Do you ever find yourself dreading going to work every day? I’m not talking about the normal Monday blues. I’m talking about that feeling of being sick to your stomach as you arrive at work and wait for your boss to come and scream at you. You spend the day “walking on eggshells” waiting for the explosion to happen. It is downright exhausting. I know that feeling all too well. I’m sure many of you reading this have experienced it as well. This is a toxic work environment brought about by toxic leadership.
What is toxic leadership you ask? Much like effective leadership traits, toxic leadership traits can vary from person to person and situation to situation, but there always seems to be certain traits that are associated with a toxic leader. Words like destructive, abusive, tyrannical, narcissist, and aversive always come to the forefront.[i] Leaders like this tend to “engage in gravely destructive behaviors and exhibit dysfunctional personal qualities, inflicting severe physical and psychological damage to those being led and undermine the interest of the organization.”[ii] The term that seems to encompass most of these traits and could possibly explain why people would act this way, is narcissism. A basic definition of a narcissistic leader would be “an inflated sense of self-importance and an extreme preoccupation with themselves.”[iii] Some examples of what this could look like would include, “being a poor listener, being overly sensitive to criticism, taking advantage of others to achieve one’s own goals, lacking empathy or disregarding the feelings of others, having excessive feelings of self-importance, exaggerating achievements or talents, needing constant attention and admiration, reacting to criticism with rage, shame or humiliation, and being preoccupied with success or power.”[iv] Does some of that sound familiar to you? Do you currently work with individuals like this or, heaven forbid, have a boss like this? First off, I’m sorry. I’ve dealt with many people like this in the past and it is challenging. My goal in writing this post is to help you recognize a toxic person or leader, to understand these behaviors are not normal, and to help empower you to distance yourself from this person if needed. In a later blog post, I will dive deeper into the world of narcissism.
Toxic leadership will do nothing but tear an organization apart. It is essential that it be rooted out of the business, military, or group setting. If it is understood, corrections can be implemented so only the best leadership traits can be exemplified throughout the community.
Unfortunately, there are far too many examples of toxic leadership occurring in businesses and throughout the community. Simply turn on the news and you will see dozens of examples. Toxic leadership has even infiltrated some of the most trusted institutions including the military. Now, don’t mistake this as a post to discredit the military. I have a deep love for the military. There are many wonderful people there doing great things to serve our country, and I am very grateful. However, we can and should always look for ways to improve. A lot of my experience with toxic leadership comes from the military and I have a desire to see it progress into something better.
There are many high-profile cases of toxic leadership that have come to light recently. Several of these cases have nothing to do with leadership. The actions taken by the individuals are inexcusable whether they are a leader or not. For example, an Army Brigadier General warned his troops about the zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment and sexual assault and at the same time he was under investigation for repeatedly physically assaulting one of his mistresses.[v] How does an individual like that get put into such a high-level position of trust and leadership?
Now, not all toxic leaders are out there doing illegal and immoral activities. Even so, they are still doing things that destroy those they are entrusted to lead, as well as ruin a high-functioning organization. The following are all real-life examples:
A Lieutenant Colonel is displeased with a young Captains’ work after the Captain stayed late to fix an issue. The Lt. Colonel proceeds to yell at and berate the Captain in front of other members of the squadron.
A Captain presents an idea to a Lt. Colonel on how to address a problem. The Lt. Colonel disagrees with the idea and walks out of the room. Several minutes later the Lt. Colonel comes back into the room and proceeds to tell the Captain how to fix the problem by repeating almost verbatim what the Captain had said earlier. Then the Lt. Colonel walks out of the room gloating about his great ideas and why he “gets paid the big bucks.”
A young Lieutenant was interested in going to pilot training and approached his squadron commander to discuss his pilot training package. The squadron commander then proceeded to tell him he was too stupid to go to pilot training. He then calls the Director of Operations into the room and both Lt. Colonels berate the young Lieutenant for the next hour.
A Lt. Colonel, in command of a flying squadron, has been crushing the squadron’s morale with his destructive behavior for a year and half. Finally, some young Lieutenants talk to the Inspector General, who opened an investigation. At the same time, the squadron commander was preparing to leave to take a new command position. The wing commander told the Lt. Colonel to take leave until his change of command. After a month, the change of command transpired, and the Lt Colonel went on to his new position with no repercussions.
In these examples, most of the leaders had successful careers, accomplished the mission, and met the commander’s intent. However, the truly inspirational and transformational leader does more than just “check the boxes” and get promoted. A great leader will build up those around them and leave others better then they found them.[vi]
Even though the examples given have come from the military, they can apply to various situations in businesses as well. I’m sure you’ve seen similar situations yourself. The key is to identify these individuals and remove them from the organization. Once the toxicity is gone the business will flourish. This is also a good time to check yourself. Do you see some of these traits in yourself? If so, STOP. Your job as a leader is to inspire, motivate, and give your team the tools they need to succeed. You can’t do that if you are busy tearing them down. Check out my blog post, “10 Effective Leadership Traits Exhibited by Martin Luther King Jr.” for ways to transform your business or team into a high functioning unit.
[i] Gift Baloyi, “Toxicity of leadership and its impact on employees: Exploring the dynamics of leadership in an academic setting.” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, July 2020, 3.
[ii] Ibid., 3.
[iii] Lt Col Joe Doty & MSgt Jeff Fenlason, “Narcissism and Toxic Leaders.” Military Review, January 2013, 55.
[iv] Ibid., 56.
[v] Craig Whitlock, “Military Brass Behaving Badly: Files Detail a Spate of Misconduct Dogging Armed Forces.” Washington Post, 26 January 2014, 1.
[vi] Lt Col Joe Doty & MSgt Jeff Fenlason, “Narcissism and Toxic Leaders.” Military Review, January 2013, 60.