Moving from Authoritative to Authentic as a Leader

 

Current leadership skill level: Authoritative. Being authoritative is synonymous with being toxic. Liechty (2005) refers to some types of leadership as Puppet Masters, meaning the leader has full control over the organization regardless of any circumstances. Having this type of leadership behavior will not allow for authenticity. To become an authentic leader leaders must understand the value of their team and validate worthiness of each contributor, hence they must allow for open working encounters (Pathak, 2017).

How to build Authenticity as a strength: The leader should ask themselves if the leadership position is a desired career move. Career self-efficacy has a major role in leadership roles and career desires (Biemann, Kearney, & Marggraf, 2015). Doing a self-efficacy check will allow for time to review strengths and weaknesses to determine a correct career fit. The more the career fits, the more authentic the leadership.

Biemann, T., Kearney, E., & Marggraf, K. (2015). Empowering leadership and managers’ career perceptions: Examining effects at both the individual and the team level. The Leadership Quarterly, 26, 775–789. https://doi-org.proxy1.ncu.edu/10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.03.003

  

Liechty, D. (2005.). The allure of toxic leaders: Why we follow destructive bosses and corrupt politicians, and how we can survive them. Journal of Religion & Health, 44(1), 121–123. Retrieved from: http://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edswss&AN=000227732600012&site=eds-live

Why are Horrible Bosses Successful in the Workplace?

Employees endure the pain of toxic leaders because they believe they don’t have a choice. Horrible bosses are toxic leaders who are successful because organizations do not have the proper tools and assessments in place to evaluate leaders as they arise. Detecting early signs of destructive behavior lessens the probability of toxicity spreading in the organization and protects the staff; education must be given so the staff can be aware of what to look for in toxic behaviors (Pathak, 2017). Often-times employees are desperate to keep their employment therefore, they easily fall victim to manipulative behavior from a toxic leader. The leaders of the organization have the responsibility to protect the staff from a hostile work environment. Research states employee turnover rates increase because employees are not willing to cooperate with the demands of a toxic leader, these are the employees who recognize something is wrong and demand a change or leave if change is not made (Boddy, Miles, Sanyal, & Hartog 2015). The employee made a decision to save themselves.

Boddy, C., Miles, D., Sanyal, C., & Hartog, M. (2015). Extreme managers, extreme workplaces: Capitalism, organizations and corporate psychopaths. Organization, 22(4), 530. Retrieved from http://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=108529978&site=eds-live

Pathak, M. (2017). Decoding Toxic Leadership. Human Capital, 20(9), 62–63. Retrieved from http://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=121272589&site=eds-live

Why Toxic Leaders Make Horrible Bosses

Toxic leaders are horrible bosses because they are narcissistic. Narcissists are vulnerable as it pertains to their self- image therefore, they manipulate the same vulnerability on to those who follow them (Morf & Rhodewalt, 2001). Toxic leaders who are horrible bosses want others to recognize and validate their self-image. They know how to prey on the emotions of others which makes them successful and often liked by their followers. Their followers feel the leader is wrong but because the leader has taught them they are less than, the followers crave the same devotion as the toxic leader.  

Morf, C. C., & Rhodewalt, F. 2001. Unraveling the paradoxes of narcissism: A dynamic self-regulatory processing model. Psychological Inquiry, 12: 177–196.