Leadership | Toxic Workplaces | Human Resources
Toxic Leadership: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Know Them
because they bring war, famine, and death wherever they go
We’ve all worked with someone who can make the workplace miserable, whether they are our direct supervisor or an executive on another floor or in another department or location.
You know who I’m talking about: the person who always blames others, puts up roadblocks to progress, makes everything political, and constantly takes credit for other people’s work.
Yes, that person.
They’re toxic!
They’re not a nice person.
They’re the most frustrating person to work with because they lie; they're arrogant, a manipulator, a bully and an incompetent performer. They waste everyone’s time, and they’re a nightmare to work with.
And yet, they always seem to land on their feet, get promoted, and move up the corporate ladder.
And yet, despite the havoc they wreak, toxic leaders are surprisingly common.
Psychologists and leadership experts estimate that between 10 and 25 percent of leaders are toxic, making them the most common type. And as the population grows and leaders are in demand, the number of toxic leaders are likely to increase.
One reason toxic leadership is so common is that toxic leaders actually thrive.
They’re often driven by their own fears and ambitions, but they thrive by exploiting the fears and dreams of others. Their biggest fear is not being fired from their job but the fear of losing control and power.
And they thrive by creating chaos and fear, not by resolving conflict. No, conflict resolution is not in their vocabulary.
In fact, toxic leaders often thrive by inciting conflicts, because they know that conflict will keep others from trying and many employees tend to shy away from conflicts; the more harmful they are, the more they thrive.
And as time goes on, they get more and more successful.
Toxic leaders make more money, but they spend more time and energy arguing, backbiting, campaigning and manipulating.
They seem to be getting stronger, not weaker.
All toxic leaders have a set of common traits. They’re charismatic, which helps them attract followers. They’re also often charming and good at building relationships with those in high places, which allows them to get ahead.
But they’re also manipulative, egotistical, destructive, and pushy, which helps them get ahead.
Below are some traits in toxic leaders.
Dishonesty
Lying is usually a major sign that you can’t trust your leader.
A dishonest person will try to hide their actions, crimes, and failures from the public. They will try to blame others for their losses — failures to accomplish tasks, failures on their own part, and failures on the part of others in their immediate supervision.
A dishonest leader will attempt to minimize their own losses and minimize the shortcomings of others and will also try to mitigate the negative impact of other people’s failures on them. They are quick to fling people under the bus.
Dishonesty in the workplace leads to the loss of trust and confidence in the company itself and its employees.
Arrogance
Nothing says toxic leadership like arrogance.
An arrogant leader will insult, belittle and bully their underlings into showing how superior they are.
They may also feel entitled to do things that other leaders might not (such as hiring unqualified friends and family) solely because they can get away with it.
These habits are inherently disruptive and highly detrimental to your company culture and bottom line.
How can you spot toxic leadership in yourself?
You should pay attention to how you behave toward your team and ask yourself if these actions sound familiar.
You may be able to spot a leader with a specific pattern of behavior, but you may not be able to see it in yourself. If you can identify a few toxic leadership traits in yourself, you’ll be ahead of the game in helping your company succeed.
Manipulation
Manipulation is a crucial trait of a toxic leader.
This is especially true in the competitive business environment, such as sales, where people will often try to manipulate the strategies of others to gain an advantage.
For example, if a leader uses the position and power of their title to get ahead by pushing their projects through first, they will attempt to create a situation where they can use their titles to gain such advantages.
This behavior is often accompanied by overconfidence.
Leaders might believe they can get away with anything they want, even if it means the loss of trust in other people.
Toxic leaders may believe they are above the law, or they may feel that they are above the qualm of others. This leads to a risky situation for everyone.
The leader’s actions could be perceived as selfish, manipulative, or even cruel.
Manipulation in the workplace is closely related to the issue of bias, and it is often affected by social factors such as gender, race, and class.
The impact of this bias is to affect the way people think about the workplace and how they perceive themselves in it. If this behavior is not addressed, it could be perceived as manipulative, unkind, and unfair to others.
Incompetence
When leaders exhibit incompetence, they fail to meet their responsibilities to the company and to their people.
Incompetence is often accompanied by arrogance, a lack of communication, and a lack of accountability.
According to a Leadership Effectiveness Questionnaire, Incapable Leadership is the most common cause of leadership dysfunction. The survey showed that more than 80% of leaders surveyed exhibited some incompetence, though it is not clear why this is the case.
However, people are convinced mainly by the appearance of incompetence and the lack of accountability that the leader is not capable of leading.
An incompetent leader undoubtedly negatively impacts the organization’s performance. Their lack of accountability can cause a lack of trust in others, leading to a loss of focus.
The result, internal conflicts
Whatever sort of leader you are, toxic or otherwise, your behavior will rub off on your team. This affects your team’s overall morale, which then affects the confidence of your entire organization.
It’s in your best interest to lead with integrity and trustworthiness — otherwise, you could have a toxic workplace culture.
Internal conflict is created when one leader cannot handle conflict or when the leader is unable to control their emotions.
If the leader cannot handle conflict, they will focus on the negative aspects of disputes rather than the positive aspect. This might cause the leader to be more forceful with their efforts to get the job done rather than being receptive to feedback and reconciliation.
The result, tyranny
Here are four warning signs that your leadership style leads to toxicity at work.
If you’re guilty of any of these behaviours, it’s time to take a step back and evaluate your leadership style.
- Do you take credit for successes without sharing them with your team? — Dishonesty
- Do you show an offensive attitude of superiority towards your subordinates? — Arrogance
- Do you use, coerce, control, or exploit your subordinates for personal gain, i.e. promotions? — Manipulation
- Do you lack knowledge, skills, and ability in a particular area, but pretend you‘re a subject matter expert’? — Incompetence
If so, you may need some help changing your leadership style before more damage is done.
Try taking an introspective look at your own behavior and being honest about any toxic tendencies. Then invest in learning how to become a better leader who inspires trust and confidence in others.
Final thoughts
Toxic leaders are toxic because they’re selfish, and they spend their time focusing on themselves and neglecting their employees.
They’re so self-absorbed that they don’t notice when employees lose motivation or ignore feedback because they’re so focused on their own careers. They reward themselves with promotions, raises, and bonuses while their employees have to beg.
You can become a better leader who empowers others and works together to achieve a common goal.
Or you can become a tyrant who demands blind obedience and fosters resentment.
It’s up to you to pick a leadership style that inspires trust and confidence. And it’s up to you to keep your workplace healthy and productive — no matter if you have toxic tendencies.
You might be a leader with toxic tendencies, poisonous and incapable of communicating effectively, or out of touch with reality; but it may be time to take a step back and evaluate your leadership style.
Toxic leaders are like the horsemen of the apocalypse — they bring war, famine and death wherever they go.
Basically, toxic leaders bring interpersonal conflicts — war, which leads to a toxic culture, and creates a group personality conflict.
The resources available to the department to address these issues will become limited because toxic leaders have no interest in seeing others strive— famine.
And if not addressed promptly will eventually cause a brain drain on the organization resulting in the loss of talent — death.
A toxic leader’s behaviours are destructive to your team and your organization. They bring chaos and death to their people and can ruin any business they manage.
Before you go, for more on toxic workplace culture and some key factors to consider, click on the links below.
The toxic nature of some workplaces can seriously affect your mental health and happiness.
