1
ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP EVALUATION
Organization and Leadership Evaluation
C203 – Task 2
Alesha Konskey
Western Governors University
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ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP EVALUATION
Toxic Leadership Behaviors
One of the most common signs of a toxic work environment is bullying.
This is not the most clear-cut behavior to identify in a toxic work environment
because it can take many different forms and effect individuals in different
ways. In general, it can be defined as any behavior by a leader or supervisor
that is intended to prevent a subordinate from achieving work-related
success, maintaining work relationships, or establishing themselves in a
positive manner in the workplace. This can often be accomplished when said
leader says derogatory remarks about the subordinate, insulting and
belittling the subordinate, and going out of their way to make the
subordinates work life as difficult as possible. Bullying in the workplace can
also involve behaviors such as verbal abuse, offensive comments,
inappropriate behavior, withholding information, and any other conduct that
would be in any way threatening, humiliating, or intimidating. This also
includes behaviors, both verbal and nonverbal, that interfere with a
subordinate’s work and sabotages their ability to complete tasks or
accomplish goals. In situations involving toxic leadership “toxic leaders are
visualized as bullies, enforcers, and street fighters who are maladjusted,
malcontent, and often malevolent and malicious people and who succeed by
tearing others down and controlling others rather than uplifting followers”
(Jha & Jha, 2015). The organization will find it extremely difficult to be
successful in an environment that involves leadership bullying their
, 3
ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP EVALUATION
subordinates in any way and the toxic environment that will be created will
greatly hinder the company’s overall success.
Narcissism is a common personality trait in individuals who hold
leadership roles in many industries throughout the United States. Narcissism
is defined as a personality type that involves a sense of entitlement,
selfishness, lack of empathy, and a need for admiration from others. These
characteristics are important contributors to the creation of a toxic leader.
There are obviously many factors that ultimately cause toxic leadership
behaviors as it has been said that
“toxic leadership can be described as a concept that is multidimensional in
nature, which comprises various dimensions” (Paltu & Brouwers, 2020). This
means that narcissism is just one dimension that contributes to the toxic
leader’s behavior towards their subordinates. A narcissistic leader finds it
difficult to relate to their subordinates and therefore causes rifts between the
management level and its followers. When there is a major disconnect
between these two levels of employees it can cause many issues in the
organization including a lack or trust, low levels of integrity, lack of
motivation, and inconsistency in performance and goal achievement.
Another sign of an environment run by a toxic leader is the
enforcement of unrealistic expectations by the leadership team. Any properly
run organization has general expectations that they enforce for every
employee in every position and employees are commonly held to those
expectations when receiving performance evaluations. Unfortunately, in work
ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP EVALUATION
Organization and Leadership Evaluation
C203 – Task 2
Alesha Konskey
Western Governors University
,2
ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP EVALUATION
Toxic Leadership Behaviors
One of the most common signs of a toxic work environment is bullying.
This is not the most clear-cut behavior to identify in a toxic work environment
because it can take many different forms and effect individuals in different
ways. In general, it can be defined as any behavior by a leader or supervisor
that is intended to prevent a subordinate from achieving work-related
success, maintaining work relationships, or establishing themselves in a
positive manner in the workplace. This can often be accomplished when said
leader says derogatory remarks about the subordinate, insulting and
belittling the subordinate, and going out of their way to make the
subordinates work life as difficult as possible. Bullying in the workplace can
also involve behaviors such as verbal abuse, offensive comments,
inappropriate behavior, withholding information, and any other conduct that
would be in any way threatening, humiliating, or intimidating. This also
includes behaviors, both verbal and nonverbal, that interfere with a
subordinate’s work and sabotages their ability to complete tasks or
accomplish goals. In situations involving toxic leadership “toxic leaders are
visualized as bullies, enforcers, and street fighters who are maladjusted,
malcontent, and often malevolent and malicious people and who succeed by
tearing others down and controlling others rather than uplifting followers”
(Jha & Jha, 2015). The organization will find it extremely difficult to be
successful in an environment that involves leadership bullying their
, 3
ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP EVALUATION
subordinates in any way and the toxic environment that will be created will
greatly hinder the company’s overall success.
Narcissism is a common personality trait in individuals who hold
leadership roles in many industries throughout the United States. Narcissism
is defined as a personality type that involves a sense of entitlement,
selfishness, lack of empathy, and a need for admiration from others. These
characteristics are important contributors to the creation of a toxic leader.
There are obviously many factors that ultimately cause toxic leadership
behaviors as it has been said that
“toxic leadership can be described as a concept that is multidimensional in
nature, which comprises various dimensions” (Paltu & Brouwers, 2020). This
means that narcissism is just one dimension that contributes to the toxic
leader’s behavior towards their subordinates. A narcissistic leader finds it
difficult to relate to their subordinates and therefore causes rifts between the
management level and its followers. When there is a major disconnect
between these two levels of employees it can cause many issues in the
organization including a lack or trust, low levels of integrity, lack of
motivation, and inconsistency in performance and goal achievement.
Another sign of an environment run by a toxic leader is the
enforcement of unrealistic expectations by the leadership team. Any properly
run organization has general expectations that they enforce for every
employee in every position and employees are commonly held to those
expectations when receiving performance evaluations. Unfortunately, in work
