Lessons From The Front Line: What Are The Characteristics And Conditions For Toxic Leadership To Thrive?

Tim Rawlinson, Performance and Leadership Consultant at Lightbulb, is also a former decorated Army Officer having spent 20 years leading in The Infantry in combat and setting up field hospitals in Afghanistan with the Royal Army Medical Corps. He shares with us his experiences of toxic leadership, why the Army is no exception to it, the characteristics of toxic leaders, the structural and organisational flaws that support it and how the pandemic is shining a spotlight on it.

Who is a toxic leader?

This is a quote that I feel gets it in one!

“A leader who allows their subordinates to suffer as proof of who is the boss

likely quenches their thirst with salt water from a rusted canteen.”

― Donavan Nelson Butler, Master Sergeant US Army

The 21st century is one that has already had its fair share of tainted leadership encompassing examples that have rocked the spiritual, political and corporate fields and that was prior to the pandemic.

What is even more shocking is that these can often be traced back to wrong judgements made by people in authority who have been fuelling their own ambition. When such issues come to light, then perhaps we should ask about the intent of such individuals and whether the failure was intentional or due to the influence of reckless and incompetent leaders. 

Toxic leadership exists even in what might be perceived as the most disciplined and organised institutions on land. i.e. the military. Indeed, the military may seem foolproof, from recruiting and training, to conduct operations. Having spent 20 years as an officer in the British Army, I can attest to cases of toxic leadership. A review by Lt Col. Dagless examines the leader, the environment and the follower system used in the Army. In his attempt to draw out the subtleties of toxic leadership, he finds that there are structural and institutional flaws that allow toxic leadership to brood and thrive to an extent where it manipulates the military, construct of leader, environment and follower for personal gain.

The military is an institution known for great leadership. This is an undisputed fact. Officers spend a year at the Royal Military Sandhurst and are continually developed throughout their careers to make them the best leaders. The leadership credentials of soldiers are also second to none. However, if that is the case, we must then ask, why does the chapter on Toxic Leadership exist in the British Army Leadership doctrine? However, before we delve deeper into this:

What is toxic leadership?

In the research paper ‘Toxic Leadership: A Conceptual Framework,’ Jean Lipman-Blumen defines toxic leadership as 

“A process in which leaders, by dint of their destructive behaviour (sic) and/or dysfunctional personal characteristics inflict serious and enduring harm on their followers, their organizations (sic), and non-followers, alike.”

Toxic leadership encompasses selfish behaviours, motivation and attitudes, which affect both the subordinates and the organisation at large. A report developed by Life Meets Work – a workforce consulting firm shows that a whopping 56% of all employees have had to endure toxic leadership. Dr Simon Croom of the University of San Diego, on the other hand, has stated that one in every five workplace bosses in the corporate world’s upper echelon has recorded psychopathic tendencies. Such huge figures go on to show how toxic leadership has remained prevalent and rampant in the corporate world, leading to the decay of the self-esteem, motivation and morale of the subordinates. Consider the impact that this has on their engagement and productivity. 

Toxic leaders will often try to make as much out of their positional power through dysfunctional behaviours aimed at coercing, intimidating and deceiving people. Toxic leaders can achieve short-term success. In the longer term, however, they will fail to build strong teams and individuals.

Characteristics of a toxic leader

The Army Leadership Doctrine details six critical characteristics exhibited by toxic leaders. These include:

Autocratic

A toxic leader will use their command authority to the maximum without taking into consideration the opinions and ideas of his or her subordinates. This leader will micromanage, maintain airtight control, and will not leave any chance for feedback.

Narcissistic

A toxic leader will always hold an exaggerated feeling about his/her self-importance. He or she will express zero empathy to anyone else and is very needy when it comes to admiration. A toxic leader never stops and is always on the look-out for more power to exploit for his or her personal benefit.

Manipulative

A toxic leader is always in pursuit of control or an advantage over people.

Discriminatory

Toxic leaders are bound to discriminate against people rather than take time to value diversity. Such leaders will often have like-minded people in their circle and will reward those who revere them as it allows the leader to widen his or her power base and push his or her agenda further.

Overly competitive

Competition is important in the modern-day world. The healthy competition supports team building; however, being overly competitive means that one must win regardless of the means. This may drive the leader to engage in unethical and dishonest practices to gain success.

Intimidating

Rather than the leader working to ensure others achieve their aim by offering required support, they will intimidate and bully subordinates to get the work done. This will make the subordinates or the team refrain from working with the leader since he or she is bad-tempered and remains dismissive. This impedes innovation since people fear disapproval or being ignored when contributing to ideas.

How does toxic leadership start?

Toxic leaders do not develop toxicity in a day. Their style evolves over time. As noted by Padilla A, Hogan in the publication ‘The toxic triangle: Destructive leaders, susceptible followers and conducive environment’, negative organisational outcomes are not only caused by the behaviour of dysfunctional leaders but also followers and the contributing environment. The conditions contributing to this conducive environment include:

Absence of governance

Toxic leadership is likely to grow unchecked in the absence of governance. Not having any form of authority to look over things makes it much harder to ascertain the truth about an organisation since it might appear as poor performance, whereas in truth, it is not.

Presence of questionable values and standards

The leadership style of a toxic leader is likely to deviate from the set organisational standard and values. Therefore, toxic leaders are suited to thrive in an environment where organisational values and standards are weak or not followed.

Perceived threat

Human beings are likely to accept an assertive form of leadership when they feel threatened. Only perception of the threat is enough and no need for an actual threat. It is for this reason that toxic leaders will create an exaggerated notion of an external threat to keep people in line and under their leadership.

Subordinates’ contribution to toxic leadership

Subordinates may also contribute to the growth of toxic leadership, as colluders or conformers. A ‘colluder’ will graciously follow a toxic leader due to similar high ambition and similar worldviews. A ‘conformer’ on the other hand, will often follow toxic leaders in fear of reprisal.

In the article ‘Toxic leadership: When grand illusions masquerade as noble visions, ’ Lipman argues the presence of psychological reasons that make subordinates vulnerable to toxic leaders. Human beings are wired to not only tolerate people but even prefer to create them. This is because individuals tend to look up to a god-like divine or human to help create an illusion that they are the chosen one, are heroes and take care of them. Such notions and feelings form the conduit through which toxic leaders will reach out and ‘suck’ in individuals. People want to live forever. They want immortality, both symbolically and physically. So, if a leader comes with the promise of doing something memorable that will solidify our name and position in history, we are likely to join them.

Effects of toxic leadership

Toxic leadership is slated to reduce employee commitment and satisfaction, leading to higher employee turnover. This is because toxic leaders remain aloof and detached from the organisation and continue to devalue and ultimately ruin the human assets of an organisation. A toxic leader’s approach to leadership is a game that leads to reduced organisational morale and performance. 

Back to our earlier question, Why does the topic of toxic leadership exist in the British Army Leadership doctrine?

For starters, toxic leadership does exist in some of the deepest darkest recesses of the Army and has been in the military, I have experienced extensive toxic leadership in one Unit in particular. Such toxicity impedes performance, making the completion of any task an uphill battle. No matter the organisation, toxic leadership is treacherous to both the individuals bearing the burden and to the health and sustainability of the organisation. While it might not bother or distract you at first, the aftermath will most likely grab your attention.

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