How to Identify and Handle Toxic Business Leadership Toxic business leaders are the danger of modern corporate life. Unfortunately, they may hide behind good reputations. Let's discuss four signs of toxic leadership and strategies to deal with it.
By Dana Kachan Edited by Chelsea Brown
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Toxic business leaders are the danger of modern corporate life. Unfortunately, they may hide behind good reputations. The danger itself lies in the public image of "good guys" that they often build by talking about the public good in the media, donating funds to charities and positioning themselves as top industry experts who they definitely are. However, it doesn't change how destructive their behavior might be to their employees, which can affect the mental and physical health of their team members and decrease the overall performance at the workplace.
No, I am not being dramatic. These are real consequences of toxic leadership in business we all should be cautious about. Let's consider four behavioral patterns of toxic business leaders.
Related: 9 Revelations About Toxic Leaders
Trait #1: Toxic leaders create psychological pressure on employees they are afraid can outperform them
Toxic leaders consistently use dysfunctional behaviors to intimidate and unfairly punish others to assert themselves as individuals. Paradoxically, they might treat people well until they see the employee's first big professional achievement.
"My employees should never know how good they are" is a common behavioral pattern of toxic leaders who don't want to lose their team members to headhunters or are afraid of looking not smart enough themselves. A great business leader is one who has the right people in a mastermind, not one who tries to be the best in all areas possible. There is nothing to be ashamed of in not being a genius in everything.
Trait #2: They don't respect the human right to rest
Toxic business leaders don't respect business hours and may reach out with new tasks to employees 24/7 and require them to stay always responsive, no matter what. They may ignore the employee's requests for sick leave, requiring them to work even more. Instead of balancing the workload, they increase it to demonstrate their superiority. It's particularly widespread among startup leaders who require their teams to work till super-exhaustion, explaining their management style as "a dynamic startup lifestyle."
Trait #3: They often promote themselves at the expense of others
Toxic management may position the achievements of their employees as their own and not give proper credit. They can also use employees' dramatic life stories for personal PR to position themselves as "helpers" and "givers" in the media without providing real help to their team members.
Trait #4: They blame others instead of taking responsibility for their failure
In critical business situations, toxic leaders are the last ones who take responsibility for their failure. They blame everyone but themselves for what happened. It's difficult for them to take control of their emotions and calm their mind down to make the right decision.
Related: 6 Effective Tactics for Handling a Toxic Boss
How to handle toxic leadership
If some of these traits remind you of the manager or colleague you work with, here is a list of strategies that may help you balance your communication with them.
1. Don't try to change them:
The idea of changing anyone besides yourself is destined for failure, particularly when it comes to dealing with self-focused people. You are the only person who you can really change. Experiment with approaches dealing with toxic leaders, but don't spend your energy on attempts to change anyone.
2. Put yourself in their shoes:
Putting yourself in their shoes doesn't mean excusing toxic leaders. It just helps understand them better. Research their emotional reactions to various situations, and it will help you predict their behavior and smooth sharp angles out in the future.
3. Resign when cooperation becomes impossible:
If your organization doesn't value people despite their good performance and, moreover, if it psychologically destroys overachievers who drive the company's progress, it's time to think about resignation.
Toxic leaders are a huge challenge for the company. Even though they might be professionally genius people, they may harm the mental and physical health of their employees both intentionally and unintentionally, leading to very dramatic life experiences for them. These strategies are a good starting point to help people successfully handle toxic colleagues and protect themselves as well.
