On Toxic Leaders (Part 2)
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(From Voice magazine, Jan/Feb 2016. Read Part 1.)
By Kenneth O. Gangel
Why Would People Work for a Toxic Leader?
With the stench of the Enron disaster still in our nostrils, we have become accustomed to the ongoing lawsuits from employees who lost everything. Let’s remember that most of the people who left Enron didn’t drop out or voluntarily go to other businesses. They actually loved their jobs and felt they functioned at the center of action in such a gigantic corporation. But clearly toxic leadership ruled at Enron, so why did people stay?
Belief in the Unbelievable
The old wisdom says when something looks too good to be true it probably is. Stock portfolios, retirement packages, working conditions—everything seemed right and most of Enron’s people felt they were functioning in one of the greatest companies ever built. That’s why pastors are less likely to leave a large church than a small one. However, a large organization affords part of the draw for an autocratic toxic leader who needs full command until someone blows the whistle.
Following the Illusion
Leaders too smart to believe in the unbelievable might fail to analyze the descriptions and analyses that toxic leaders communicate to their people. Toxic leaders may not be as harmless as doves, but they are often as smart as serpents. They create illusions of achievement and great hope for the future “If you just stick with me.” We are, after all, an idol-worshiping people who glorify their heroes and heap riches upon them; why wouldn’t we follow a leader in charge of some great business or ministry?
Desire for Dependence
Some may recognize Lipman-Blumen’s words. When asked why people follow or work for a toxic leader, she talks first about the myth of independence which still permeates a country that lost its independence to bureaucracy some time during the 20th century. The colonial patriots whose iron will and willingness to die for what they believed has given way to a shabby antinomian society willing to put up with the worst kind of immorality as long as they themselves are protected, fed and cared for.
Fear
Again, I refer to one of Lipman-Blumen’s answers when asked why people would work for a toxic leader.
In one interview she refers to Harold Geneen of IT &T where employees were so frightened of the boss they became physically ill and couldn’t sleep for nights before they needed to report to him. Toxic leaders do not dispel such fear, they encourage it.
No Other Options
Sometimes we simply cannot find a way out. That applies to people in ministry as well as people in business organizations. A single mom without a college degree may be required to hold on to her secretarial job even though the boss behaves like a monster.
How Toxic Leaders Create Toxic Organizations
Leading the parade to poor performance we usually find ineffective decision-making. I’ve often told doctoral students in leadership classes that an analysis of decision-making has become my primary way to analyze an organization, company or ministry. A team-centered ministry will immediately display genuine group decision-making as opposed to advisory groups who say what they wish and then leave the decision to a single leader. This remains one of the most misunderstood aspects of effective leadership.
We also recognize a toxic organization by its high levels of dissatisfaction and stress. These result from destructive human relations not unlike the relationships we see in dysfunctional families. People get discouraged, good people leave the organization, but somehow, things just don’t seem to improve. So, as Robert Bacal has observed, we can specify that toxic organizations are:
- Helpless in making things better
- Not supportive emotionally or professionally
- Unable to identify the causes of the discomfort and pain
- Unable to leave the situation permanently and unable to solve problems permanently
- Consistently under attack (“Toxic Organizations – Welcome to the Fire of an Unhealthy Workplace.” www.work911.com, 2008)
A toxic organization does not fulfill its mission and it has virtually no capacity to handle serious problem-solving. Its whole climate militates against the kind of relationships essential for handling problems—poor communication, bad decision-making, and manipulative, self-centered leaders.
Bacal gets even more specific. The toxic organization is most often a relatively small work unit where there is considerable face-to-face interaction among the work unit members. This is because inter-personal relationships stand at the core of the sick organization. If there is a low level of interaction, it is likely that a toxic organization will emerge.
At the top of this pyramid are managers who tend to be cold and distant, sometimes deliberately so. Toxic managers avoid people and situations that may require explanation of their decisions or behavior. Whether or not she knows why she behaves as she does, the toxic manager confuses subordinates, thereby reducing the trust level and increasing the fear of punishment or failure.
Dan Chenoweth talks about the possibility of turning the situation around. One positive result of such a process is that the entire organization is impacted when anyone in a leadership role becomes humble and open to core changes. If you are the person that spotted the bully behavior and took action toward intervention, you may feel an incredible personal sense of reward. You may see yourself as a key player in the evolution of the human spirit of your company, and in its advancement toward a more sustainable “human” culture that truly values learning, cooperation, and collaboration. Handing leadership development “crutches” to a “broken” leader can be the greatest gift you could ever give to that individual—and to your entire organization (“Five Characteristics That Differentiate Great Leaders from Toxic Leaders, ” 2005.)
Why Would People Work for a Toxic Leader?
With the stench of the Enron disaster still in our nostrils, we have become accustomed to the ongoing lawsuits from employees who lost everything. Let’s remember that most of the people who left Enron didn’t drop out or voluntarily go to other businesses. They actually loved their jobs and felt they functioned at the center of action in such a gigantic corporation. But clearly toxic leadership ruled at Enron, so why did people stay?
Belief in the Unbelievable
The old wisdom says when something looks too good to be true it probably is. Stock portfolios, retirement packages, working conditions—everything seemed right and most of Enron’s people felt they were functioning in one of the greatest companies ever built. That’s why pastors are less likely to leave a large church than a small one. However, a large organization affords part of the draw for an autocratic toxic leader who needs full command until someone blows the whistle.
Following the Illusion
Leaders too smart to believe in the unbelievable might fail to analyze the descriptions and analyses that toxic leaders communicate to their people. Toxic leaders may not be as harmless as doves, but they are often as smart as serpents. They create illusions of achievement and great hope for the future “If you just stick with me.” We are, after all, an idol-worshiping people who glorify their heroes and heap riches upon them; why wouldn’t we follow a leader in charge of some great business or ministry?
Desire for Dependence
Some may recognize Lipman-Blumen’s words. When asked why people follow or work for a toxic leader, she talks first about the myth of independence which still permeates a country that lost its independence to bureaucracy some time during the 20th century. The colonial patriots whose iron will and willingness to die for what they believed has given way to a shabby antinomian society willing to put up with the worst kind of immorality as long as they themselves are protected, fed and cared for.
Fear
Again, I refer to one of Lipman-Blumen’s answers when asked why people would work for a toxic leader.
In one interview she refers to Harold Geneen of IT &T where employees were so frightened of the boss they became physically ill and couldn’t sleep for nights before they needed to report to him. Toxic leaders do not dispel such fear, they encourage it.
No Other Options
Sometimes we simply cannot find a way out. That applies to people in ministry as well as people in business organizations. A single mom without a college degree may be required to hold on to her secretarial job even though the boss behaves like a monster.
How Toxic Leaders Create Toxic Organizations
Leading the parade to poor performance we usually find ineffective decision-making. I’ve often told doctoral students in leadership classes that an analysis of decision-making has become my primary way to analyze an organization, company or ministry. A team-centered ministry will immediately display genuine group decision-making as opposed to advisory groups who say what they wish and then leave the decision to a single leader. This remains one of the most misunderstood aspects of effective leadership.
We also recognize a toxic organization by its high levels of dissatisfaction and stress. These result from destructive human relations not unlike the relationships we see in dysfunctional families. People get discouraged, good people leave the organization, but somehow, things just don’t seem to improve. So, as Robert Bacal has observed, we can specify that toxic organizations are:
- Helpless in making things better
- Not supportive emotionally or professionally
- Unable to identify the causes of the discomfort and pain
- Unable to leave the situation permanently and unable to solve problems permanently
- Consistently under attack (“Toxic Organizations – Welcome to the Fire of an Unhealthy Workplace.” www.work911.com, 2008)
A toxic organization does not fulfill its mission and it has virtually no capacity to handle serious problem-solving. Its whole climate militates against the kind of relationships essential for handling problems—poor communication, bad decision-making, and manipulative, self-centered leaders.
Bacal gets even more specific. The toxic organization is most often a relatively small work unit where there is considerable face-to-face interaction among the work unit members. This is because inter-personal relationships stand at the core of the sick organization. If there is a low level of interaction, it is likely that a toxic organization will emerge.
At the top of this pyramid are managers who tend to be cold and distant, sometimes deliberately so. Toxic managers avoid people and situations that may require explanation of their decisions or behavior. Whether or not she knows why she behaves as she does, the toxic manager confuses subordinates, thereby reducing the trust level and increasing the fear of punishment or failure.
Dan Chenoweth talks about the possibility of turning the situation around. One positive result of such a process is that the entire organization is impacted when anyone in a leadership role becomes humble and open to core changes. If you are the person that spotted the bully behavior and took action toward intervention, you may feel an incredible personal sense of reward. You may see yourself as a key player in the evolution of the human spirit of your company, and in its advancement toward a more sustainable “human” culture that truly values learning, cooperation, and collaboration. Handing leadership development “crutches” to a “broken” leader can be the greatest gift you could ever give to that individual—and to your entire organization (“Five Characteristics That Differentiate Great Leaders from Toxic Leaders, ” 2005.)
Kenneth O. Gangel was Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Dallas Seminary and former Professor of Christian Education at Calvary Bible College, Kansas City, MO. Kenn also was a member of IFCA International. He went to be with the Lord in 2009.
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I’ve been personally in a few toxic situations, and there were some warning signs. In one job, I remember interviewing with a guy who resembled no one so much as Fred Rogers, but I remember thinking “I respect this guy, but can I trust him?” I needed the job and found out that he could not be trusted—I remember quoting Deming (“In God we trust, all others must provide data”) at least a dozen times in the review the guy wrote of my work. I know of a few guys who suffered under this guy and others at that company who have been out of work for years—it was tremendously destructive.
(managers and leaders; keep in mind that people can not always “bounce back” once a toxic leader is removed from their life—it leaves a mark)
More or less, the sin at that company (predominant sin; there were many) was the attitude that a manager would punish employees, but not train them. Not surprisingly, you’d see a lot of employees at Waseca’s 18 liquor license holders on Friday and Saturday.
In another case, my wife picked up that our “pastor” was saying something was OK on Sunday, but on Monday or Tuesday would quietly undo whatever we’d done. He also was pushing KJVO hard while denying he was of that camp. Deception and lack of concern for people is a big sign. Another huge warning sign is use of personal attacks.
So at a more recent church, when my objections to using videos from a certain megachurch pastor were more or less ignored and then shouted down, I just walked out on them.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
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