Man : MisGuided (Toxic Leader)

 

Toxic leader

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-off condition than before.

The phrase was coined by Marcia Whicker  in 1996 linking with dysfunctional leadership styles. Inclusive:  Little Hitler, Manager from hell, The Toxic Boss and boss from hell. Their leadership style is both self-destructive and ultimately corporately harmful as they subvert and destroy organizational structures.

Toxic leadership is brought about by 
    a. lack of self-control and confidence, 
    b. superseded by self-interest. 
    c. Subordinates dislike them. The toxic leaders 
    d. care is about themselves. 
    e. fulfilling their own feelings and disregarding others. 

It is related to autocratic leadership style: acting aggressively and treating others shabbily. They distribute tasks in a restrictive manner and even try to intimidate their subordinates in order to preserve constricted control.

Basic traits

Characteristics Of A Toxic Leader:

·     Self-destructive

He only thinks that his own ideas are right. In every opportunity, he degrades his followers, and acts like the subordinate is of no use.

·     Irritable

A toxic leader is always irritable. He doesn’t want to be bothered. He avoids and hates to be asked questions at any time. He doesn’t allow an open and frank flow of ideas that would contribute to the betterment of the organization.

·     Arrogant

Toxic leaders are arrogant. They are boastful and always think that they are right. They don’t extend help to others. They hate to be corrected by other people, especially their team members.

·     Incompetent

Toxic leaders are incompetent, even though they always put in their mind that they are the best. They always criticize others.

·     Maladjusted

They are maladjusted and afraid of change. They are not flexible and they are hard to deal with.

·     Lack of confidence

Toxic leaders 
i.    are not confident with themselves
ii.   don’t trust their subordinates. 
iii.  problems are not solved right away and pilling up 
iv.  subordinates will feel depressed and hopeless about the future.

 Barbara Kellerman : The basic traits of a toxic leader are generally considered to be 

• either/or insular, intemperate, 
• glib, 
• operationally rigid, 
• callous, 
• inept, 
• discriminatory, 
• corrupt 
• aggressive by scholars 
• boast
• criticize other staff members and 
• avoid or dislike to be asked awkward questions .These may occur as either:

Oppositional behavior. Plays corporate  power politics. An over-competitive attitude to other employees.   Perfectionists attitudes. Abuse of the disciplinary system (such as to remove a workplace rival). A condescending/glib attitude. They are shallow and lack self confidence. Toxic leaders are not confident with themselves and become aggressive to cope.

Poor self-control and/or restraint. Physical and/or psychological bullying . Procedural inflexibility. Discriminatory attitudes (sexism, etc.). Causes workplace division instead of harmony. Use " divide and rule" tactics on their employees. Arrogant  Irritable

Other traits

Many are also authoritarian, autocratic  and/or control freaks  to varying degrees, who tend use both micromanagement, over management and management by fear  to keep a grip of their authority in the organizational group. 
Micro-managers usually dislike subordinate making decisions without consulting them, regardless of the level of authority or factual correctness.

A toxic leader can be both hypocritical  and hypercritical of others, seeking the illusion of corporate and moral virtue to hide their own workplace vices. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a form of lying. They are sometimes maladjusted, and afraid of change. They can also be both frightening and psychologically stressful with which to work.

Tools of a toxic leader

• Workload:

The setting to fail  procedure is in particular a well established workplace bullying  tactic that a toxic leader can use against his rivals and subordinates.

Workloads pile up. The reason for this is that toxic leaders are setting objectives that are unrealistic. In turn, this sets the company up to fail.

• Corporate control systems:

They could use the processes in place to monitor what is going on. Disciplinary systems could be abused to aid their power culture.

• Organizational structures:

They could abuse the hierarchies, personal relationships and the way that work flows through the business. Toxic leaders have the ability to destroy organizational structures.

• Corporate power structures:

The toxic leader controls who, if any one makes the decisions and how widely spread power is. A toxic leader controls his or her team members.

• Symbols of personal authority :

These may include the right to parking spaces and executive washrooms or access to supplies and uniforms.

• Workplace rituals and routines:

Management meetings, board reports, disciplinary hearing, performance assays and so on may become more habitual than necessary

        Inevitably the victim’s workplace performance, self-esteem and self confidence will decline as employee(s)’  stress  inclines. Heavy running costs and a high staff turnover/overtime rate are often also associated with employee related results of a toxic leader.

Psychology

Jean Lipman-Blumen's in her book, The Allure of Toxic Leaders: there is a tendency among contemporary society to seek authoritative, even dominating characteristics among corporate and political leaders due to our public’s own personal psychosocial needs and emotional weaknesses.

Ms Lipman-Blumen noticed that "toxic leadership" was not about day to day running on mismanagement of the organization. Rather, by virtue of their "dysfunctional personal characteristics" and "destructive behaviors" "inflict reasonably serious and enduring harm" not only on their own followers and organizations, outside of their immediate circle of victims and subordinates, as well.

A noted rule of thumb suggests that toxic leaders leave their followers and others who come within their sphere of influence worse off than they found them either on a personal and/or corporate basis.

A deeply psychological needs to feel safe, specialness and in a social community all help explain this psychological phenomenon.

Barbara Kellerman

In Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why It Matters, Barbara Kellerman quote that toxicity in leadership (or simply, "bad leadership") may be analyzed into seven different types:

• Incompetent –

The leader and some followers lack the will or skill (or both) to sustain effective organization action. In the leadership challenge, they do not create positive change.

• Rigid –

They are stiff and unyielding. Although they may be competent, but are unable or unwilling to adapt to new ideas, new information, or changing times.

• Intemperate –

Lacks self-control and is aided and abetted by followers who are unwilling or unable to effectively intervene.

• Callous –

Uncaring or unkind attitude. Ignored and discounted are the needs, wants, and wishes of most members of the group or organization, especially subordinates.

• Corrupt –

Lie, cheat, or steal are their norms. To a degree, putting self-interest ahead of the public interest.

• Insular –

Minimizing or disregarding the health and welfare of those outside the group or organization for which they are directly responsible.

• Evil –

Commit atrocities and using pain as an instrument of power. Both physical and psychological harm.

  Toxic leadership degrades team members which lowers their self-awareness and self-confidence.

Toxic Work Environments

Toxic work environments can only exist where a lack of trust and respect are present, in the absence of sound leadership. 
“Toxic work environment” is a code for bad leadership; a toxic culture simply cannot co-exist in the presence of great leadership.

A toxic work environment thrives off of everything that great leadership stands in opposition to. 
The fuel for toxicity is

a.      conflict not resolution,

b.      ego not humility,

c.      self-interest not service above self,

d.      gossip & innuendo not truth,

e.      social & corporate climbing not team-building

Toxic cultures occur where arrogance, ignorance, ambivalence, and apathy are present, but again, not where sound leadership stands at the helm.

A toxic culture cannot exist
a. if toxic people are not allowed to take up residence.   
b. selecting team for the organization, and important to build a senior leadership group. 

These team members sharing same core values and trusting one another at high levels. The commonality of core values will automatically assume “best intentions” in one another vs. assuming “worst intentions” or “motives/agendas.”

 Leaders who allow toxic personalities to invade their corporate culture are putting the health of their entire organization at risk. Toxic personalities put a damper on morale, intimidate and/or manipulate co-workers for personal gain, and letting off company’s best talent. Toxic individuals kill productivity, and if unchecked can have a much broader and deeper impact on an organization than one might think.

A bad attitude isn’t something good leaders take lightly. Smart leaders see themselves as protector of corporate culture, defender of under their charge, champion of brand, and steward of trust. Great leaders simply won’t tolerate a toxic team member - the risks are too great. Real leaders will quickly coach toxic team members to a healthy place, or show them the door - there is no third option.

Myth:

Here are five wrong reasons for wanting to become a manager:

1.   Money –

Money is an extrinsic motivator. It will motivate and satisfy us in the short-term, but it won’t sustain our performance over the long run. It won’t stoke the internal passion that’s necessary to thrive in a leadership role. The demands of the role will quickly make you feel like you’re underpaid (and you probably are underpaid which makes the dissatisfaction even worse!).

2.   Title –

A title represents status, importance, significance, or achievement in their work. Whatever your view, titles are ultimately just words on your business card, name tag, or office door. A title may represent a position you hold, but it doesn’t equal the respect and trust you have to earn as a manager. If you’re in it for only the title, your people will see through the facade of your leadership.

3.   Advancement –

A manager is just a temporary way station on your journey to total corporate route. A manager is human truly committed to helping subordinate perform their best and not one who is only biding time until his/her next crowning achievement. There are other ways to grow and advance in an organization besides moving into a management role.

4.   Benefits or Perks –

Managers get extra benefits or perks? Granted, being in a leadership role sometimes allows you to group with other leaders and executives in the company, and it certainly puts you closer to being “in the know” about certain things, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Every role has its advantages and disadvantages, and the perceived perks of being a manager come with many other responsibilities that aren’t very glamorous.

5.   Power –

Henry Kissinger said that “power is the great aphrodisiac.” The power that comes along with being the boss, no matter how limited and inconsequential it may be, is attractive to many. Used in the right way, managerial power can be a potent force for positively influencing those you lead. But there is also a dark side to that force. (Darth Vader quote: “You underestimate the power of the Dark Side.”) If you view power as a means to satisfy your own needs (like Darth Vader), rather than a tool to be used in the service of others (like Yoda), it’s the wrong reason to become a manager. Ok, enough of the nerdy Star Wars references.

Detoxifying a Toxic Leader

Toxicity is bad for your health as you are enable to contribute realistically and making an impactful change, in creating positive changes. Leadership not accountable to its people will eventually be held accountable by its people. Below are some steps in trying to trek into detoxifying toxic leaders:

•  Identify exactly what the problem behaviors are. 

i.   It’s important that you be able to articulate this.  
ii.  Does the person belittle you?  
iii. Humiliate you?  
iv. Undermine and sabotage? 
v.   Identifying the specific behaviors with examples is important.

• Document the behaviors. 

i.    Write down the dates, times, and details of the behaviors.  
ii.   If there were witnesses, write that down, too.  
iii. You may believe you will never take legal action or think that you’ll remember everything vividly but it’s important to have a log.

• If safe to do so, enlist others. 

i.   If you are not the only target, quietly compare notes with others and encourage them to document the behaviors.  
ii.  Any action, either internal to your organization or external, will be strengthened if there are multiple accounts of the same behavior. 
iii.  Do not use the time to simply critizing openly the toxic person or start your own passive-aggressive campaign against him.  Don’t let the toxic person pull you down to her level.

• If safe to do so, politely confront the behavior. 

i.  Talk directly with the person about what you are experiencing, how you’d like it to be different, and directly ask for it to stop. 
ii.  It’s vital that you stay 100% professional during this conversation, and document it, too.

• Limit your contact with the person. 

i.  Keep meetings, if you must have them, short and don’t give the person any ammunition in the form of information about you personally.  
ii. Be polite but avoid the person as much as possible.

• Develop coping mechanisms. 

i.  Develop the ability (and it takes practice) to be indifferent and emotionally detached until the problem can be solved.   
ii.  If you feel powerless or trapped, write down what you like about your job and put the toxic behavior in that context.  
iii. Toxic behavior is contagious, so don’t internalize what’s being done to you and let it change who you are.  
iv.  Try to laugh at the situation.  
v.  If you are receiving, for example, belittling comments or looks, try to see them as pathetic or not to be taken seriously.  
vi.  Even if you can’t say it out loud, adapt a “Really? Dirty looks?  What are we, five?” attitude. 

• Ask for help. 

i.  After you’ve created a log of the behaviors, talk to your HR department or other advocate who may be able to stop the behavior.  
ii. If others have also documented the behavior, go together.

• Develop an exit strategy. 

i.   It’s the most basic of advice, but leaving for another job solves the problem with 100% certainty.  
ii.  Just the act of planning your departure is empowering.  
iii. Make sure you develop a professional, short explanation for why you are leaving, because others will ask.  “It wasn’t a good fit” is a great fig leaf that covers a lot of things. 

• Take legal action if needed, but only as a last resort and with an understanding of the risks. 

i.   Being a toxic boss often isn’t illegal or even against your workplace’s policies, depending on what form it takes, and legal action takes a long time to resolve.  
ii.  In the meantime, you may begin having physical or emotional symptoms from the stress, so escape is usually best if other strategies don’t work.

• Ask for help, part two. 

i.   If you find yourself changing – becoming angry or depressed – or if others note this behavior in you, take care of yourself by eating right, exercising, and getting professional help.  
ii.  Never let yourself feel so trapped that you consider actions that are outside your character.  No job is worth your health or your future.

Re-frame The Experience

It helps to ask yourself what you can learn from this experience you are undergoing, as opposed to assuming that you shouldn't be there and this shouldn't be happening to you. "Shouldistic thinking" will only get you into trouble.

    Rather, ask yourself if there could be a lesson in it for you. What can you possibly learn from this experience? What skills can you gain which may be of help to you in future challenges? How can you re-frame it so it doesn't seem so bleak, and you can focus on hidden opportunities for personal growth?

    The strong leaders in any group take care of their relationships, keeping lines for communicating open and serving others. Yes, serving others. That's what leadership is all about. Care about people in genuine and honest ways, and they will follow you just about anywhere!

Wrap Up

      When faced with an uncomfortable leadership situation, it is wise to avoid hitting the panic button. Try and figure a way to overcome. Give it time and don't quit.

     What you learn in the process can set you up for success in many future positions. Plus, you will grow in wisdom and skill, by increasing your comfort zone with adversity! You will become more valuable to yourself and others by learning how to negotiate tough situations, without allowing anyone to compromise your own mental attitude and/or damage your leadership efforts.

Surviving a toxic leader's influence while remaining a strong leader yourself, is a never ending task.

Excerpt and extracts taken with thanks from:

Wikipedia
Kristina Lacida
Mike Myatt
Melissa Korn