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The Dark Side of Leadership 15 Chapter The Dark Side of Leadership

"If you put on a blindfold and threw a dart at a map of the world, then there is a 70 chance% that whatever country the dart lands on is run by some form of dictatorship.” RT Hogan, Hogan Assessment Systems

Introduction Destructive leadership is associated with individuals who are effective at building teams and getting results through others, but who obtain results that are morally or ethically challenged. Managerial incompetence concerns a person’s inability to build teams or get results through others. Managerial derailment describes the common reasons why people in positions of authority have difficulties building teams or getting results through others.

Destructive Leadership Effective leaders make their organizations or societies better places to work or live. Destructive leadership occurs in many settings and at all organizational levels. Destructive leadership occurs when people in positions of authority use their team-building skills to achieve greedy, selfish, or immoral results. What is considered destructive or effective leadership may be in the eye of the beholder.

Managerial Incompetence Incompetent managers have difficulties building loyal followings or getting anything done. The base rate of managerial incompetence may be 50-75% as illustrated by these facts. Most countries are run by some form of dictatorship. Many leaders of democratic countries are perceived as being unable to build teams or get results. Surveys show that over 75% of employees feel that their immediate boss is the most stressful part of their job. Over 70% of M&A fail to yield projected improvements in profitability and synergies Research shows that 50-90% of all new businesses fail within 5 years, which is mainly attributed to managerial incompetence.

Managerial Incompetence (continued) Competent managers are good at building teams and getting results through others. Taskmasters are good at achieving results, but they tend to treat followers so poorly that results are usually short-lived. Cheerleaders are people in positions of authority who are people-centered and make a point of getting along with everyone. Figureheads may not be complete failures at building teams and getting results, but they could be a lot better at both endeavors.

Two Dimensions of Managerial Incompetence Figure 15.1: The Two Dimensions of Managerial Incompetence

Managerial Derailment Managerial derailment research identified five derailment patterns: Failure to meet business objectives An inability to build and lead a team An inability to build relationships with co- workers An inability to adapt to new bosses, businesses, cultures, or structures Inadequate preparation for promotion

Managerial Derailment (continued) The presence of only one behavioral pattern is usually not enough for derailment, except for the failure to meet business objectives. The five reasons for failure are universal. Awareness of why people fail in leadership positions is not enough to prevent the failure. Managerial incompetence and derailment have underlying root causes, and knowing what they are and what to do to minimize their impact will improve the odds of being perceived as a competent manager.

Six Root Causes of Managerial Incompetence and Derailment Figure 15.2: The Root Causes of Managerial Derailment and the Leader–Follower– Situation Model

Six Root Causes of Managerial Incompetence and Derailment (continued) Table15.2: Bad Leadership, Managerial Incompetence, Managerial Derailment, and Root Causes

Six Root Causes of Managerial Incompetence and Derailment (continued) Situational and follower factors The lack of organizational fit A lack of situational and self-awareness A lack of intelligence, subject matter expertise, and team-building know-how Poor followership Dark-side personality traits

Six Root Causes of Managerial Incompetence and Derailment (continued) Situational and follower factors that can interfere with a person’s ability to be seen as a competent manager include: New competitive threats, globalization, technology, changing customer preferences, unreliable suppliers, new government regulations, unfavorable media coverage, natural disasters, and wars. Mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, bankruptcies, new strategies, reorganizations, and incidents of workplace violence or environmental disasters. New bosses, peers, direct reports; disengaged or disgruntled employees; disruptive worker cliques; and strikes or dysfunctional turnover. New jobs, responsibilities, or projects.

Six Root Causes of Managerial Incompetence and Derailment (continued) Managers can control their reactions to overwhelming situational/follower factors. Episodic versus chronic incompetence: Episodic managerial incompetence is when people in positions of authority face extremely tough situational or follower events that temporarily interfere with their ability to build teams and get results. Chronic managerial incompetence is when taxing situational or follower events permanently disrupt a person’s ability to build teams or get results. All competent managers experience occasional episodic managerial incompetence; the trick is to limit the frequency/duration of these occurrences.

Six Root Causes of Managerial Incompetence and Derailment (continued) Organizational fit is the degree of agreement between personal and organizational values and beliefs. Situational awareness refers to a leader’s ability to identify factors affecting their teams and remain vigilant for changes. People in authority positions need a high degree of situational awareness to be seen as competent. Self-awareness refers to being aware of personal strengths and shortcomings. Leaders often find ways to either manage or staff around their personal knowledge and skill gaps.

The Six Root Causes of Managerial Incompetence and Derailment (continued) Subject matter expertise is the relevant knowledge or experience that can be leveraged to solve problems. Team-building know-how is the degree to which a leader knows the steps and processes needed to build high-performing teams. Poor followership is a lack of good followership skills. People in authority positions who are criticizers, brown-nosers, and slackers are likely to be seen as incompetent managers.

Six Root Causes of Managerial Incompetence and Derailment (continued) Dark-side personality traits are irritating, counterproductive behavioral tendencies. They interfere with a leader’s ability to build cohesive teams, cause followers to exert less effort toward goal accomplishment, and when exhibited regularly, decrease a leader’s ability to get results through others. Everyone has at least one trait, which usually appears during crises and when a leader is unconcerned about appearances. They have a bigger influence on the performance of leaders than followers. Many resemble social skills and are hard to detect. They may be the leading cause of managerial incompetence.

Dark-Side Personality Traits Table15.3: Dark-Side Personality Traits Source: Hogan Assessment Systems, The Hogan Development Survey (Tulsa, OK: 2002).

Summary There are many ways for people in positions of authority to fail, and unfortunately most people are not particularly effective leaders. Some root causes for managerial incompetence and derailment include: Overwhelming situational and follower factors A lack of organizational fit A lack of situational and self-awareness A lack of intelligence, relevant subject-matter expertise, and team-building know-how Poor followership Dark-side personality traits