What Do You Do With a Toxic Leader?

In this week's episode of Culture by Design, Junior and Dr. Tim Clark discuss a daunting but important question: What do you do with a toxic leader? Too often, organizations will either do nothing or wait too long to react to evidence of harmful leadership. But toxic cultures can't and won't heal themselves. And the remedy largely depends on the kind of leader you're dealing with. Listen in as Tim and Junior explore the characteristics of toxic leaders, the consequences of toxic behavior, and the role of culture in creating, maintaining or preventing toxicity. You'll learn how to distinguish between an actively toxic and passively complicit leader, and discover how to hold your leaders culturally accountable for their behavior.

‍Takeaways

• Toxic leaders exist and can have a significant impact on organizations.
• Toxic leadership is often a result of insecurity and unmet human needs.
• Actively toxic leaders should be removed from the organization, while passively complicit leaders can be coached and held accountable.
• Tolerance for toxic behavior leads to the normalization of toxicity and can have long-term consequences for the organization.
• It is important to prioritize long-term thinking and hold leaders accountable for their behavior.
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Chapters

00:00 Introduction

04:11 Pathological Behavior and Consequences of Toxicity

10:26 Culture and Toxicity

17:02 Toxic Leadership and Unmet Human Needs

22:18 Identifying Actively Toxic and Passively Complicit Leaders

26:21 Passively Complicit Leaders

35:15 Actively Toxic Leaders

43:11 Long-Term Thinking and Tolerance for Toxicity