From there Manson controlled their lives and actions. .
He would have members go out and kill people who he felt were holding back his musical career and those who were responsible for a race war between the blacks and whites. Manson ran things at the ranch for several years until he and ten others were arrested for the murders of Sharon Tate and five others at her home in the Los Angeles hills. They were all sentenced to death, but in 1972 California abolished the death penalty so they were given life in prison (golden essays.com1).
What many people wonder is how Charles Manson went for stealing to survive to becoming the leader of one of the most infamous cults of all time. I believe it was because of his outstanding leadership qualities. Many people with his type of leadership skills would use them run a company or organization, but Manson used them to get back at the people he hated. Charles Manson had all of the qualities needed to be a great leader, but unfortunately had a mental illness. .
Charles Manson had what every leader needs and that is a working unit. "The Family" was his working unit. He had them all brainwashed to believe that he was both God and Satan. By doing this he had total control over all the people. By having total control of all these people he could make them do what ever he wanted and that's exactly what he did. Having this unit under him he never had to do anything but give orders. Creating this working unit was difficult for Manson to do. He had to find the right type of people he believed would lack self-esteem and be easily brainwashed and do anything he wanted them to do. As soon as he was able to get a few people into "The Family" more and more people would join in and that is exactly what he wanted. By getting his complete working unit together he completed one of the most important tasks of becoming an excellent leader (Covey).
Charles Manson was able to build an image to his followers, which is another important part of being a leader.