The toxic triangle: Destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments

Padilla, Art; Hogan, Robert; Kaiser, Robert B.

doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2007.03.001

Cited by 808 publications

(878 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…A strong assumption in much theorizing about narcissistic leadership is that the personality of the CEO should affect firm performance (e.g., Padilla et al, 2007;Rosenthal & Pittinsky, 2006). Unfortunately, collecting cross-firm data on CEO personality has proven to be challenging.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Maccoby (2007) makes the point that many successful narcissists thrive under these conditions, whether in wartime (e.g., Churchill, MacArthur, Napoleon) or times of great technological change (e.g., Jobs, Ellison, McCaw). Under these conditions, it may be that the vision and grandiosity of the narcissistic leader is attractive to their followers who are looking for new ideas or a solution for a recurring problem (Padilla et al, 2007;Post, 1986). When these conditions occur, it may be, as Campbell and colleagues (2011: 275) note that "There are natural links between narcissism and leadership, and evidence strongly points to the propensity for narcissists to emerge as leaders.…”

Section: The Narcissistic Leadermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have shown, for example, that narcissistic leaders are less likely to engage in pro-social organizational behavior and more likely to cheat and violate integrity standards (e.g., Blickle et al, 2006;Chen, 2010;Judge et al, 2006). Narcissistic leaders are more likely to have unhappy employees and create destructive workplaces (Blair et al, 2008;Maccoby, 2007;Padilla et al, 2007;Thompson, 2011). Narcissists have also been shown to inhibit the exchange of information within organizations (Nevicka, De Hoogh, Van Vianen, Beersma, & McIlwain, 2011;Nevicka, Ten Velden, De Hoogh, & Van Vianen, 2011) and to reject negative feedback (Kernis & Sun, 1994).…”

Section: The Narcissistic Leadermentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Narcissistic CEOs and executive compensation

OʼReilly¹,

Doerr²,

Caldwell³

et al. 2014

The Leadership Quarterly

223

151

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Narcissism is characterized by traits such as dominance, self-confidence, a sense of entitlement, grandiosity, and low empathy. There is growing evidence that individuals with these characteristics often emerge as leaders, and that narcissistic CEOs may make more impulsive and risky decisions. We suggest that these tendencies may also affect how compensation is allocated among top management teams. Using employee ratings of personality for the CEOs of 32 prominent high-technology firms, we investigate whether more narcissistic CEOs have compensation packages that are systematically different from their less narcissistic peers, and specifically whether these differences increase the longer the CEO stays with the firm. As predicted, we find that more narcissistic CEOs who have been with their firm longer receive more total direct compensation (salary, bonus, and stock options), have more money in their total shareholdings, and have larger discrepancies between their own (higher) compensation and the other members of their team.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Narcissistic Leadermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Narcissistic Leadermentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Narcissistic CEOs and executive compensation

OʼReilly¹,

Doerr²,

Caldwell³

et al. 2014

The Leadership Quarterly

223

151

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Several authors have argued that the extent to which negative supervisor traits are reflected in their behavior is not only a matter of the strength of the trait (Krasikova et al, 2013;Padilla et al, 2007), but instead, it is the combination of dispositional tendencies and contextual factors that predicts the occurrence of negative supervisor behavior. Hence, some factors may enable supervisors with dark traits to indulge in abuse, whereas others may suppress such behaviors.…”

Section: Dark Triad Traits and Their Relationship With Abusive Supervmentioning

confidence: 99%

When the dark ones gain power: Perceived position power strengthens the effect of supervisor Machiavellianism on abusive supervision in work teams

Wisse

Sleebos²

2016

Personality and Individual Differences

116

102

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a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oPrevious work has focused on the potential maladaptive consequences of the Dark Triad personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) in organizational contexts. This research builds upon this work, examining the influence of supervisor position power on the relationship between supervisor Dark Triad traits and abusive supervision in teams. Regression analysis on the data of 225 teams revealed that supervisor Machiavellianism is positively related to abusive supervision in work teams, but only when supervisors perceive their position power to be high rather than low. We discuss how power may function as an amplifier, bringing behavioral consequences of predispositions, emotions and beliefs to the forefront. We also focus on the value of differentiating between the three Dark Triad traits in order to more fully understand how they may relate to the abuse of employees.

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“…Thus, here lies a risk for a toxic triangle in an organization involving a manipulative leader; a susceptible follower and also conducive organizational environment (cf. Padilla et al, 2007).…”

Section: Gabriel 2008)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Leadership Manipulation and Ethics in Storytelling

et al. 2012

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This article focuses on exerting influence in leadership, namely manipulation in storytelling. Manipulation is usually considered an unethical approach to leadership. We will argue that manipulation is a more complex phenomenon than just an unethical way of acting in leadership. We will demonstrate through an empirical qualitative study that there are various types of manipulation through storytelling. This article makes a contribution to the literature on manipulation through leadership storytelling, offering a more s y s t e m a t i c e m p i r i c a l a n a l y s i s a n d a m o r e n u a n c e d v i e w o f t h e t o p i c t h a n previously existed by outlining how managers engage in manipulative storytelling and what kind of ethics they link to their manipulation in leadership.Four types of manipulation in storytelling are identified in the study: humorous, pseudo-participative, seductive and pseudo-empathetic. From an ethical perspective we will show that manipulation is not always self-evidently reprehensible. We will conclude that the dominant ethical justification for manipulation stems from its consequences.

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The toxic triangle: Destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments

Cited by 808 publications

References 75 publications

Narcissistic CEOs and executive compensation

Narcissistic CEOs and executive compensation

When the dark ones gain power: Perceived position power strengthens the effect of supervisor Machiavellianism on abusive supervision in work teams

Leadership Manipulation and Ethics in Storytelling

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