The three types of toxic leaders

The term ‘toxic leadership’ was first coined by American political scientist and author Marcia Lynn Whicker in 1996, in her book, Toxic Leaders: When Organizations Go Bad. She defined three styles of toxic leadership, as follows:

1. The enforcer – these people need hierarchy, certainty and money and ape the toxic styles of those that they support.

2. The street fighter – these people are egotistical, often charismatic and operate on gut-level instincts. They coordinate through rewards and punishments and like to win at all costs.

3. The bully – these people are angry, combative, mad at the world and jealous of those that outperform them. They are bitter about past failures and seek to denigrate others.

Employees have very different words for these people, most of which are unprintable! Words which they feel are justified by the levels of stress, hurt and anger that have been wrought upon them, sometimes over a period of years. 

Yet often, despite the conversation and gossip, toxic leaders are hard to spot or else do just enough to convince those above them that they have a level of competence that would be hard to replace and the toxic behaviour continues. This sounds quite calculated, because it is. Toxic leaders don’t care much for anything other than their own reputation, remuneration or self-preservation.

This selfishness serves no one but them and the culture suffers irrevocably as a result. Only the leaders of an organisation or team have the insights, tools, authority and influence to transform (or not) a toxic culture. 

I’ve spoken to many employees in toxic cultures who have been gaslighted by senior managers, including those in HR, who should know better. Lives have been ruined by senior leaders who refused to take allegations of toxic leadership seriously.

If you encounter one of these leaders, document everything. Dates, times, witnesses, exact words. Your memory might blur over time; but your written (factual) records won't.

Find allies. You're almost certainly not alone. Collective voices are harder to dismiss than individual complaints.

Be realistic about HR. They often exist to protect the organisation, not you, that’s their job. If the toxic leader delivers results or has powerful sponsors, expect resistance.

Know your exit point. Decide in advance what behaviour you won't tolerate. This clarity prevents the slow erosion of standards that keeps people trapped for years.

Finally, don't wait for the organisation to fix itself - leaving may be your only option. In their research McKinsey found that over half of organisational efforts to transform culture failed as a result of leaders not wishing to change their behaviours.

Your health and wellbeing are never resources to be abused for the betterment of someone else's career.