CHAPTER SEVEN

Callous

Al Dunlap

Callous Leadership—the leader and at least some followers are uncaring or unkind. Ignored or discounted are the needs, wants, and wishes of most members of the group or organization, especially subordinates.

IN A PERFECT WORLD, which is the world depicted in much contemporary leadership literature, leadership “is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes.”1 This definition implies that the exchange is based on influence rather than coercion and that it is multidirectional, with followers influencing leaders and vice versa. It further implies that the mutual purposes are arrived at through negotiation, in which followers voice their preferences ...

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