Leadership comes with power and influence, which is why it is critical to ensure ethical and moral obligations are assessed prior to promotion or hire. Leaders have the ability to make or break organizational morale and culture, leading to implications that far exceed managing workplace unhappiness and that can take workers years to heal and recover from the trauma endured and even longer for the business to recover from reputational damages.
Throughout my career, I have had so many conversations with people who believe the work environment is just a place to clock in, do your work, and clock out. Such simplification suggests that the passion and purpose of workers have been somehow reduced to a means of survival. Typically, when workers have experienced a toxic leader, the impact morphs into a complacent mentality that is rooted in displays of continuance commitment. Continuance commitment refers to individuals who stay at a job because of personal and financial needs, not out of true desire and authenticity. The problem becomes that these workers are not giving their all and instead can put the organization at risk by underperforming or performing intentional sabotaging behavior. Additionally, the spirit of the worker has been fractured, and their psychological capital has been severely severed. These workers have experienced workplace trauma that requires addressing, restoration, and repair because, without it, they continue counterproductive habits that ultimately impact the bottom line and their quality of life.
The workplace is so much more than just a place to spend 8 hours a day; it offers an environment where one can fulfill their life purpose, establish meaningful relationships, enhance human interconnectedness, feel a sense of belonging and community, and seize the opportunity to achieve self-actualization.
When leadership displays behaviors that contribute to a toxic working environment, it is a lose-lose for any organization. Research highlights three distinct traits that make up the "dark triad" that dark leaders display. They include narcissism, or behaviors that disregard the harm done to others; machivellisnism, or behaviors that seek to deceive and manipulate based on self-interest; and finally, psychopathy, which refers to personality disorder influenced by upbringing and biological factors.
Organizations can combat the likelihood of promoting or hiring dark leaders by implementing the following:
Leadership development programs that focus on essential skills (soft skills) for those interested in leadership roles
Separate the notion that evaluating someone's skill in a current role directly correlates to leadership success. Leadership is a separate competency that must be developed and assessed before promotion/hire
Use 360 evaluations so that staff can offer intricate details about their experiences with agency leaders
Conduct routine culture interviews
Locate a leadership coach to work on areas of opportunity that surface from any of the tools mentioned above
Utilize performance reviews as a tool for continued development and monitoring
Remove leaders who continue to inflict harm so employees can re-establish trust in organizational values
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