Leadership: Leaders, Followers, Environments

Toxic triangle

To understand and prevent toxic leadership, one has to do more than study the leader. A leader alone, no matter how cleverly devious or fiendish, cannot last long. A toxic leadership triangle—destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments—combine to produce the poisonous results. Yet, a great deal of the research on toxicity largely disregards the role of followers and organizational environments.⁸ In fact, three out of every four empirical leadership articles ignore followers and organizational contexts, focusing instead on leader behaviors and traits.⁹ Why does the literature tend to emphasize leaders at the neglect of followers and environmental contexts?

As noted in previous chapters, the leader-centric emphasis of research is in part the result of fascination with leaders. It might be more interesting to discuss Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's inclination as a child to threaten his classmates and teachers with a knife than it is to consider the economic and political conditions in Italy during the early 20th century that gave impetus to his regime. Second, there is the popular conception of leadership that looks to the top of organizations and political structures for solutions. Leaders of course are important, but they are not the only factor that matters, especially in toxic situations. A focus on leaders neglects the environment in which toxic organizations and social structures exist.¹⁰ Finally, comprehensive and simultaneous ...