I think it's well understood that the leadership styles of leaders like Mao intentionally involved encouraging the kind of "cargo cult" attitude you're describi

I think it's well understood that the leadership styles of leaders like Mao intentionally involved encouraging the kind of "cargo cult" attitude you're describing. Ambiguous instructions, hints and implications rather than clear directives - all of these create conditions where the leader is never wrong (instead, subordinates make wrong interpretations) and the leader stays flexible to ride any wave of fanaticism like n this article. It's fascinating.