13 (Culture-Numbing) Side Effects of Toxic Leadership

By Linda Fisher Thornton

A reader commented on the post Can A Toxic Leader Be Ethical? Yes and No requesting more information about the organizational side-effects of toxic leadership. If you have ever worked for a toxic leader (myself included) you have already experienced the powerful negative side effects first-hand.

When people are treated as “less than human,” “less than capable” or as “pawns in a game” some extremely negative things happen in the organization that derail its success. Attempts to control what people do and say makes them feel inadequate and unappreciated. Withholding information to preserve power creates an environment of suspicion.

The effects of these behaviors over time is numbing. The downward effect on morale and productivity is easily visible in the fear, frustration and uncertainty on people’s faces.

13 (Culture-Numbing) Side Effects of Toxic Leadership on Organizational Culture

Low productivity
Low morale
Rampant fear
High stress
Decreased learning
Employees becoming detached and insulated to protect themselves
Detached employees help each other less and don’t communicate as proactively
Lack of proactive communication and teamwork leads to diminished company reputation
Employees fail to find meaning in their work
People dread what each day may bring
Trust in each other and in the organization is lost
People leave, generating high turnover
The ripple effect from #1-12 above leads to deteriorating organizational results

Toxic leadership is unethical. It harms people, groups and organizations. The side effects are crippling. We must carefully prevent this kind of un-leadership from happening in our organizations.

To learn more, see Can a Toxic Leader Be Ethical? Yes and No . You may also enjoy Marla Gottschalk’s article Managers Beware: What Toxic “Jane” or “Joe” Can Do To Your Team.

For more, see Linda’s book 7 Lenses and the 21 Question Assessment: How Current is My Message About Ethics?