It’s safe to assume that at one point or another, each of us has had the misfortune of experiencing toxic leadership. Wikipeida defines toxic leadership as “is a person who has responsibility over a group of people or an organization, and who abuses the leader–follower relationship by leaving the group or organization in a worse-off condition than when s/he first found them.” In other words, they’re a bad boss. Some example behaviors exhibited by a toxic leader could be:
- Oppositional behavior.
- Plays corporate power politics.
- An over competitive attitude to other employees.
- Perfectionistic attitudes.
- Abuse of the disciplinary system (such as to remove a workplace rival).
- A condescending/glib attitude.
- They are shallow and lack self-confidence. Toxic leaders are not confident with themselves and become aggressive to cope.
- Poor self-control and/or restraint.
- Physical and/or psychological bullying.
- Procedural inflexibility.
- Discriminatory attitudes (sexism, etc.).
- Causes workplace division instead of harmony.
- Use “divide and rule” tactics on their employees.
- Arrogant
- Irritable
At a minimum they can be difficult to work for and in some circumstances they can be downright miserable to the point of warranting legal action. In most cases It can lead to undesired attrition of good people while the bad apples remain in place and continue spoiling the bunch.
So Why is it so tricky to identify toxic leaders?
Today’s fast paced challenges call for super-performance. As a result, people tend to focus on the results and deliverables, and not pay enough attention to the method or the way things get done. Additionally, in the corporate world, the effects of a toxic leader are harder to detect, and symptoms might be attributed to other issues or go unnoticed. Employees should feel secure in their workplace and know that their employer’s human resource department is there to intervene in situations of toxic leadership. While the employee should feel comfortable in being able to blow the whistle on this type of behavior it isn’t enough. Companies should also make sure they’re investing in establishing processes that first identify, and then keep toxic leaders at bay.
Watching out for toxic leadership in your organization. (n.d.). World’s Largest Professional Network. Retrieved July 11, 2014, from https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140204184838-10810077-watching-out-for-toxic-leadership-in-your-organization
Toxic leader. (2014, June 7). Wikipedia. Retrieved July 11, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxic_leader
What a great definition of toxic leadership – “leaving the group or organization in a worse-off condition than when s/he first found them.” I worked for a toxic leader who was supervised by a toxic leader in a toxic work culture. My relationship with my direct supervisor spanned more than thirty years, so I had adjusted to her shenanigans and knew how to work around her. I would best describe our relationship as “frenemies.” But, it was her new supervisor who ultimately destroyed the agency that I worked for.
I had to smile at your list of characteristics, because they are oh so familiar. I was always fascinated by the ironic combination of arrogance and lack of self-confidence. From experience, I tend to think of toxic leaders as people who were probably bullied as children and have become bullies themselves in a warped attempt to claim power. I knew my supervisor since elementary school. She was the “fat kid” and suffered the cruelties that children tend to inflict. Although she lost the weight after graduating from high school, I think she always remained the “fat kid” inside.
Procedural inflexibility was perhaps one of her worst traits. There were no gray areas, only strict adherence to black and white rules. She was not only overly-competitive with other employees (including subordinates), this behavior extended to all areas of her life. She was married with two children, had a beautiful home, a good job and financial security. Yet, she was jealous of what others had (even those who were significantly less fortunate) and it made her miserable. She was delighted when I became the “fat kid” at work, and clearly disappointed when I lost the weight. Part of the tension between us stemmed from her envy of my self-confidence and extroversion. Nobody liked her because she wasn’t pleasant to be around and her social interactions were awkward, at best. I was at ease in any business and/or social situation, and it made her crazy. Her reaction was to demean me and try to make me look bad at every turn. I actually think that she was subconsciously ashamed of this behavior, and it made her even more miserable.
I will add one trait to the list. My supervisor lacked empathy, and she admitted that it made no sense to her. She was narcissistic and unable to see beyond her self-involvement. What a sad way to live; she inspired empathy in me. I wasn’t surprised that she threw my under the bus when she thought her own job might be at risk.
However, she was not the person who caused the agency to fall into a worse condition than when she found it. That person rose up through the ranks to become the second in command. She was the one with the condescending attitude, and the “divide and rule” tactics. Once in power, she gathered allies and bullied those who didn’t agree with her abusive style. She took a “my way or the highway” approach (I took the highway). As you mentioned, she glorified the bad apples. You also mentioned warranting legal action. Suffice it to say that, thanks to her “above the law” arrogance, I recently cashed a nice check courtesy of the agency that I worked for. For a while, I mourned the loss of a 30+ year career. In the long run, I feel blessed to have escaped the toxicity that had invaded my workplace.
Northouse (2013) relates ethics in leadership to “what leaders do and who leaders are.” Respect, service, justice, honesty, and community provide a foundation for the development of sound leadership. These principles were absent in the leadership of the agency that I worked for, and it was evident in who they were and what they did. I can safely say that, unfortunately in this case, the choices they made were informed and directed by their ethics.
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage
Publications.
I found your post very interesting because I once found myself in a very similar situation Any employee that has been in a situation doesn’t need “toxic” defined, because it is something that you feel, something you intuitively know. However, the definition that you provided was fantastic, and it should definitely illustrate it for those that haven’t had the misfortune of being in this situation.
The situation that I found myself in fit this very definition. A new “boss” arrived at the company, and it was apparent form the first interaction among the team that this “boss” was at best, completely insincere, and at times, flat out dishonest. Once some research was done into this individual’s background, it was found that the last three companies they worked for were left with dismal financial results, had lost considerable brand equity, and had the highest employee turnover in the companies’ history. I would say that meets your criteria perfectly.
Further, when I examine the behaviors of a toxic leader that you’ve listed, 12/15 are instantly recognizable in this individual. They used coercive power, and often times it was expressed implicitly. They had little knowledge of the industry and little outside relationships, so they attempted to mask this insecurity through intimidation and an almost inexplicable desire to control the employees. They certainly fit the description of a manager that had a high need for personalized power: selfish, impulsive, and they exercised power for their own good, not that of the company. (PSU, 2014). In fact, it was very apparent at an early stage that this individual cared about maxing out their bonus at the expense of longer-term, sounder decisions.
In this scenario, these same behaviors (and more) led to similar results as the previous companies. 80% of the existing employees had left the company after only 6 months, including several employees that had an average tenure of over 12 years of outstanding service. The owners of the company did take notice – while the short term results were somewhat favorable, the morale and turnover was not something that could be hidden in numbers, which forced them to make a change.
When looking back at the situation, and looking at the behaviors, I imagine that many of these would be found to be universal. It has left me wondering, which behaviors are most prevalent? Which behaviors are most damaging? And more importantly, what kind of screening can be put in place to avoid the costly mistake of bringing someone like this into an organization.
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Penn State World Campus. (2014). Lesson 7: Power and Influence. Retrieved from Psych 485: Leadership in Work Settings: https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su14/psych485/002/content/07_lesson/printlesson.html
Toxic certainly has quite the negative connotation to it, but what does it look like? Your list definitely includes the major points, but I believe toxic can mean that the leader is just flat out bad. While at war, we constantly were reminded that complacency kills. Well I believe this holds true in the workplace as well. When we think of toxic we think of rat poison, Mr. Yuck stickers, or toxic waste barrels with the iconic symbol we recognize as toxic. However, certain work environment have supervisors who have been grandfathered in, and will not be removed until retirement. I personally took over in a setting like this. My boss was so sweet it was toxic. She believed her kindness made her an effective leader, but ultimately she got walked over and had very little respect as an authority. Another real life aspect that wasn’t described is micro managing. Often a boss spends too much time looking over the shoulder of their employees, and don’t spend enough time doing their own work. I would never want to be a toxic boss, and don’t believe that I have, but it is much harder than it appears. My final thought is the movie, “Horrible Bosses.” Bosses so horrible that their employees actually plan to “take them out.” It’s a pretty funny parody of toxic bosses and definitely points out that as a boss, you may just want to be a little more aware. Good post, love the Simpsons reference. Not only a toxic boss, but at a toxic waste plant as well. Clever.
I am not sure if you have ever experienced this situation, but it is destructive. I have left a division within the company I work for this very reason. This leader exemplified all of the negative traits detailed in your post and hides under the radar due to her overall performance. There are in-groups (PSU, WC, L.8, P.3) and is not fair amongst the remaining staff. There is no equal communication in the department (PSU, WC, L.8, P.5). It is a serious issue that needs to be better identified. The shocking aspect of communication is with this type of manager is the fact that it is clear that they lack the confidence required to be effective, often times taking the ideas of subordinates as their own.
Reference:
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2014). Psychology 485:Leadership in Work Settings. Lesson Eight: Leader-Member Exchange Theory