| Toxic leadership as a concept was coined by | | | | working for a boss like that. |
| Marcia Lynn Whicker, in her book: "Toxic Leaders: | | | | (1) Neutralize their assaults on you |
| When Organizations Go Bad". This is all about the | | | | Neutralize their assaults, or to [use a cricketing |
| abuse of power and its destructiveness. | | | | term] "dead bat" them, by never being seen to |
| This is bad enough in every day business, but for | | | | react to any of their games. Because, these |
| an organisation undergoing any form of change | | | | people feed off of the negative energy they |
| initiative it is potentially catastrophic. In change | | | | create - it energizes them - so a non-reaction to |
| management terms, having anyone in a leadership | | | | their games deprives them of energy. Or to put it |
| or a management position in your organisation | | | | another way, evil feeds off of evil! |
| who displays these characteristics is like a poison | | | | (2) Always wait before responding |
| that needs to be identified and eradicated at the | | | | These toxic people thrive on the reactions that |
| earliest opportunity. | | | | they create. I have always found it best to never |
| In my experience and in my view, toxic leadership | | | | ever respond immediately. I learned to wait until I |
| contaminates and infects an organisation beyond | | | | had calmed down, and then acted from a calm |
| the immediate reach of the person creating it. | | | | rational position. So, recognise and allow for the |
| Marcia Lynn Whicker describes toxic leaders as | | | | fact that it may [depending on your |
| "maladjusted, malcontent, and often malevolent, | | | | temperament] take you 24-48 hours for your |
| even malicious. They succeed by tearing others | | | | emotional and nervous system to recover and |
| down. They glory in turf protection, fighting and | | | | re-stabilize after you have been on the receiving |
| controlling rather than uplifting followers." | | | | end of one of their assaults. |
| In "Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, | | | | (3) Respond factually, accurately and supportively. |
| Why It Matters" [2004] - writer Barbara | | | | I have always found that a factual, practical and |
| Kellerman suggests that toxic may manifest in | | | | supportive response makes it easier and [more |
| seven different categories: | | | | likely] for them to make the "right" decisions for |
| - Incompetence | | | | my areas of business responsibility. It might seem |
| - Rigidity | | | | counter-intuitive to act supportively, but the fact |
| - Intemperance - lack of self-control | | | | is these are fundamentally weak people and |
| - Callousness | | | | responding in this manner addresses their areas of |
| - Corruption | | | | weakness and insecurity and thus goes to the |
| - Insularity | | | | root of their toxic behaviour. |
| - Evil | | | | Spotting toxic leadership amongst your |
| Personal experience of surviving toxic leadership... | | | | subordinates |
| Personally, I have twice in my career had the | | | | As a director of your business or organisation you |
| misfortune of working for a toxic boss. These | | | | are in the privileged position of being able to |
| guys were terrible to work for and made people's | | | | identify any areas of your organisation where |
| lives an absolute misery. | | | | toxic leadership may be manifesting and to be |
| In business terms their "games" were always | | | | able to do something about it. |
| counter productive as everyone expended far | | | | The best defense for a director is to pay close |
| more energy in trying to pacify or avoid them | | | | and regular attention to the culture[s] within your |
| than in undertaking productive useful work. Each | | | | organisation. Undertake regular "cultural audits" of |
| time was a nightmare, because: | | | | the divisions, departments and operating units and |
| - These guys were bullies and like all bullies were | | | | subsidiaries in your organisation and as part of |
| fundamentally weak and insecure individuals. | | | | that process, take the emotional temperature and |
| - They led by "divide and rule" by setting people | | | | assess the energy of the working environment in |
| against each other. | | | | each operating unit. |
| - They lied and were duplicitous and | | | | This should be an integral part of the preliminary |
| untrustworthy in their dealings. | | | | stages of planning any change initiative. The 70% |
| - They engendered a culture of fear and mistrust. | | | | failure rate of all change initiatives would suggest |
| - The general atmosphere they created can best | | | | that you are facing enough difficulties without |
| be described as evil because of its insidious | | | | harboring the poisonous complications of toxic |
| nastiness and destructiveness. | | | | leadership within your organisation, and this issue is |
| Here are 3 of my best strategies for dealing with | | | | closely linked to the core reasons for this failure |
| toxic leadership if you have the misfortune of | | | | rate. |