Understanding the signs of toxic leadership is crucial for organisational health.
- Experts identify three key traits that can turn leaders toxic: cautiousness, imagination, and boldness.
- Cautious leaders may hinder progress due to fear-based decision making.
- Imaginative leaders can become unfocused, causing organisational chaos.
- Bold leaders might lack accountability, fostering workplace distrust.
Understanding the signs of toxic leadership is crucial for maintaining a healthy workplace environment. As leaders ascend to higher roles, certain personality traits, though initially beneficial, may become detrimental. Dr. Ryne Sherman, an expert in workplace personality, highlights three critical traits that can lead to a toxic leadership environment.
Experts identify three key traits that can turn leaders toxic: cautiousness, imagination, and boldness. These characteristics may seem advantageous at first glance but have hidden pitfalls that could disrupt team harmony and productivity.
Cautious leaders may hinder progress due to fear-based decision making. Although caution is often perceived as a positive trait, it can lead to decision paralysis. Leaders who are overly cautious operate under a “worst-case scenario” mindset, as Dr. Sherman explains. This mentality prevents them from making timely decisions, resulting in stalled projects and directionless teams. Such leaders’ hesitancy can negatively impact their subordinates, who may feel compelled to bypass management to accomplish tasks, or worse, they might absorb this indecisiveness, leading to an entire department struggling to achieve set objectives.
Imaginative leaders can become unfocused, causing organisational chaos. Creativity is typically encouraged, but when leaders become consumed by their own imaginative pursuits, they can lose sight of daily operational tasks. Dr. Sherman notes that while imaginative leaders provide a platform for innovation, their tendency to overcomplicate matters can alienate employees who prefer a structured working environment. This can undermine their leadership, making them appear impractical and disorganised, thereby destabilising team dynamics.
Bold leaders might lack accountability, fostering workplace distrust. Boldness is often associated with courage and confidence, valuable traits in leadership. However, Dr. Sherman points out that such leaders may refuse to acknowledge their errors, shifting blame onto their teams instead. This behaviour erodes trust and breeds resentment, as employees see their contributions go unrecognised while leaders usurp credit. The lack of acknowledgment and team solidarity can demoralise staff and diminish motivation across the board.
Recognising and addressing these toxic traits early can prevent long-term disruption in leadership and safeguard an organisation’s success.
