A toxic leader is a person who has responsibility for a group of people or an
organization
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
, and who abuses the
leader
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...
–follower
relationship by leaving the group or organization in a worse condition than it was in.
Marcia Lynn Whicker
Marcia Lynn Whicker (1950 – March 23, 1999) was an American political scientist. Whicker was a professor of political science at Rutgers University, where she served a term as the Chair of the Department of Public Administration. She specialized ...
popularized the term "toxic leader" in 1996;
In his 1994 journal article "Petty Tyranny in Organizations" Blake Ashforth discussed potentially destructive sides of
leadership
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...
and identified what he referred to as
"petty tyrants", i.e. leaders who exercise a
tyrannical
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to rep ...
style of management, resulting in a
climate of fear
Culture of fear (or climate of fear) is the concept that people may incite fear in the general public to achieve political or workplace goals through emotional bias; it was developed as a sociological framework by Frank Furedi and has been mor ...
in the workplace.
[Ashforth, Blake (1994) "Petty Tyranny in Organizations" '']Human Relations
The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...
'' v.47, n.7,, pp.755-778.
Basic traits
The basic traits of a toxic leader are generally considered to be either/or insular, intemperate, glib, operationally rigid, callous, inept,
discriminatory
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
,
corrupt
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
or
aggressive
Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
by scholars such as
Barbara Kellerman
Barbara Rose Kellerman (originally spelt Kellermann; born 30 December 1949) is an English actress, known for her film and television roles. She trained at Rose Bruford College.
Kellerman was born in Manchester, Lancashire. Her Jewish fath ...
.
Aggressive narcissism
This syndrome is also the 'Factor 1' in Robert D.Hare's
Psychopathy Checklist
The Psychopathy Checklist or Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, now the Psychopathy Checklist—revised (PCL-R), is a psychological assessment tool that is commonly used to assess the presence and extent of the personality trait psychopathy in ...
, which includes the following traits:
* Glibness/
superficial charm
Superficial charm (or insincere charm) refers to the social act of saying or doing things because they are well received by others, rather than what one actually believes or wants to do. It is sometimes referred to as "telling people what they w ...
*
Grandiose sense of self-worth
*
Pathological lying
Pathological lying, also known as ''mythomania'' and ''pseudologia fantastica'', is a chronic behavior in which the person habitually or compulsively lies. These lies often serve no obvious purpose other than to paint oneself as a hero or vict ...
* Cunning/
manipulative
* Lack of
remorse
Remorse is a distressing emotion experienced by an individual who regrets actions which they have done in the past that they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or wrong. Remorse is closely allied to guilt and self-directed resentment. When a person ...
or
guilt
Guilt may refer to:
*Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard
*Culpability, a legal term
*Guilt (law), a legal term
Music
*Guilt (album), ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims
*Guilt ( ...
* Callous/lack of
empathy
Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, co ...
* Shallow emotional affect (genuine emotion is short-lived and
egocentric
Egocentrism is the inability to differentiate between self and other. More specifically, it is the inability to accurately assume or understand any perspective other than one's own.
Egocentrism is found across the life span: in infancy, early chi ...
)
* Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
Other traits
The United States Army defines toxic leaders as commanders who put their own needs first,
micro-manage subordinates, behave in a mean-spirited manner or display poor decision-making. A study for th
Center for Army Leadershipfound that toxic leaders in the army work to promote themselves at the expense of their subordinates, and usually do so without considering long-term ramifications to their subordinates, their unit, and the Army profession.
Ashforth proposed the following six characteristics to define petty tyranny:
#
arbitrariness
Arbitrariness is the quality of being "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle". It is also used to refer to a choice made without any specific criterion or restraint.
Arbitrary decisions are not necess ...
and
self-aggrandizement
Boasting or bragging is speaking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities.
Boasting occurs when someone feels a sense of satisfaction or when someone feels that whatever occurred proves thei ...
#
belittling
Minimisation or minimization is a type of deceptionGuerrero, L., Anderson, P., Afifi, W. (2007). ''Close Encounters: Communication in Relationships'' (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications. {{ISBN? involving denial coupled with rationalisatio ...
of
subordinates
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
# lack of consideration for others
# a forcing style of
conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abou ...
# discouragement of
initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...
# noncontingent use of
punishment
Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular acti ...
: that is, punishment (e.g. displeasure or criticism) allotted without discernible or consistent principles; not dependent on, or necessarily associated with, undesirable behaviors.
Tools
*
Workload
The term workload can refer to a number of different yet related entities.
An amount of labor
Workload is the amount of work an individual has to do.Jex, S. M. (1998). Stress and job performance: Theory, research, and implications for managerial ...
: The ''
setting up to fail'' procedure is in particular a well established
workplace bullying
Workplace bullying is a persistent pattern of mistreatment from others in the workplace that causes either physical or emotional harm.
It can include such tactics as verbal, nonverbal, psychological, and physical abuse, as well as humiliation. T ...
tactic that a toxic leader can use against his rivals and subordinates.
[Rayner, C. and Hoel, H. A. (June 1997) "Summary Review of Literature Relating to Workplace Bullying" '']Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology
The ''Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers dealing with social psychology and community psychology in the context of community problems and strengths. The journal ...
'' v.7, n.3, pp.181–191
* Corporate control systems: They could use the processes in place to monitor what is going on. Disciplinary systems could be abused to aid their power culture.
* Organizational structures: They could abuse the hierarchies, personal relationships and the way that work flows through the business.
* Corporate power structures: The toxic leader controls who, if any one makes the decisions and how widely spread power is.
* Symbols of personal authority : These may include the right to parking spaces and executive washrooms or access to supplies and uniforms.
Narcissistic
Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others.
Narcissism exists on a co ...
symbols and self-images (i.e. workplace full of self-portraits).
* Workplace rituals and routines: Management meetings, board reports, disciplinary hearing, performance assays and so on may become more habitual than necessary.
Heavy running costs and a high
staff turnover/overtime rate are often also associated with employee related results of a toxic leader.
Key theorists
Jean Lipman-Blumen
In their book, ''The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians—and How We Can Survive Them'', Jean Lipman-Blumen explained that there was and still is a tendency among contemporary society to seek authoritative, even dominating characteristics among our corporate and political leaders because of the public's own personal psycho-social needs and emotional weaknesses.
Lipman-Blumen noticed "toxic leadership" was not about run-of-the-mill mismanagement. Rather, it referred to leaders, who, by virtue of their "dysfunctional personal characteristics" and "destructive behaviours" "inflict reasonably serious and enduring harm" not only on their own followers and organizations, but on others outside of their immediate circle of victims and subordinates, as well. A noted
rule of thumb
In English, the phrase ''rule of thumb'' refers to an approximate method for doing something, based on practical experience rather than theory. This usage of the phrase can be traced back to the 17th century and has been associated with various t ...
suggests that toxic leaders leave their followers and others who come within their
sphere of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity.
While there may be a formal al ...
worse off than they found them either on a personal and/or corporate basis.
Lipman-Blumens' core focus was on investigating why people will continue to follow and remain loyal to toxic leaders. She also explored why followers often vigorously resist change and challenges to leaders who have clearly violated the leader/follower relationship and abused their power as leaders to the direct detriment of the people they are leading. Lipman-Blumen suggests there is something of a deeply psychological nature going on. She argues the need to feel
safe
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...
, specialness and
in a social community all help explain this psychological phenomenon.
Barbara Kellerman
In ''Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters'', Barbara Kellerman suggests that toxicity in leadership (or simply, "bad leadership") may be analysed into seven different types:
* Incompetent – the leader and at least some followers lack the will or skill (or both) to sustain effective action. With regard to at least one important leadership challenge, they do not create positive change.
* Rigid – the leader and at least some followers are stiff and unyielding. Although they may be competent, they are unable or unwilling to adapt to new ideas, new information, or changing times.
* Intemperate – the leader lacks self-control and is aided and abetted by followers who are unwilling or unable to effectively intervene.
* Callous – the leader and at least some followers are uncaring or unkind. Ignored and discounted are the needs, wants, and wishes of most members of the group or organization, especially subordinates.
* Corrupt – the leader and at least some followers lie, cheat, or steal. To a degree that exceeds the norm, they put
self-interest
Self-interest generally refers to a focus on the needs or desires (''interests'') of one's self. Most times, actions that display self-interest are often performed without conscious knowing. A number of philosophical, psychological, and economi ...
ahead of the
public interest
The public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society.
Overview
Economist Lok Sang Ho in his ''Public Policy and the Public Interest'' argues that the public interest must be assessed impartially and, therefore ...
.
* Insular – the leader and at least some followers minimize or disregard the health and welfare of those outside the group or organization for which they are directly responsible.
* Evil – the leader and at least some followers commit atrocities. They use pain as an instrument of power. The harm can be physical, psychological or both.
Terry Price
In his book, ''Understanding Ethical Failures in Leaders'',
Terry L. Price argues that the volitional account of moral failures in leaders do not provide a complete account of this phenomenon. Some have suggested that the reason leaders misbehave ethically is because they willingly go against what they know to be wrong. Professor Price however, offers an alternative analysis of leaders who excuse themselves from normally applicable moral requirements. He argues that a cognitive account for ethical failures in leaders provides a better analysis of the issues involved in all the ethical conundrums under the rubric of "toxic leadership". Leaders can know that a certain kind of behavior is generally required by morality but still be mistaken as to whether the relevant moral requirement applies to them in a particular situation and whether others are protected by this requirement. Price demonstrates how leaders make exceptions of themselves, explains how the justificatory force of leadership gives rise to such exception-making, and develops normative protocols that leaders should adopt.
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Kellerman, Barbara (2004) ''Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters'' Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press.
* Lipman-Blumen, Jean (2006) ''The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians—and How We Can Survive Them'' Oxford University Press.
* Price, Terry L. (2005) ''Understanding Ethical Failures in Leadership'' (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Public Policy). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Further reading
* Jha, Srirang and Jha, Shweta (June 2015) "Leader as Anti-Hero: Decoding Nuances of Dysfunctional Leadership" ''Journal of Management & Public Policy''
* Warneka, Timothy H. (2005) ''Leading People the Black Belt Way: Conquering the Five Core Problems Facing Leaders Today''. Asogomi Publishing International.
* Whicker, Marcia Lynn (1996) ''Toxic Leaders: When Organizations Go Bad''. Westport, Connecticut: Quorum Books.
* Williams, Christopher (2006) ''Leadership Accountability in a Globalizing World''. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
External links
Toxic Management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toxic Leader
Strategic management
Positions of authority
Abuse
Workplace bullying
Leadership