The Antidote: Toxic Leadership and Can it be Prevented?
On the surface, theconcepts of avoiding toxic leadership traits seem simple and can be tied to thegolden rule, “treat others how you’d like to be treated”. Simple enough…right? Well, maybe. Chances are, if you’re in a leadership position you’ve made a fewmistakes and you’ve made unpopular decisions, but hopefully your actions orleadership style aren’t described as toxic. Most recently, I’ve seen more headlines, moresocial media posts and have had more discussions on Toxic Leadership. I then began to question a few things. Do toxic leaders know they’re toxic,and more importantly is there anything followers can do to mitigate toxicorganizations?
While trying to tackle the issue of suicide, the U.SArmy found that many of their soldiers (who died by suicide) were dealing withpersonal hardships and belonged to what was described as toxic organizationalclimates. In 2014 the U.S Army publiclyannounced that they have too many “toxic leaders”. They assigned an anthropologist to investigateand the first course of action was to define toxic leadership. Paraphrased, U.S Army doctrine defines toxicleadership as:
“a combination of self-centeredattitudes and behaviors that lacks concern for others and the climate of theorganization. A Toxic leader has aself-inflated self-worth and uses position power to intimidate & punish toget what they want for themselves.”
I can’t imagine being described as someone who uses powerto punish teammates when they don’t get what they want. I assume other leaders at the highest levels oftheir organizations don’t either, until they receive a notice, that they’resubordinates aren’t happy and are describing their organizational climates astoxic. Reading the interviews and newssegments from Senior Leaders who were accused of toxic leadership, alwayspiqued my interest because it provided tangible examples of behaviors on whatnot to do. The accusations were & are usually egregious behaviors suchas bullying, coercing and or harassment. Although, it’s not too surprising to hearwhat the CEO said, or how the General was acting. What’s more intriguing is that those SeniorLeaders were mostly oblivious to the climate of their organizations and howtheir behaviors impacted the members on their team.
Reflecting back on one of my questions that triggeredthis article, do toxic leaders know they’re toxic, I’m not so sure theydo. Certainly, there is no excuse fortoxic behaviors. I’ll never disputethat, but what if the leader is completely unaware of how their actionsimpact their members.? In fact, thatwas a legitimate response to one of the senior leaders accused of creating atoxic work environment:
"Had concerns been voiced at thetime, I would certainly have addressed the issue to resolve it.Unfortunately, those who are now complaining waited until I left command andwas retiring."
Entertainingthat logic, does the member, teammate, or subordinate have the obligation togive that leader feedback? Absolutelynot, especially in an environment where the member feels like they’re “walkingon eggshells”. Ideally, every leaderhas a wingman that can provide candid feedback and sage counsel to get themback on track. In the real world, itseems that no one is telling these leaders the truth about their toxicity northeir inabilities to lead effectively.
So, let’s recap. If a leader doesn’t recognize that they’re toxic, no one tells them thattheir actions are toxic, and the institution keeps promoting them,well…Houston, we have a problem! Whatresponsibility does then the institution have to course correct and select theright leaders? I’d contend the institutionholds the majority of that responsibility. I don’t doubt, most organizations have proactive measures and thorough processesthat can be used to mitigate ineffective leaders, but the fact of the matter is,without accurate, timely & “tough feedback”, none of the other stuffmatters. Without feedback, up anddown the chain, we will continue to see toxic leadership in our organizationsand continue to scratch our heads wondering how these leaders ever got to the “c-suite”in the first place.
This leads to my second inquisition; can followersprevent toxic leadership? My vote isyes! If feedback is truly the antidoteto Toxic Leadership, followers must be courageous enough to give it. They must practice courageous followership. Courageous followership requires criticalthinking, active participation, and a bit of moxie:
- Criticalthinking- to construct sound recommendations
- Activeparticipation- to demonstrate loyalty to the organization
- Moxie-to stand up to actions that are unethical or immoral
Surely, this is easier said than done, and you mayeven encounter peer advice such as “do what your stripes can handle”. By itself, delivering constructive feedbackis hard enough, but knowing your career may take a hit for it, definitely upsthe ante. That’s why it’s called courageousfollowership. It takes courage tostand up to bullies, it takes courage to speak up when no one else in the roomwill—it takes courage to be honest. At the end of the day, if this means we’re preventing toxicleadership…it’s worth it. Not to mention,it’s kind of cool to have peers come up to you after a meeting to say thanksfor saying what everyone else was thinking.
Leadership is truly an art. It can be messy at times and you willundoubtedly piss a few folks off. Just aslong as your folks are comfortable enough to tell you how they feel, I think you’restill on the right track. As you striveto hone your leadership craft and build championship teams, keep the feedbackchannels open and encourage your team members to be bold in their followershipand leadership.
Editor’s Note: FrankA. Zamorano Jr is a member of the Llama-Leadership Team. He is a Senior NoncommissionedOfficer in the United States Air Force where he serves as the Aerial PortSuperintendent for 731 Air Mobility Squadron at Osan Air Base, Republic ofKorea. He oversees training &readiness for 140 Airmen and directs Air Transportation activities across theKorean peninsula.