Toxic Leadership: Part 2
Why We Follow Toxic Leaders
In Toxic Leadership Part 1: Power and Ethics we looked at the definition of followership, described by leadership expert Peter G. Northouse as “a process whereby an individual or individuals accept the influence of others to accomplish a common goal. Followers and leaders work together to achieve common goals, and both share a moral obligation regarding these goals.” [1] Leaders have a responsibility to act with integrity and followers have a responsibility to act as checks and balances on a leaders power as well as protect the organization against abuse of power.
So why do followers have such a hard time carrying out their end of the bargain, when leaders have relinquished theirs? There are three main hindrances for followers who are wanting to do the right thing. These include: toxic systems, conscious and unconscious needs and fears, and beliefs held about what followership means. Let’s take a look at all three.
Toxic Systems
The Toxic Triangle
When followers don’t reject toxic leadership, an entire system and culture begins to build around the destructive patterns of the leader which become even more invasive. Leadership experts define how a destructive leader, followers who conform and collude, and the conducive environments they all operate within create a “Toxic Triangle” which aids in furthering the abusive pattern of the leader. [2]
Conformers
Conformers tend to go along with destructive leaders even after they become aware of their toxicity because of their subconscious drive for unmet needs such as emptiness, fear of alienation, or need for community. These followers tend to have lower self-esteem and identify with charismatic leaders in an attempt to become more desirable.
Colluders
Colluders, on the other hand, follow destructive leaders because they are ambitious, desire status, or see an opportunity to profit in some way. In Jean Lipman-Blumen’s book The Allure of Toxic Leaders, she examines how some of these colluders become “henchmen” for the toxic leader, helping to support the leader’s agenda. [3]
Conducive Environments
Finally, destructive leadership thrives in conducive environments—organizations where checks and balances are weak. For instance, if those charged with holding the destructive leader responsible are not given real authority to remove said leadership or bring critical punitive consequences for toxic actions, checks and balances are too weak to hold the leader responsible and bring any effective change.
Conscious & Unconscious Needs and Fears
According to leadership expert, Michael Maccoby, followers have many rational and irrational reasons for following toxic leaders. We are aware of our rational reasons which may include hopes of gaining skills, status, money, or fulfillment. We believe following a great leader will give us those opportunities and that we’ll miss out if we don’t follow along. Irrational motivations are often unconscious and much more influential in our decision making paradigms. These unconscious drives, can often include transference, which causes us to look for attributes and relationships we enjoyed or missed out on in childhood. In other words, we’re looking for mother and father figures to make us feel special. [4]
Additional conscious and unconscious needs and fears can influence followers, such as:
The need to find safety and security
The need for certainty
The need to feel unique, chosen, or special
The need to be included in community
Feelings of powerlessness or helplessness to bring change
Fear of isolation, ostracism, or “social death”
Any one of these needs or fears can keep us from speaking up. When a leader acts inappropriately or treats others in harmful ways, it’s hard to muster the courage to address the leader’s behavior appropriately. It’s scary to challenge authority figures. In fact, whistle-blowers run a high risk of becoming ostracized and isolated from the group entirely. Research shows that highly dependent followers may even be willing to give up their individuality, beliefs, and integrity just to make sure they can retain their social belonging.
Wrong Beliefs
When a leader acts unethically, or makes an inappropriate unethical request of their subordinate, staggering statistics report that only 35% of individuals, when faced with this ethical dilemma, will choose to disobey by resisting the request. [5] Why is this the case? What causes people to acquiesce to unethical requests from their leaders even when they believe they are wrong? Research shows, what they decide will largely depend on what they believe “followership” entails and what their specific role is in relation to the leader.
Those who believe followership includes passivity, following blindly, and trusting their leader to make the best decisions because they have more expertise, will tend to engage in higher levels of unethical obedience. Those who see their leader as someone who holds power over them and believes they are too weak to stand up to unethical demands will also be more likely to obey unethical directives. Additionally, those who romanticize leaders are more likely to obey unethical requests because they see the leader as all-powerful and therefore defer judgement to their leader. [6]
Individuals who obey unethical leadership are commonly found to engage in moral disengagement by displacing responsibility onto the authority figure. They do not perceive they are at fault because they are in a subordinate position. Participants in studies observing why people engage in harmful and immoral acts against others when given orders to do so are found to believe it was the experimenter who was responsible for the pain being inflicted on the person. This responsibility displacement can even cause followers to believe they will avoid punishment when faced with law enforcement. [7]
It is imperative we understand our responsibility as followers to act as checks and balances on a leader’s power, to protect our organization against the abuse of power, and to put the organization’s goals ahead of the leader’s.
Responding to Toxic Leadership
Whether we’re a part of a toxic system, have natural needs and fears that make it difficult to resist a toxic leader, or we’ve held an incorrect understanding of what followership means, we must choose to stand up for what is right. Feelings of powerlessness to challenge a destructive leader and bring significant change can cripple us from moving forward. We may believe the leader will never be held accountable or that our voice is not important enough. However, if we are passive or submissive, our inaction will most definitely contribute to unfettered and destructive leadership.
We must not only consider ourselves but take into account others who are being affected, often without our knowledge. Toxic leadership wounds people, often very deeply. In the very least, we must be willing to sacrifice our comfort and security for another’s well-being. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” We have a responsibility as followers and a moral obligation as citizens of the human community to break the cycle of fear and abuse and stand up against toxic leadership for ourselves, for others, and for our organizations. May you find the courage to do so.
Notes
[1] Northouse, P.G. (2019). Leadership: theory and practice. (p.295) Western Michigan University: SAGE Publications, Inc.
[2] Padilla, A., Hogan, R., & Kaiser, R.B. (2007). The toxic triangle: Destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments. The Leadership Quarterly, 18, 176-194.
[3] Lipman-Blumen,J. (2005). The allure of toxic leaders: Why we follow destructive bosses and corrupt politicians-and how can we survive them. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
[4] Maccoby, M. (2004). Why People Follow the Leader: The Power of Transference. Harvard Business Review, 9.
[5] Milgram, S. (1974) Obedience to authority: An experimental view. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
[6] Hinrichs, K. T. (2007). Follower propensity to commit crimes of obedience: The role of leadership beliefs. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 14, 69-76.
[7] Carsten, M. K., & Uhl-Bien, M. (2012). Follower beliefs in the co-production of leadership: examining upward communication and the moderating role of context. Journal of Psychology, 210-220.
