Toxic Leadership

            This week in Foundations of Leadership we learned about toxic leadership. There are many types of toxic leadership that should be looked out for in certain situations. Many people fail to recognize these characteristics and it can have a harmful effect on the group itself or the people the leader is trying to lead. I have had an encounter with two of these types of leadership and these situations have helped me to understand what to look for in a leader.

            The first type of toxic leader I encountered was the Bully leader. I was in fifth grade and I remember having a group of friends that I always spent my time with. There was one girl in particular who had to be the leader at all costs. We naturally allowed her to take charge and she led the group in everything that we did. Eventually, she became a bully. She would always make fun of the girls in the group that did not have the “cool” clothes or the “cool” lunchbox. This brought down the girls’ self esteem and therefore forcing the girls to want to leave the group. And now without her followers, she had nothing. Clearly, groups with a Bully leader do not stay together and do not have positive outcomes. I am glad I learned my lesson early on, and now I know that if I were to lead a group I would not use the bully technique.

            The second type of toxic leadership I learned not to take part in is the controller leadership style. When I was on the dance team in high school, I had a coach who had to be in control of EVERYTHING. If I were to ask to make up a sequence for a routine, she would always want to see it before I taught it so it could fit her standards. Half the time she would change the ENTIRE sequence and turn it into her own. She also never allowed anyone else to have a say in what we wore on Fridays. She would always make us wear these ugly, itchy polyester uniforms that no one liked. No matter how much we complained to her that they were uncomfortable to wear during the day, she would not let us wear what WE wanted. It was always her way or the highway. The lack of leeway made me think that when I become a high school coach, I will ALWAYS make sure my team has a say in what they do and wear otherwise it will cause resentment.

            Clearly these types of toxic leadership cause dissatisfaction for the group members. When someone is in a leadership position, it is their responsibility to make sure their members are happy and have a say in what goes on in the group. I have definitely learned my fair share about toxic leadership growing up and I know now that one day I will know exactly how NOT to run a group and instead adopt new ways of leadership and apply them to the group I run.