thetoxictriangle.docVIP

The Toxic Triangle Destructive Leaders, Susceptible Followers, and Conducive Environments Art Padilla( Department of Management, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship North Carolina State University Box 7229, Raleigh, NC 27695-7229 USA Robert Hogan Hogan Assessment Systems 2622 E. 21st St., Tulsa, OK 74114 USA Robert B. Kaiser Kaplan DeVries Inc. 1903 G Ashwood Ct., Greensboro, NC 27455 USA Abstract:? Destructive leadership entails the negative consequences that result from a confluence of destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments. We review how destructive leadership has been discussed in the literature and note that it has not been clearly defined. Building on prior research, we develop a definition of destructive leadership that emphasizes negative outcomes for organizations and individuals linked with and affected by them. Then we outline the toxic triangle: the characteristics of leaders, followers, and environmental contexts connected with destructive leadership. We illustrate the dynamics of the framework using Fidel Castros career as the dictator of Cuba.  Key words: Destructive leadership; followers; contexts; Cuba Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men. Lord Acton 1. Introduction Recent abuses of authority in business, politics, and religion have revived interest in destructive leadership. Although philosophers from Plato to Hobbes to Bertrand Russell have analyzed leadership, modern social science has tended to take a one-sided view of the topic, emphasizing its positive and constructive aspects while avoiding its darker side (Hogan Kaiser, 2005; Kellerman, 2004; Yukl, 1999). This paper begins by reviewing how the term “destructive leadership” has been used in the professional literature and we find little clarity or consensus. Then we define the term and develop the concept of the toxic triangle—a confluence of leader, follower, and environmental fac