Would You Work for You?

Part IV: Company Success Under Toxic Leadership

“Sometimes we can act like the toxic leader we dislike.”

Everything is going great, and you are flying high. The company is doing well, and it’s all because of your leadership style, right? These are the thoughts of the average toxic leader; however, for the average person, company success under toxic leadership also sounds like an oxymoron. The average leader is probably asking,

‘Success under toxic leadership? Not possible.’

Unfortunately, you would be wrong. Steele (2011) conducted an extensive study for the Army involving nearly 30,000 military and civilian participants. Although toxic leaders constituted only 18% of leader types, they had a 66% success rate; they were promoted 50% of the time, and 18% of their subordinates emulated their behavior. Toxic leader success edged out constructive leader success by 2%. What does all of this mean?

Would You Work for You?

You might be thinking, ‘Hey hey, thanks to Dr. Burl, I found my leadership style.’ And Dr. Burl would tell you, NOT! Let’s begin with a few questions.

Are you displaying toxic behaviors? If the answer is YES, then I would say, ‘You may already be a toxic leader, or at least acting like one.’

Do you regularly display toxic behaviors? Once again, if the answer is YES, then see the comment above.

Based on your previous answers, let’s ask the pivotal question: Would you work for you?

Are your direct reports avoiding you unless it’s mandatory to see you?

Do your coworkers look down when you pass by their cubicles?

When you look in the mirror, do you see the toxic leaders you have known in the past?

If the answers to the questions above are YES, Let’s chat. It may not be too late.

Reference

Steele, J. (2011). Antecedents and consequences of toxic Leadership in the U. S. Army: A two-year review and recommended solutions. (Center for Army Leadership Technical Report 2011-3). June, Fort Leavenworth, KS: Center for Army Leadership.