine dissenting viewpoints.
Silence or neutrality in the face of injustice is itself a leadership failure.
Many in Salem knew the trials were unjust but failed to intervene. Leaders and clergy allowed the trials to continue or were too passive to stop them.
Effective leaders must speak out when systems or actions are clearly wrong, even when it's unpopular or risky.
Unchecked authority can lead to destructive outcomes.
In Salem, judges and religious leaders wielded absolute authority during the trials and used it irresponsibly.
Healthy leadership includes accountability structures. Leaders should welcome checks and balances and be open to feedback or challenge.
Strong leadership protects the marginalized, rather than exploiting them.
The accused in Salem were often the socially isolated, poor, or eccentric. Leaders allowed fear to fuel persecution of the vulnerable.
Today, ethical leadership means standing up for fairness and ensuring that decisions are not influenced by bias or prejudice.
Once broken, trust in leadership is difficult to repair.
After the Salem witch hysteria ended, community trust was severely damaged. Public apologies came too late for those who died.
Leaders must act with integrity before a crisis hits; rebuilding credibility is much harder than maintaining it.
TIP: The Salem Witch Trials serve as a cautionary tale of what happens when leaders abandon critical thinking, fairness, and courage in favor of fear, control, and consensus. Good leadership demands calm under pressure, respect for truth, and moral backbone—especially when the crowd is headed in the wrong direction.