The toxic leadership I’m sharing here is from a study done by Colonel Denise F. Williams United States Army in March of 2005.
Part of the reason it exists is because some leaders overlook certain negative behaviors because they like that fact that the person gets things done. They only see short term gain but, are blind to the long term affects it can have not just on individuals but on the unit as a complete unit. Leaders are encouraged to seek mentors who they can learn from. Unfortunately, sometimes people follow the wrong kind of leadership.
To me leaders can be easy and poor, easy and good, hard and poor and hard and good. What I mean is their style of leadership. But what makes any good leader stand out is one who is open to listen to the troops, get to know them so that when different negative situations come up, they can be more objective in evaluating what happens. Too often some of the toxic leaders get rewarded and thus, the negative cycle continues generation after generation. Leaders can correct this by leading, mentoring, training and educating in a way that encourages positive leadership. Studies have been done several times by the military. The leadership obviously knows of the issues. Until enough leaders step up to the plate and have influence the cycle will never be broken.
I am sharing this because this information plays a big role in why there are so many mental health issues that the VA currently deals with. If those in authority worked on correcting these issues, the amount of disability cases would go down and the government would save millions of dollars as far as I am concerned. My opinion. When I first got into the Army and into permanent party the company I was put in had a different Captain and First Sgt than was in during most of my time in the unit. The First Sgt according to what I was told by a Staff Sgt (E-6) was in the process of doing the process to chapter one of the Sgt’s out. However, the paperwork got lost. So, the First Sgt that I dealt with wasn’t aware of that issue. That is why I ended up getting this Sgt as a squad leader.
There were several names the leaders were given in the study. One was the Evil Leader. They described the person as a bully. They use pain as an instrument of power. To me that would also include emotional pain. My squad leader would laugh and say I don’t care if you turn me in, no one will believe you. He was right. Plenty of bystanders saw things that were happening. They either wanted to be one of the buys or they were afraid to stand up for others concerned about what could happen to them. They were probably worried about being ostracized by their peers. My squad leader told me once, “us NCO’s stick together.”
Power, greed, lack of moral and ethical standards along with illegal activities have an effect. One Staff Sgt that was detached from the unit was being investigated for selling car parts from a place that soldiers’ cars were put when no longer drivable. He would get parts people needed and sell them and pocket the money. It was after I found out about this that all of a sudden, I found myself written up for all kinds of things. Morgan was the type of leader who took pleasure in his abusive behavior. People like him like to invalidate others and devastate them as well. He was also arrogant.
There is one leader I would call the “blind leader.” He/she puts so much stock in trusting those under them that they refuse to listen or believe a lower rank person. This type of person can be too rigid. Convinced they are always right. Unfortunately, people can sometimes get away with doing things. Such as one time I was placed into a situation by a Sgt. He pressed me into switching seats while traveling on the express way in Germany. After repeatedly saying no, I did switch to try and prevent an innocent civilian from being involved in an accident. Until the following is corrected, little can be done to develop positive leadership styles: People who are Malicious, deceptive, lack integrity, ego issues, arrogance, being selfish, irresponsible, Coward, malcontent, inadequacy are some of the topics that the author of the study talks about.
