How to Deal with 10 Toxic Leaders by The Leadership Development Group
As a leadership development coach, I get lots of newsletters on leadership. This newsletter popped out to me as helpful, since I recognize all ten of these toxic leaders. What others would you add?
Publication: Leadership Development Group
Author: Dick Daniels
Date: March 2025
Organizations are discovering the cost of allowing leaders to continue their toxic behaviors in everyday actions and conversations. In my 22 years of coaching with senior leaders across industry sectors, this topic has emerged more than I would have imagined. Most senior leaders say they erred in waiting too long to act on the reality of an often unchanging dynamic.
Ten Toxic Leaders
The 10 Toxic Styles
Dick Daniels
The Insubordinate. Insubordination is resistance to or defiance of the existing authority structure. Those who do it publicly are obvious. Those who do it privately are the dangerous ones.
The Self-Centered. The Arbinger Institute is committed to helping leaders become more other-centered. Some will justify any actions against others in order to climb their own ladder.
The Values Conflict. Cultural fit is a question in any interview process. When values collide, then productive potential does not matter.
The Out of Alignment. Mission, vision, and strategy are the guardrails for every organization. Every team member and every action must line up in support of why the organization exists, where it is headed, and how it has strategized to get there. Toxic leaders or followers think they have a better way.
The Arrogant. Competent leaders can cross the fuzzy line between confidence and arrogance. It’s more about reputation than identity. Identity is one’s self-understanding. Reputation is the perception of others. Their perception is their reality of who they think you are. It can be an overuse of a strength. How a leader exhibits confidence can be perceived as arrogance. Humility is the cure.
The Personal Baggage. Some are haunted every hour of every day by all that is happening in their personal lives. Some personal stressors may be their own responsibility. Some may be out of their control but still overwhelming. It keeps interfering with their productive potential as well as each interpersonal exchange.
The Narcissist. They lack empathy, use manipulative behavior, and have an inflated sense of self-importance. They are offended when you don’t recognize or acknowledge their contributions no matter how small or insignificant (or real).The Non-Learner. Change often occurs as the result of learning. When you don’t think you need to change, there is no need to learn something new about how to improve. In their mind they are just misunderstood by other people.
The Peter Principle. The idea that people might keep getting promoted until they reach a position where they experience incompetence. Ignore your limitations and eventually you are “Peter.
The Disloyal. Some can become toxic when they either disagree with the strategy of their supervisor, manager, or leader, or they assume they should have been selected for that role. They lower themselves in constant criticism or divisive rumor, or gossip related to that individual.
Leadership Debrief
When consistent toxic red flags are evident with any leader or follower, it is time to take action. Stanford Professor, Robert Sutton, wrote the best selling, The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t.
His work as an Organizational Researcher is described as “the definitive guide to working with – and surviving – bullies, creeps, jerks, tyrants, tormentors, despots, backstabbers, egomaniacs…who do their best to destroy you at work.”
Don’t assume the issue or person will just go away. They never do. The most troubling part of this discussion is when you are perceived by your team as a toxic leader. Are you?
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