Toxic Leadership

The abuse of power and it destructiveness

How to spot it and how to avoid it

Toxic leadership as a concept was coined by Marcia Lynn Whicker, in her book: "Toxic Leaders: When Organizations Go Bad" [New York: Doubleday, 1996. This phrase is linked with a number of dysfunctional leadership styles.

This is someone who has responsibility over a group of people or an organisation, and who abuses the leader-follower relationship and who leaves the group or organization in a poorer condition after they have left. Barbara Kellerman suggests in "Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters" [2004] - that it may be analysed into seven different types:

She identifies these types

    * Incompetence

    * Rigidity                                                

    * Intemperance - lack of self-control

    * Callousness

    * Corruption

    * Insularity

    * Evil

Marcia Whicker describes toxic leaders as "maladjusted, malcontent, and often malevolent, even malicious. They succeed by tearing others down. They glory in turf protection, fighting and controlling rather than uplifting followers."

Analyst Gillian Flynn provides a graphic description of a toxic manager as the: "manager who bullies, threatens, yells. The manager whose mood swings determine the climate of the office on any given workday. Who forces employees to whisper in sympathy in cubicles and hallways. The backbiting, belittling boss from hell. Call it what you want - poor interpersonal skills, unfortunate office practices - but some people, by sheer shameful force of their personalities make working for them rotten."

• Workload: The 'Setting up to fail' procedure is in particular a well established workplace bullying tactic that a toxic leader can use against his rivals and subordinates.

• 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.

• Workplace Rituals and Routines: Management meetings, board reports, disciplinary hearing, performance assays and so on may become more habitual than necessary.