Toxic Leadership
There's been a lot of discussion about "toxic leadership" in the Army recently, and not a second too soon. The worst thing that can happen in the military is that a leader takes command in an organization, and runs it into the ground with awful and inhuman "leadership philosophy" and a palpable ambition for personal achievement at the expense of his subordinates. I've seen it happen before, it's just terrible. The new "360-degree assessment" push is a great idea, and I'm sure it won't go far enough... there's no way to keep all the Patton wannabes out of command, it's just impossible. There should be, though, because I've seen other great leaders, combat leaders, who don't act like narcissistic, self-obsessed babies. Anyway, below are a series of questions designed, innocently, to illustrate toxic leadership. Perhaps reading the questions, you will be reminded of some personality or another who fits the bill. If the person it reminds you of is you, well, it's not too late--stop being an asshole, and start looking out for your subordinates goddammit!
1) Unit suddenly experiences higher than normal suicide threats. Leader states that he has knowledge of this problem, because suicide threats and incidents spiked when he was at his last unit.
Toxic: yes or no?
2) Leader deals with problem of suicide by delivering lecture to assembled unit, where he takes the opportunity to accuse his soldiers of ingratitude due to their lackadaisical efforts and short work-week
Toxic: yes or no?
3) Rather than take responsibility for institutional failures, Leader blames every problem on "the guy before me." Even months after the departure of the last guy.
Toxic: yes or no?
4) Leader openly badmouths subordinates who are leaving the institution for any reason, even mandatory professional development, but especially former managers who worked with Leader's predecessor who are leaving the institution for good. This rather than, say, praising those who have served before him.
Toxic: yes or no?
5) Leader makes outrageous public claims about combat experience that are contradicted by others who served with him, then questions the combat experience of those who have proven experience in the department, and derides them for lack of knowledge, preferring to follow his own counsel.
Toxic: yes or no?
6) Leader talks incessantly about the Alma Mater he graduated from, and draws unfavorable comparisons with other institutions that he feels are competing with him. Remarkable only in that nobody else above the rank of 2LT pays much attention to a university, as we've all been to war and nobody cares about this sort of thing anyway.
Toxic: yes or no?
7) Leader uses every meeting and LPD as an opportunity to speak at length about himself, often at the expense of actually making decisions, or professionally developing subordinates (unless personal aggrandizement can be said to develop others).
Toxic: yes or no?
8) Leader takes credit for all of his subordinates' successes, and heavily criticizes their failures in public--rather than the other way around (the other path--give credit to subordinates, take responsibility for their failures). Additionally, tasks subordinates with missions, does not follow up on said missions, then criticizes them when the missions are not executed according to his wishes, again (of course) in public.
Toxic: yes or no?
1) Unit suddenly experiences higher than normal suicide threats. Leader states that he has knowledge of this problem, because suicide threats and incidents spiked when he was at his last unit.
Toxic: yes or no?
2) Leader deals with problem of suicide by delivering lecture to assembled unit, where he takes the opportunity to accuse his soldiers of ingratitude due to their lackadaisical efforts and short work-week
Toxic: yes or no?
3) Rather than take responsibility for institutional failures, Leader blames every problem on "the guy before me." Even months after the departure of the last guy.
Toxic: yes or no?
4) Leader openly badmouths subordinates who are leaving the institution for any reason, even mandatory professional development, but especially former managers who worked with Leader's predecessor who are leaving the institution for good. This rather than, say, praising those who have served before him.
Toxic: yes or no?
5) Leader makes outrageous public claims about combat experience that are contradicted by others who served with him, then questions the combat experience of those who have proven experience in the department, and derides them for lack of knowledge, preferring to follow his own counsel.
Toxic: yes or no?
6) Leader talks incessantly about the Alma Mater he graduated from, and draws unfavorable comparisons with other institutions that he feels are competing with him. Remarkable only in that nobody else above the rank of 2LT pays much attention to a university, as we've all been to war and nobody cares about this sort of thing anyway.
Toxic: yes or no?
7) Leader uses every meeting and LPD as an opportunity to speak at length about himself, often at the expense of actually making decisions, or professionally developing subordinates (unless personal aggrandizement can be said to develop others).
Toxic: yes or no?
8) Leader takes credit for all of his subordinates' successes, and heavily criticizes their failures in public--rather than the other way around (the other path--give credit to subordinates, take responsibility for their failures). Additionally, tasks subordinates with missions, does not follow up on said missions, then criticizes them when the missions are not executed according to his wishes, again (of course) in public.
Toxic: yes or no?
Labels: toxic leader
posted by Charivarius at 5:00 PM
1 Comments:
In the working world my toxic leader takes people doing useful jobs and promotes them to non useful managerial positions. The great kick is that they do have the education to do his or her useful job but not to manage. The joy of joys is that the promotion goes to his or her head and they throw weight around and make everyone miserable. Watching this is most aggravating. I am a nurse. The only people who actually do the job are those of us who touch patients. Managers never are called off for low census and "work" every day. The salary of managers is dependent on the work the actual staff who touch patients produce yet we are stepped on, wage cut and in every way made to feel like the grunts. Much like the military, if you weren't out there bullet catching the remf wouldn't have a job. Good leadership is a skill, art, talent and mostly experience, especially of toxic leadership to know what not to do. Unfortunately most people who would make good leaders don't want to do it and the toxic ones can't wait to get up there. They also blame low moral on those of us who are negative. I call it realistic. Since I am in the middle of this situation I can go on and on. I shall stop. I really do understand but wonder, is there a cure? Glad you are writing.
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