The Toxic Leadership and Its Impact on Organizations - Book Report/Review Example

Toxic Leadership Introduction There are good and bad leaders. They are classified as such because of what they have done as leaders and as individuals, as well as in terms how they run their teams. They are also classified as such based on their attitudes and performances. In so far as the characterizations are concerned, they are described in a spectrum like that of Blake and Mouton’s Leadership Grid where, leaders are classified based on the extent to which they concern themselves with production and with people. Based on the grid, a leader classified as Team Manager has high concern for both people and production while a leader classified as Impoverished Manager has low concern for both people and production. Another classification of leaders is that of the transformational vs transactional types of leaders where the former involves the use of inspiration while the latter involves more direction than inspiration. The Hershey-Blanchard situational leadership model, on the other hand posits that leaders vary their styles based on the extent of guidance required by their followers along with the extent of support required by their followers (Schermerhorn, 2005). For all these leadership theories, the leaders are portrayed as positive to a certain extent unlike what the assigned article has presented which is negative in its characterization alone because of the term toxic. The connotation itself is negative not only because of the universal symbol for toxic substances as  which, not only denotes death, but connotes difficulty and hardship like how it is commonly used among nurses and health workers when they refer to how tired they have been or how difficult their work day has been. Therefore, the assigned article discuses a bad leader, not just any characterization of leaders in general like the models and theories presented above but specific to one characterization of a bad leader – a toxic leader. This also explains how and why these leaders have followers even when they are toxic. As I was going through the article and having read briefly the definitions of toxic leaders by way of introducing myself to the article, several images from movies and TV series ran through my mind. One is the very popular Meryl Streep in her character as Miranda Priestly, the overbearing Editor in Chief of Runway magazine and the other character is Christina Yang from Grey’s Anatomy. They are incarnate examples of toxic leaders because of how they treat their followers – the editorial staff for Miranda Priestly and the resident interns for Christina Yang. This is not, a review of the movies nor an analysis of these but a reaction on the article of Lipman-Blumen’s (2008) Following Toxic Leaders. This review proceeds with these parts: a summary of what the article was about, to show my comprehension and then a discussion of how the article has influenced my current knowledge on leadership, specifically on toxic leadership. Toxic Leaders According to the article, toxic leaders as those who intentionally “harm others or to enhance themselves at the expense of others” (Lipman-Blumen, 2008, p.182). Given this, I pictured not only literal leaders in the corporate world such as supervisors, team heads and corporate executives but also team members, who want to compete with others and have the intention to climb up the supervisory ladder, and with the intention to harm others in order for them to excel. Even when they do not hold leadership positions, they have their own way of exerting their leadership depending on various situations. Based on my readings, aside from Lipman-Bluimen (2008) other authors have already characterized toxic leaders which gave me the impression that indeed the concept of toxic leadership was not just a wild conceptualization of just one author nor just a pigment of the imagination of the makers of the movies and TV series portraying this.. These authors, have given examples throughout history and even in the recent past of these toxic leaders. Characterizations of Toxic Leaders Flynn (1999) defined toxic leaders as those who yell, bully, and threaten his followers to get the job done instead of the definition of a leader where inspiration and motivation gets the job done. Still according to her, the toxic leader has mood swings and this dictates how the day proceeds. As such, this type of leader elicits fear and possibly makes every day for his followers as unpleasant and not worth looking forward to at the end of the day. Whicker (1996), who is one of the popular writers on toxic leadership, defined 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” (p. 11). These leaders are not very normal at all and I am even surprised that they are being called leaders. Goldman (2006) has studied high toxicity leadership and he presented the fact that even when authors have presented the “relationships of leadership and organizational dysfunction” (p. 1) these authors have failed to present that causes of the dysfunction may somehow be related to the psychological make-up of the leader himself. He accounts the conclusion of Kets de Vries (1995) that “some leaders go far beyond the abnormal ways of functioning… they go of the deep end” (p. 217). I have heard of abusive leaders, both verbal and physical, existing in the military or in the manual labor sector but I have not actually learned of one who has had “beyond abnormal ways of functioning” up till I have read these articles. For if they have been found out to be psychologically not normal, then they obviously do not have the right to be leading people and being in leadership positions let alone be in government. Logically, that is how it should be, but history would say, Hitler himself has shown that it can be possible. I say, he was illogical and abnormal, but no one has diagnosed him as such blatantly, in his face while he was planning to cleanse the world of all Jews. Toxic Leaders in the Military In the military, this type of leader may exist but they would argue that their way of training the neophytes is just right. It would seem that their belief is to break them and make them the best they can be. However, I define this as toxic leadership and as according to Reed (2004) toxic leaders are familiar in the army. The army commander who leads by fear is a toxic leader. The army leader who enjoys the contempt of his troops and rejoices in breaking the spirits of his men just to enable them to follow his commands is a toxic leader. In the movies and in books, this type of military leader is the stereotype and has raised concerns among themselves because this type of leader does not do anything to uplift morale among military men. If these leaders go up in the hierarchy then there is a very bleak future for the military. One example, immortalized in the book which eventually was popularized into a TV mini-series was the Band of Brothers (Ambrose, 1992) with the character of the commander of the Easy Company, 506th Infantry Regiment. Though fictional, he was the most effective toxic leader in the army so it seems and his company detested him for this in the effect that they wanted to shoot him at some point. This shows that toxic leaders, not only in the army, cause stress and unnecessary emotional disturbance in the work place. But, they exist in the work place because they are able to get the job done, not in the true sense of leadership where they inspire and motivate their followers but through fear and much bullying. In the military, they exist because this is how they perceive to get the mission done. And they (toxic leaders) even think of themselves as effective, judging on the ends not on the means. Why, then are organizations not rid of these toxic leaders? As Whicker (1996) has written, since these leaders are highly flawed, they have the tendency to self-destruct. And with her comparison of an organization lead by a toxic leader to a sick organization, she said that these organizations led by toxic leaders will either die or will get better. In the military, toxic leaders are not booted out or are not reported because, as with the stereotype of military men that they do not complain otherwise they are not tough and they do not want that. What the article was all about The article, went beyond the description of a toxic leader and focused on the discussion on why these leaders even have followers in the first place. She goes to say that toxic leaders appeal to the two factors – existential anxiety and situational fears. Existential anxiety Existential anxiety is brought about by the fear that anytime, anyplace, we are at the mercy of our mortality. We will eventually die and we don’t know when and we don’t know where. As this fear consciously or even unconsciously affects our decision making and day to day dealings with people both in our personal lives and in the work place, there is a desire to be rid of this mortality and thus the search of immortality, consciously or unconsciously, makes us become toxic leaders ourselves or followers of these toxic leaders. This immortality, as described in the article, is not the literal immortality but that immortality of being remembered in the minds of your followers and the followers of your followers because the tendency for toxic leaders is that they are talked about – regardless of what they are. They are remembered more often than not as ideal leaders but as the bad leaders that they have become. These talks among the followers, as I would imagine, would be bitter and full of anger. On the other hand, these talks would probably include hypothetical discussions on what this leader would have been like if he weren’t a toxic leader. And yet, discussions about the toxic leader would arise as negative examples, as a historical data to be shared to succeeding leaders with the caution “Please do not follow his steps” from successors or from followers themselves. Situational anxiety Situational fears on the other hand are brought about by uncertainties in our day to day activities. For example, I always have a fear of riding airplanes because I am aware that there is that chance that it will crash. I am cautious every time I deal with a stranger because I know that there is a chance he might be a robber or a terrorist. I might seem over the edge but I admit that I have these situations playing around in my head and of course, what I should do when I am caught in the situation. The discussion of fears aside, my realization of what I am experiencing made me label this as situational fear instead of just being cautious. I have asked some of my peers regarding “situational fear” without me labeling it as such and they have all shared some of their own. With that, I concur that this is indeed human nature. As such, it is also natural for people to turn to other people who can either protect them from these fears or deliver them from these fears. One situational fear I believe that may cause people to follow toxic leaders is their fear of losing their jobs. With this fear in mind, they would rather stick it out with a toxic leader rather than lose their jobs if they go against them. Another is the fear of being loathed or disliked, such that in order to be liked, one goes against his principles and ideals and follow the toxic leader just to become liked by his leader. He thus, follows him and does everything the leader asks him to do, just so that he wins the approval of the toxic leader. But then again, given the definition of a toxic leader, I wonder when will he be able to give his nod of approval to his followers if he is egotistical and destructive and unmindful of the welfare of others? I also wonder if this characteristic of toxicity is developed during one’s childhood specifically in middle school where bullies thrive upon the weaklings. Do the bullies, when tolerated, have the propensity toward becoming toxic leaders themselves? And do the weaklings, when not corrected, have the propensity toward becoming the followers of these toxic leaders as well? I believe that the likelihood is great, especially without intervention. Each and everyone of us, have this fear and we all want to be rid of their fears. A leader promising a grand illusion of becoming better employees ourselves, or rewarding us for job well done with symbolic trophies lead the way to immortality. In classic super hero movies, villains always had their side kick who does the dirty work. He is being bullied of course by the villain and yet, even when the side kick detests being bullied, he still goes to fulfill the tasks because there is a promise of ruling the world. Juvenile as it may seem but this in reality exists in the work place. All too often, leaders have executive assistants who reflect their bosses’ attitudes. Since their bosses are feared because they are toxic, these executive assistants also share in the glory of being feared. Wanting to be chosen Another factor discussed in the article on why toxic leaders have followers is the tendency of people to want to be the chosen one and wanting to be at the center of action. As it is human nature to fear, it is also human nature to want to belong and be protected. Competition is ubiquitous in the corporate world, who wouldn’t want to be “the one”? It would seem that everyone is working for that spot or that seat in the board room. Everyone wants to be called number one sales agent or number one honcho or the right hand of the boss and so many other things. It seems, as I would like to call it, that every one of us have the tendency to be the side kicks or settle to be the side kicks if we do not have the shot at being the hero or the villain. I would admit to being competitive but that is because part of me is ambitious and I have set the goal to also be “the one”. I have worked hard to be able to compete and climb the corporate ladder like how I have been working hard for my education to get to where I am now. Has this made me, vulnerable to becoming a follower of a toxic leader? The answer is: maybe but then I know my goals and my virtues. I value rationality and respect. If I were being treated by a toxic leader the way it is described in the article then I know when to signal my leader or better yet leave before I get affected and be destroyed in the process. Becoming the chosen is very flattering especially with the grandiose illusion of better life and having all the perks. But the question is: are these real and attainable? If a leader who treats people badly promises a better position or a better work type is this offer for real or just a bait? Think again. Follower of a Toxic Leader In my past work experience, the secretary of our president was also feared by other secretaries and other employees as well. In as much as the CEO made her life toxic, she was probably, unconsciously, making our lives toxic as well. For requests for funding or budget approval, she seemingly enjoys making us sweat while we are waiting for approval of our requests. She would try to confuse us by invoking some rules or procedures that we seem to have not complied with even when we were pretty sure that we have complied with the rules and procedures, her attitude and ways of communicating with us, along with her body language and facial expressions would make us doubt ourselves. She also seems to enjoy it when we shy off from her company in the company cafeteria or give her priority in the office restrooms for example. We talk about her most of the time. We talk about disliking her and all our experiences with her, mostly bad, is always a topic for conversation. Aside from this, we make fun of her because this seems to be the only way we can get back at her. We talk about her mannerisms, her hair, her perfume and even when these are all too normal, it is easy for us to make fun of her with all these things. After having read the article, I have confirmed that she is in fact a follower of a toxic leader, and since we have refused to bow to her or become her followers, she is alone and disrespected. The article was focused, not on the description of toxic leaders but on the discussion of why people follow these toxic leaders. The factors of existential anxiety and situational fear are both good explanations for the condition. Along with this is the human nature of wanting to be chosen and being in the center of action or attention. However, this should not be a sufficient reason to be tied with toxic leaders. I believe so much in the rationality of men and fear being an emotion can be transcended using reason. I have realized my fears but this does not make me succumb to toxic leaders. These leaders can be dealt with. Their attitudes are not acceptable excuses for what they have become and what they do with other people. The followers on the other hand, can still forego following these toxic leaders. Taylor (2007) an effective team coach has written about the five ways that people can deal with toxic leaders and these are as follows: Confront them with the use of feedback mechanisms Refer to or hire effective coaches Help the toxic leaders understand their leadership styles Understand that these leaders are struggling and stressed and use this as a way to help them understand their leadership styles Identify leadership characteristics displayed and be aware of those on the road to becoming toxic leaders so that intervention can be done immediately These leaders are not hopeless cases, neither are their followers. They can be dealt with through proper intervention. If they are rational enough, they are able to accept that they are already labeled as toxic leaders and that they need to change because of the chaos and unhealthy work environment that they are causing. I have not had a toxic leader of my own and neither have I become a follower of such in my entire work life, fortunately. However, if by chance that I do become part of a team headed by a toxic leader then I would not allow my self to be devoured by such malevolence. My principles and goals are clear. I have been able to deal with my fears and I am not going to allow these fears make me subject myself to the mercy of these toxic leaders. Instead, I will make myself an instrument for the betterment of these leaders. How the article has influenced my current knowledge on leadership After having read the article, some of the concepts discussed here were able to support, enhance and contradict my previous concepts in leadership. These are discussed in the following paragraphs. Toxic leaders are real First and foremost, this article along with the other articles that I have encountered on toxic leadership made me realize that these are realities in the work place and not just a pigment of one’s imagination immortalized in the movies and in books as villains. It has also made me realize that there are indeed people who fall prey to these leaders like Andie Sacks who wanted to make Runway magazine as her stepping stone to becoming a real journalist in the movie The Devil Wears Prada and all those interns under the tutelage of Christina Yang who follow her every whim just so that they can get into a good surgery. Toxic leaders are real and that they cause real havoc. Leaders are not intrinsically good Second, I have been a believer of the idea that leaders are intrinsically good because they have the ability to lead and influence people. However, this article made me recognize that the polarization of values is also applicable to leadership. What I mean by polarization of values is that values can be taken to both positive and negative extremes. Leadership in itself is not bad so is the ability to influence. The end to which leading and influencing lead to or the ends of both of these actions or processes may either be negative or positive. Toxic leadership is on the negative end of the spectrum because while these toxic leaders are able to lead and motivate, the product of this motivation is negative in the sense that the followers are hard up and see bad effects of what they are doing. The example of Taylor (2007) shows how a toxic leader can change the perspective of the follower. While the follower was able to deliver what the leader has asked her to do, she has excelled and aced the requirements but the leader was not satisfied because he thinks that he is the only one who can deliver. As such, he made life difficult for the follower by shadowing her calls and even shouting at her and even when she was able to do the processes properly. Because of this action from the leader, she became depressed and stopped believing in herself. Fear is a weakness Third, I realized that people have fears and when they are not able to deal with this, will make them succumb to negative forces in the workplace, not only with toxic leaders but also with corruption and other illegal acts. This is especially so when positive work ethics and moral values are not deeply ingrained in them which makes them vulnerable to temptations. Some of the points raised in the article are also points for agreement and disagreement and I raise them as follows: I agree that toxic leaders exist but I disagree that they are the ones in position like supervisors, CEOs and the like. They can also be down in the food chain like the secretary of the President of my previous work that I have discussed early on in the paper. I also agree that people have the propensity to becoming followers of toxic leaders because of the human condition of fear and wanting to belong. But I believe that having these as part of one’s personality does not guarantee one to be a follower of toxic leaders. I recall the Allegory of the Cave where the people in the cave, being there for all their lives were afraid to come out because the shadows they see in the cave were to them, monsters. The person who had the courage to go out of the cave and brave the light and the monster was able to see that the shadows were not monsters after all. In relation to this, once the followers are able to realize their weaknesses and analyze the leadership styles of their leaders and are able to identify them as toxic leaders, they have the ability to be released from this situation – as long as they have the courage to face the light. The article’s goal was really to enlighten as many people as it can to help them realize that they have the tendency to fall prey to toxic leaders but they too have the capability to be rid of these. References Ambrose, S. E. (1992). Band of Brothers: E Company 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle Nest. NY: Simon & Schuster. Flynn, G. (1999 August) Stop toxic managers before they stop you. Workforce. Pp. 44-46. Goldman, A. (2009) transforming toxic leaders. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press Kets de Vries, M. (1995). Life and death in the executive fast lane. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Reed, G. (2004 July to August) Toxic Leadership. Military Review, pp. 67-71. Schermerhorn, J. (2005). Management 8th ed. NY: John Wiley. Taylor, R. (2007 May) Leadership: Tackling toxic leaders. Director, 60, 10, p. 27 Whicker, M. (1996). Toxic Leaders: When organizations go bad. NY: Doubeday. Read More