Toxic Leadership

Without doubt, a very common problem that is rarely discussed. The sooner a manager becomes aware of the dark side of organisational life, the sooner the lights will come on. Pointing fingers and making excuses keep organisations in the dark.

The incompetent are unable to recognise their own incompetence

Toxic leadership: the toxic trinity:

There is no hope for those who feel capable when they are incompetent, until they change their minds.

Those who are incompetent have little awareness of their incompetence. ( Dunning-Kruger effect )

You are incompetent when you believe your job is more difficult than everyone else’s. The more competent you feel, the less you know. Those who know more understand that they have more to learn.

Advice for blind leaders:

1. Believe in and act on the feedback you receive.
2. Learn something and share what you are learning with others.
3. Ask yourself questions. Spend an entire day asking yourself questions.

Insecure leaders feel threatened by the success of others.

You feel threatened if:

1. Bravado, anger or certainty are tools you use to shut people down.
2. You take credit for other people’s work.
3. You downplay the success of others.
4. Defensiveness is your default response to bad news or problems.
5. You keep your head down as you walk the corridors.

Advice for insecure leaders:

1. Spend a morning praising and thanking others.
2. List your top five weaknesses.
3. Develop a new skill with someone on your team.

Obsessing over problems makes you the problem itself.

Success is about seizing opportunities, not solving problems. (Inspired by Peter Drucker)