Leadership: Leaders, Followers, Environments

Organizational instability and dynamism

Toxic leadership is more likely to emerge in times of instability in the social, organizational, or political environment. During unstable times, leaders tend to centralize their control by making fundamental changes in the organization or society to restore order.¹⁰² Also, advances in technology and rapidly changing market conditions reflect environmental dynamism or turbulence. It refers to the degree of unpredictability and speed of change in a given industry.

Several authors have argued that turbulence and dynamism may lead to destructive leadership. When the industry is growing rapidly, the probability of managerial fraud increases, and in globally focused environments, organizations are required to use interorganizational teams in which the possibility for unethical behavior may increase.¹⁰³ As work and roles become more complicated, and as the organization becomes more diffuse, fraud is more difficult to identify.