How So Many Toxic Employees Ascend to Leadership

Boddy, Clive R.; Boulter, Louise; Fishwick, S

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-65025-4_4

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 60 publications

(67 reference statements)

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“…Tis proposes confict tendencies as a key mechanism that converts toxic leadership into attitudinal outcomes. Longitudinal and experimental studies could further validate this mediation model and directionality [82][83][84]. However, the results suggest that strengthening nurses' confict management skills could potentially neutralize some detrimental impacts of poor leadership.…”

Section: Confict Management As a Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 88%

Toxic Leadership in Emergency Nurses: Assessing Abusive Supervision and Its Team-Level Impacts on Conflict Management and Organizational Commitment

Alsadaan,

Alqahtani

2024

Journal of Nursing Management

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Background. Emergency departments suffer from authoritarian and manipulative leadership styles that affect team dynamics, emotional exhaustion, and quality patient care. However, little research specifically explores these toxic leadership effects on conflict management and nurses' organizational commitment. Objectives. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the correlations between perceived toxic leadership, conflict resolution strategies, and commitment dimensions among emergency nurses while evaluating conflict tendencies as a mediating mechanism. Methods. A cross-sectional design that included multiple regression and mediation analyses was utilized. The sample consisted of 387 emergency nurses from five major Saudi hospitals surveyed using validated scales that measure perceived toxic leadership, conflict styles, and organizational commitment. Results. High prevalence rates for perceived authoritarian (77%), narcissistic (75%), and unpredictable (63%) leadership were reported. Increased toxicity was positively related to dominating and avoiding conflict styles but negatively related to integrating and compromising strategies. Toxic leadership is also associated with lower affective/normative commitment but higher continuance commitment. Conflict management partially mediated the leadership-commitment relationship, which explained 29% of the total effect. Finally, higher experience and education predicted greater perceived toxicity. Conclusions. The significant correlations between destructive leadership, adverse conflict, and reduced commitment in emergency nurses underscore the need for context-specific leadership training. Fostering supportive environments through multifaceted interventions can counteract toxicity impacts, impart constructive communication techniques, improve nurse well-being, and ensure high-quality patient care. As conflict tendencies and nurse characteristics influence susceptibility to detrimental leadership, tailored programs addressing experience levels are vital.

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Section: Confict Management As a Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 88%

Toxic Leadership in Emergency Nurses: Assessing Abusive Supervision and Its Team-Level Impacts on Conflict Management and Organizational Commitment

Alsadaan,

Alqahtani

2024

Journal of Nursing Management

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“…In contrast, those who score relatively high only on primary psychopathy have a good chance of faring well in society. In fact, primary psychopaths seem quite capable of attaining leadership positions (sometimes referred to as corporate psychopathy) and may even be more often found in leadership positions—particularly upper management—than in general population samples (e.g., Boddy et al, 2021; Lilienfeld et al, 2012). Palmen et al (2021) argued that primary psychopaths also tend to seek out leadership positions, and pointed to their need for domination as the most important motivator to do so.…”

Section: Dark Leadership and Leader Primary Psychopathymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even leaders with impaired empathy and remorse, who lie and manipulate, and have bold, egotistical traits are often quite capable of maintaining a positive image, despite the generally detrimental impact that these leaders can have on the functioning of subordinates, teams, and organizations (e.g., LeBreton et al, 2018). Indeed, it has been argued that leaders with such psychopathic traits are relatively successful in climbing the hierarchical ladder (Boddy et al, 2021), that they are awarded higher bonuses by their bosses (Pavlic & Međedovic ́, 2019), and that they are viewed as charismatic individuals with excellent communication skills and the ability to make tough decisions (Babiak et al, 2010). One way to explain the positive impressions that these leaders sometimes make on others is by taking into account the notion that leaders can exercise strategic influence over the perceptions of others by effectively regulating the display of their emotions (Ashkanasy & Humphrey, 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

The Mask of Sanity? Leader Primary Psychopathy and the Effects of Leader Emotion Regulation Strategies on Followers

Wisse,

Sleebos,

Keller

2024

Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies

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Individuals with psychopathic tendencies are sometimes quite capable of acquiring and maintaining leadership positions. One explanation could be that leaders with psychopathic personality profiles “hide behind the mask of sanity” by managing the public display of their emotions so that it positively affects other people's perceptions. We conducted a multisource team study (N = 306 teams) to investigate how leader primary psychopathy and emotion regulation strategies are related to follower perceptions of leader authenticity and follower trust in the leader. We found that leaders with stronger primary psychopathic tendencies would do better to adhere to a strategy of surface acting and refrain from deep acting in order to affect follower trust positively. Perceived authenticity explains the interactive effect of leader emotion regulation and psychopathy on follower trust. We also found that for leaders with higher levels of primary psychopathy deep acting is a less fruitful strategy because they lack the necessary empathic concern, and that the display of naturally felt emotions is a good strategy because it is positively associated with follower trust. We discuss whether the differential use of emotion regulation strategies might explain primary psychopaths’ upward mobility and how their use of emotion regulation strategies could help them to be perceived positively.

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“…These toxic, destructive, or psychopathic leaders, although accomplished at climbing to senior leadership positions because of their apparently compelling vision of a glorious utopian future (Boddy et al, 2021;Lipman-Blumen, 2005), actually manifest negative and destructive outcomes for everyone involved in the establishments they lead (Boddy, 2017(Boddy, , 2021b. Large short-term gains are enjoyed by leaders with marked psychopathic traits, but as was the case with Enron (Culpan & Trussel, 2005), the longer-term costs involve corporate unsustainability and huge socio-economic damage to stakeholders such as customers, shareholders, pensioners, suppliers, and employees (Boddy, 2015(Boddy, , 2018(Boddy, , 2021bSheehy et al, 2021).…”

Section: Corporate Psychopathy and Corporate Psychopathsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving sustainability towards flourishing for all: The critical role of (toxic) leadership

Boddy

2023

Business and Society Review

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Moving sustainability towards flourishing for all implies a care for all and for the future. However, in this commentary I note that many corporate and political leaders do not care for others or the future because, embodying egotistical, ruthless, remorseless, and dishonest (psychopathic) characteristics, their concern is only for themselves. This commentary argues that toxic leadership and governance, in the form of corporate psychopathy and corporate psychopaths, are important barriers to achieving sustainability. Notably, and of relevance to this argument, the embodiment of psychopathic traits can give people the ability to brazenly push themselves to the top, unimpeded by emotional distractions and thereby attain leadership. However, due to their deep indifference to corporate social responsibility and a readiness to falsify environmental impact reports, engage in faking corporate social responsibility and illegally dump toxic waste materials; the influence of such psychopathic leadership may be detrimental to sustainability and to flourishing for all. Leaders high in psychopathy will ignore or dismiss scientific evidence of unsustainable practices because they do not care about the future or about dismissing scientific evidence of detriments to the prospects for humanity. Accordingly toxic leadership and governance are arguably the critical factors in achieving a flourishing sustainability. The future of all life thus depends on who we choose as our leaders.

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How So Many Toxic Employees Ascend to Leadership

Cited by 8 publications

References 60 publications

Toxic Leadership in Emergency Nurses: Assessing Abusive Supervision and Its Team-Level Impacts on Conflict Management and Organizational Commitment

Toxic Leadership in Emergency Nurses: Assessing Abusive Supervision and Its Team-Level Impacts on Conflict Management and Organizational Commitment

The Mask of Sanity? Leader Primary Psychopathy and the Effects of Leader Emotion Regulation Strategies on Followers

Moving sustainability towards flourishing for all: The critical role of (toxic) leadership

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