The eight most dangerous signs of toxic ‘leaders’
Image courtesy of Sander Sammy on Unsplash
This is the second in a three-part series focusing on organisational toxicity. The first blog addressed ‘nine subtle signs that your organisation is becoming toxic’, whilst the third offering will cover ‘eight ways to survive toxic leadership’.
It is worth noting that when people in positions of leadership engage in toxic behaviour, it is not because the conduct is learned. Rather, the expression of toxic behaviour is an amplification of pre-existing character traits. To that extent, the assumption of leadership, with all its trappings, only serves to magnify what was already there.
Toxic leadership is corrosive. In their wake, these ‘leaders’ leave nothing behind but damage and decay. Believing in the rightness of their cause and appropriateness of their methods, they are uniquely self-centred and self-obsessed. The only good thing is that toxic leadership carries within it, the seeds of its own demise. In the fullness of time, usually when they have gone too far, these uniquely destructive individuals see the writing on the wall and either jump ship or are pushed out.
But what are the most serious markers of this menace and how easy is it to spot them? Well, set out below are the eight most dangerous signs of toxic ‘leaders’.
1. Control freakery
It is always helpful to have guidance and direction, but there is a seismic difference between a leadership steer and micro-management. This is perhaps one of the most dangerous aspects of toxic ‘leaders’ and one which reveals the underlying driving ethos behind their behaviour: crippling insecurity. When an organisation is in the thrall of control freaks it moves at their speed. Unsurprisingly, this is as quick as it takes for them to understand the nuance of detail that you, as the organisational expert, have taken years to master. In their effort to control and micro-manage everything, toxic ‘leaders’ will snuff out innovation and creativity, just for the self-satisfying knowledge that everything orbits around them.
2. Absence of impulse control
For people who seem to revel in controlling others, it is somewhat astonishing how little control toxic ‘leaders’ have over themselves. In terms of conduct, they tend to operate almost exclusively in the moment, from explosions of rage to impossibly lengthy emails, full of the very evidence with which to incriminate themselves. They lack both common sense and sensitivity and these failures of character are often their undoing. Without needing to point out the obvious, these odd behaviours highlight the fact that those who serve to foment toxicity fail to realise that their actions have consequences.
3. Scorched earth policy
So obsessed are toxic ‘leaders’ with everything being about themselves, that they will rather see something fail if it will deprive others of getting any credit for its success. Nihilism is one of the most dangerous and frankly malicious traits of toxic ‘leaders’ as it underlines the fact that they judge their successes by the perceived failure of others. It also places the organisations that they serve, including employees, shareholders and customers, in an extremely precarious position as nihilistic behaviour is predicated on the assumption that the end always justifies the method.
4. The ‘audience of one’ syndrome
One of the more disturbing traits of toxic ‘leaders’ is the ‘audience of one’ syndrome. In almost every scenario in which they find themselves, toxic ‘leaders’ are playing to an audience. Usually, it will be an audience of one senior person, to the complete exclusion of everyone else. The predicate here is nothing more than the desperate desire for recognition, often to massage their fragile ego or compensate for their leadership imposter syndrome. To obtain that affirmation, toxic ‘leaders’ are not concerned about how obsequious they need to be, nor for that matter the extent to which they demean and belittle others.
5. Fixation with face-saving
Honestly, no-one really enjoys being wrong. However, it is the extraordinary lengths that toxic ‘leaders’ will go to appear to be ‘right’, even when it is obvious they are not, that sets them apart. See how they will attempt to keep an email chain going for as long as possible to exact a ‘win’ at any cost. During a conversation, expect toxic ‘leaders’ to say something one moment and then, when challenged with facts, deny what they had just said. In the mind of a toxic ‘leader’ a complete loss of integrity is a small price to pay for a perceived loss of face.
6. Abuse of power
Toxic ‘leaders’ manifest the use of power through the abuse of power. As far as they are concerned, there is only one purpose of power and that is to serve themselves. One of the common features of the way in which toxic ‘leaders’ abuse power is through the subjugation and active undermining of others. Seeing rivals at every turn, toxic ‘leaders’ will take active steps to restrict access and deny opportunity for those around them. They will do so even to the point of engaging in practice that could rise to the level of constructive dismissal. Whenever toxic ‘leaders’ do use their power to lift others up, it is to benefit those who they do not perceive as a threat.
7. Credit fraud and identity theft
To the toxic ‘leader’, unashamedly claiming credit for other peoples’ effort is no more than a natural extension of the need to justify methods in the pursuit of ends. Remember, the toxic ‘leader’ is driven by their insecurities and it is that weakness of character, that compels them to ensure that anything of value orbits around them. If that means discrediting the originator or origin of an idea, then so be it. As previously set out in this blog, if acquiring ownership of something of value proves impossible, the toxic ‘leader’ would rather see it utterly discredited and destroyed, than for anyone other than them to be given credit for it.
8. The perception of boundaryless conduct
It is because the conduct of toxic ‘leaders’ is often so outrageous and egregious that it can create the perception of power without accountability. Although this is not the case, what is true is that when the behaviour of toxic ‘leaders’ goes unchecked, it only serves to encourage them to even greater excess. Therefore, what starts off as being bad, progressively becomes worse. Whilst the toxic ‘leader’ will eventually be undone by their inability to control themselves, before that happens, incalculable damage is likely to be done to an organisation. This may well include widespread employee disaffection and mass resignations.
In closing, there is nothing whatsoever redeeming about toxic ‘leaders’. They are anti-social, malevolent and destructive. Sympathisers may characterise some toxic behaviours as ‘strong’, ‘decisive’ or ‘no nonsense’, but do not be deceived. When leaders lead for themselves and not for others, that is toxic. When they are driven by petty insecurities and small mindedness that is toxic and when they are incapable of seeing how toxic their ‘leadership’ has become, that is also toxic. Spotting the signs early will not necessarily neutralise the threat, but it can help to mitigate the harm.
