Toxic Leaders And Followers Essay

A toxic leader can be defined as leader motivated by egocentrism, self-interest and show no concern for those below him, and his actions negatively affect the organizational climate. They exalt themselves in turf protection, fighting and controlling their followers instead of uplifting them. Toxic leaders are very destructive and they only focus on short term accomplishments and they destroy their followers to achieve those objectives. Their decisions are made hasty and they change their decisions without any justified rationale. Mostly, they lazy around only to make hasty decisions when it is too late and the crisis is already in place. Such decisions have no time to be thought over and therefore, they are continuously changed throughout implementation so as to work effectively and may even be altered completely thereby making the whole process messy (Seeger, 2005).

Toxic leadership and climate defines the critical leadership problem within 4th ABCT. In conjunction, a lack of care for Soldiers and their families, favoritism, SHARP issues, and hazing have caused a unit to lose all trust in the previous Command Team. To correct these issues I will develop and implement my vision and a way ahead for the BCT using the 7 Step Model. Furthermore, I will place a great deal of emphasis on a specific portions of the Rocket Model, Organizational Culture “Iceberg”, and correcting the Five Dysfunctions of a Team

In today’s business environment, leadership is a major topic of discussion and concern. Having the right leaders in place could be the difference between a successful business and unequivocal failure. There are many different leadership styles that are proven to be effective and then there is the type of leadership that leads a business in the opposite direction. This type of leadership is known as toxic leadership. Research has shown there to be many defining characteristics of a toxic leader and there are identifiable signs that may be indicative of a toxic workplace. The effects of this type of leadership and the environment that it creates can be far-reaching. However, there are ways to assist individuals with protecting themselves from a toxic leader and the negative results of working in a toxic environment.

Leadership is critical and it refers to the process of influencing followers towards achieving the groups’ goals. Toxic leadership refers to the leadership offered by leaders who abuse power and leave the group they lead in a poorer condition after they are left. Toxic leadership is associated with incompetence, insularity, evil, intemperance (lack of self control), callousness, rigidity and corruption among other bad leadership characters. The leaders involved in toxic leadership are not concerned about uplifting the people they lead (followers). Instead, they make sure they satisfy their self interests. They fight and control instead of caring for their followers. In most cases, the leaders with this leadership style are leaders who bully, abuse, and discriminate the subordinates. In addition, they create a hostile climate, self serving and arrogant, threaten and even yell at their followers among other fierce characters. They do not lead based on their qualifications. However, they apply force to be in leadership positions thus making the lives of their followers a misery . They are selfish in that they work to promote themselves without regard to the welfare of their followers. In most cases, do this by not minding about the future of their group and its members. This paper explores the effects of toxic leadership in the United States.

Ciulla, J. B. (2014) The Bogus Empowerment of Followers. In Ethics, The Heart of Leadership, J.B. Ciulla (Editor), pg. 82-103.

Toxic leadership has been a growing problem in the Army for years. In the last ten years, the Army has started to conduct research and think of solutions to toxic leadership. A toxic leader is a leader that is self-serving, micromanages their subordinates and gives orders without supplying a purpose or inspiration for completing the task. Toxic leaders destroy the effectiveness and morale of the unit. They can be taken out of command and identified by using an evaluation system that includes their subordinates so that lower level leadership can evaluate their superior’s leadership potential. They can also learn to change how they lead and use better, more productive strategies that inspire rather than deflate their soldiers.

Not all leadership traits are positive; some can sow discord within a company. My experience with a manager who was narcissistic is a perfect example. I worked as quality lab technician for an aerospace company with good pay and great coworkers. Upper management was tolerable, but my immediate supervisor had a personal agenda of seeking power. This supervisor would feel threatened at the thought of me receiving mentorship from other experienced people. He would enter every conversation with an accomplishment that we would later find out as a lie. He would praise his leadership in front of them while criticizing them later when they left the room. He was paranoid of leaving us alone to do our jobs because he thought we would be lazy without him; this resulted in him placing cameras in every corner of the room. We

Justin Racz’s “50 Bosses Worse Than Yours” introduces an observation on the account of working with a bad boss. This featured video gives an outline of bad bosses based on author’s personal experience. In the beginning of the segment, we are asked a simple question, “Just what makes a boss bad? As a rule, they do not have the relationship building abilities necessary to be prominent business leaders. Bad bosses have been described as patronizing and dishonest individuals who do not think about the welfare of their employees in the workplace. With a bad boss you can expect a strained work atmosphere and stressful environment. The working conditions turn out to be severe to the point that numerous employees consider leaving their jobs in light

Leadership. We all know great leaders when we see them. They are the one who inspire us, they are committed and honest. Winston Churchill, General Patton both exemplify the qualities of a great leader. But how often do we think about the qualities that make a leader substandard. We all know from the leaders who did bad things. Adolph Hitler always comes to mind but was he a bad leader or just a bad man. In this week’s class paper, we read about the pitfalls of a bad leader. In her article” The Value of Valuing Employees Six ways leaders inadvertently curb innovation, motivation” author Christine Comaford explores the six factors that are detrimental to a leader and their leadership abilities. In my following paper, I am taking a look at those six pitfalls and the different strategies an organization can initiate to correct those drawbacks.

Kellerman exhibits different examples of leader and follower relationships from American military following 9/11, international corporations, and Nazi Germany during World War II (Kellerman, 2008). First consideration of the power a leader has over an individual is apparent and one can ultimately have a positive or negative effect in the success of any manager through followership. Basically, followers have the ability to have equal or more power over a leader and we should value the lessons learned from the different stakeholders across different sectors. This book reflecting through the different examples of leaders through distinctive sectors permits one to understand how individuals at the lower levels of establishments are regarded as isolates, bystanders, participants, and activists, and

The manner in which one utilizes politics as a leader affects the perception of that person’s subordinates and peers as either negative or positive. When someone possesses an interpersonal style that includes social awareness united with effective communication, their political style is perceived as positive and effective. A leader who acquires the skill to lead by example while respecting their team is a positive role model (DuBrin, 2013). However, a manager who wields their political power in a Machiavellian, unethical manner to manipulate others fosters a pejorative perception of politics (Hader, 2013).

There are many examples of poor leadership behavior in today’s workplace. Inadequate leadership can be detrimental not only to a team within an organization, but also to the entire organization itself. I believe it is vital for upper management to ensure that their leaders are properly trained and aware of how to handle certain situations and employees. When a leader’s weaknesses are overlooked, large problems occur.

The leader and follower relationship is looked at as winners and losers, when it is actually a symbiotic association. (Chaleff) Leaders cannot exist without followers and followers cannot exist without a leader. Leaders can forget that they need the backing of a solid team of followers in order to succeed. Because they make the “important” decisions and enjoy an astronomical rate of pay, it is easy to overlook the loyal, hard working individuals that make everything happen under them. Followers too can forget that they are a valuable element of a successful organization, and that their feedback and ideas are welcome.

Many leaders fail in leadership because of unresolved issues in their past that have not been dealt with. These unresolved issues will resort in leadership flaws and failures and will bankrupt ones ministry. I found this too be true because I have personally left some past issues unresolved in my life and they have reared their ugly head in numerous areas of my live; especially in leadership. Much of what determines how a leader’s dark side will develop, stems from the family the person grew up in and his/her childhood years through adolescence. The book does an excellent job to show that unsettled issues can create a certain feeling subservience and uncertainty.

First let’s focus on leadership. Many of the encounters that society endures are due to contaminated leadership. The inability to make a