Author and speaker John Maxwell articulates the significance of working alongside and lining up under competent leaders. “Everything rises and falls on leadership,” says Dr. Maxwell. The climate and culture of an organization will determine its success or failure. Healthy organizations breed collaboration, camaraderie, personal and professional growth, trust, cooperation, and success. Toxic organizations breed just the opposite. Hostility, fear, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, greed, manipulation, and ultimately death of the organization are the fruits of an unhealthy and toxic climate. If you have ever experienced being associated with a hostile culture whether it’s a job, a business, a non-profit, or even a ministry, the trail of that toxicity can always be traced back to the leader.
Wikipedia offers a very accurate picture of what a toxic leader looks like. A toxic leader is a person who has responsibility over a group of people or an organization, and who abuses the leader-follower relationship by leaving the group or organization in a worse condition than when they first found them.
Toxic leadership is lethal. It is malignant cancer that slowly destroys the viability and sustainability of organizations. It infects the people on the inside, and it will run off loyal employees, alienate customers and stakeholders, and even destroy families. I have witnessed this up close and personally.
If you are wondering whether or not you are working under toxic leadership, be on the lookout for these FIVE characteristics.
Characteristic #1: Incompetence
A toxic leader lacks the will and/or skill to sustain effective action in an organization. Under his/her leadership, the organization is incapable of creating a positive change.
Characteristic #2: Rigidity
A toxic leader is rigid and unyielding in his/her ideas/beliefs. They may actually possess some level of competence, but they are unwilling to adapt to new ideas, new information, or changing times. A toxic leader doesn’t see the writing on the wall when everyone else does.
Characteristic #3: Tempermental
Toxic leaders lack self-control, so they surround themselves with followers who are unwilling or unable to effectively intervene when necessary. An intemperate leader is unable to take personal responsibility, so they respond with emotional, profanity-laced outbursts.
Characteristic #4: Charisma But No Character
Toxic leaders can talk a good game. They may even have the ability to command large audiences. They use their communication skills not to empower individuals but instead to manipulate and control them.
Characteristic #5: Narcissistic
Toxic leaders are heartless. The leader discounts or ignores the wants, needs, and desires of others especially subordinates. Narcissistic leaders never own his/her actions. If the organization is failing, it’s always someone else’s fault.
Time Will Promote or Expose You
Family-owned businesses are especially susceptible to the influence of toxic leadership. As the second-generation business owner of the Latrobe, Pennsylvania-based Valley Dairy Restaurant and Ice Cream Shops Inc., owner Joe Greubel made this statement back in 2004 about what happens when a family business is turned over to the third generation. “You know what the old rule is,” said Mr. Greubel. “The first generation starts a business. The second generation runs it. And the third generation ruins it.” Mr. Greubel, known by many as “Ice Cream Joe” passed away in 2016, so he had plenty of time to develop a plan for succession, and thankfully the legacy he left behind continues to thrive.
Unfortunately, many family businesses do end up exactly as “Ice Cream Joe” described. Oh, there are plenty that are still surviving, but they are running on the momentum left by the previous leadership. They aren’t thriving. The body of research that’s available on second and third-generation businesses is very compelling. Less than one-third of family-owned businesses survive the transition from first to second generation ownership. Of the ones that make it, another 50 percent don’t survive the transition from second to the third generation. There are a number of factors that contribute to this, but without a doubt, toxic leadership is one of the main culprits. It’s the outsiders looking in who are the last to know that a business/organization is eroding on the inside, but those who are trapped in the web of a toxic environment eventually become the collateral damage of virulent leaders.
Toxic Leadership Assessment
Knowing the difference between healthy and unhealthy organizations is critical in being able to assess the current state of the organization that you are working in. Here are 25 questions that will help you assess the current state of your organization and whether or not it has been infiltrated by a toxic leader.
- Does your leader have accountability?
- Does your leader have a mentor?
- Does your leader talk more than he/she listens?
- Does your leader have difficulty maintaining close relationships with family members and friends?
- Does your leader engage in lying?
- Does your leader demonstrate preferential treatment for people who go along with him/her?
- Does your leader ostracize or cut off relationships when he/she is challenged?
- Does your leader ignore the counsel/wisdom of others?
- Does your leader ever engage in the bullying and intimidation of employees?
- Does your leader devalue the importance of relationships?
- Does your leader coerce people into compliance?
- Does your leader have little or no regard for people’s work-life balance?
- Does your leader exhibit little compassion and empathy for employees?
- Does your leader view employees as objects as opposed to valuable assets?
- Does your leader set unrealistic expectations?
- Does your leader ignore the healthy boundaries of employee/employer relationships?
- Does your leader have a quick fuse?
- Does your leader surround himself/herself with “yes” people?
- Does your leader continually rehash the past?
- Does your leader engage in behaviors that could be deemed verbal/sexual harassment?
- Does your leader justify the firing of loyal employees for business reasons?
- Does your leader believe that everyone is out to get him/her?
- Does your leader display an arrogant attitude?
- Does your leader believe that he/she is doing you a favor by hiring you?
- Does your leader continually blame others when business declines?
Unfortunately for employees working in a toxic environment, the only way to survive the effects is to get out before he/she infects you. Sometimes, that means walking away from a place that you have put your heart and soul into for years. It may mean being cut off from relationships that have felt like family. Employees often remain under the grip of a toxic leader because they fear the unknown. In some ways, it’s very similar to a spouse who remains in an abusive relationship. But if you don’t leave on your own, you can bet that you will be driven out.
Toxic leaders follow a similar pattern of behavior to get what they want. They will first castigate you when you don’t go along with their dysfunctional behavior or when you challenge their leadership. When that doesn’t work, they will attempt to intimidate you into compliance. Ultimately, when you decide you have to walk away, they will alienate you and then create a narrative of lies that make you look like you are the guilty party. That’s what toxic leaders do.
Make no mistake. Toxic leaders rarely change. People under the influence of a toxic leader will stay for one of two reasons. They stay because the leader incentivizes them financially to be complicit in his/her toxicity. How tragic it is to see people sell out their own integrity for a buck.
Some choose to remain in a toxic environment because they believe they can change the toxic individual and have a positive impact on the climate and culture. Rarely does this happen! In fact, what most often happens is the regressive pull effect. The employees will either turn a blind eye to the behavior they are seeing or even worse, they will begin to justify and even normalize the behavior.
Staying in a toxic relationship with the hope of trying to change the person or the environment doesn’t work. Ultimately, toxic leaders enjoy the fight so trying to stay and win them over to your way of thinking is futile. The best solution is to just walk away. A mentor of mine once told me, “Time will either promote you or expose you.” Over time, the toxic environment that people create for themselves and others will be exposed.
I hope you found this article to be helpful. If you have any thoughts, questions, or comments, feel free to reach out.
God bless!
Bill
P.S. Sign up for my FREE weekly newsletter and receive tips and strategies on how you can 10X your life.
Wikipedia contributors. (2019, May 14). Toxic leader. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:21, June 6, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Toxic_leader&oldid=897026499
Schooley, Tim. “The Third Generation Isn’t Always a Charm.” Bizjournals.com, www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2004/09/20/focus3.html.
