Toxic Leadership

Toxic leadership can take many forms, it can be incredibly subtle and hard to pinpoint or it can be overt and hard to navigate.

What is toxic leadership?

Toxic leadership refers to a style of leadership where the leader's behavior and actions have negative, harmful, and detrimental effects on the individuals and the organization they lead. Toxic leaders are often characterized by their abusive, manipulative, and destructive behavior that undermines the well-being, morale, and performance of their team or organization.

Common traits of toxic leadership may include bullying, harassment, favoritism, micromanagement, lack of accountability, unethical behavior, poor communication, disrespect, and lack of empathy towards subordinates. Toxic leaders may engage in power plays, manipulation, and intimidation to maintain control and achieve their personal agendas, often at the expense of their team members and the overall health of the organization.

The consequences of toxic leadership can be severe, including high turnover rates, low employee morale, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, increased conflicts and grievances, and even legal and reputational issues for the organization. Toxic leadership can create a toxic work environment that erodes trust, collaboration, and employee well-being, and can have long-term detrimental effects on team dynamics and organizational culture.