This is known as toxic leadership style. It exists in business,
in the military and in politics.
What is toxic leadership?
It is a leadership approach that harms peopleand, eventually, the
organization as wellthrough the poisoning of enthusiasm,
creativity, autonomy, and innovative expression.
Toxic leaders disseminate their poison through over-control. They
define leadership as being in control.
What are the symptoms of toxic leadership?
In a toxic leadership environment, people are rewarded for agreeing
with the leader and punished for thinking differently. In a toxic
leadership environment, yes people are rewarded and are promoted
to leadership roles, while people who more fully engage their
mental resources, critical thinking, and questioning skills are
shut out from decision-making and positions of influence.
Toxic Leaders
Toxic leaders receive a certain level of ego gratification from
over-controlling.
They may have unresolved psychological issues (such as fear of the
unknown, fear of failure, mistrust of people, feelings of
inadequacy, lack of confidence, or extreme overconfidence) that
they avoid by exercising toxic leadership.
The net result of all these factors is that toxic leaders fail to
appreciate the uniqueness of being human, and this distorted view
of human nature drives the way they relate to people who work for
them. Human beings are complex, social beings, and they have
intrinsic value that goes far beyond whatever salary they receive
or the position they hold. They are more effective and productive,
and their satisfaction level is higher, when they are treated as
peoplethat is, when they communicate, form relationships, and
exercise their creativity.
In politics, these are the people for whom no malevolent act is out
of bounds in the name of gaining and holding power; who pursue
policies that abjectly favor the investment class while maintaining
a populist rhetoric.
The toxic leader treats people as robots, defined by whatever
function the leader expects them to perform. Thus the toxic leader
is dealing with only a small portion of that person.
People pick up on this, and respond by being only partly therein
other words, their commitment to their work and their connection
with the organization are tentative at best.
Over time, theyre likely to see their work as only a job. So the
irony is that by attempting to control every aspect of a person,
the toxic leader actually controls less of the person, and thus has
less control.
What effects can toxic leadership have on the
organization?
In addition to diminished commitment on the part of people, toxic
leadership can produce systemic damage throughout an organization.
Under toxic leaders, peoplehave basically two options: conform or
leave. Those who remain will experience a diminishing of
expectations. Some will be aware that the situation is less than
ideal; these people may keep hoping that the situation will change,
or be on the lookout for the right time to leave. Others, however,
may come to see toxic leadership as normal, and conform willingly.
These will be groomed to be the next generation of toxic
leaders!
