Dark Leadership: Unveiling the Shadows
Martin Luther King Jr. once very rightly said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that”. In this very age, where everyone talks of new fancy leadership concepts viz.: Thought Leadership, Authentic Leadership, Level 5 Leadership and what not, we still see traditional leaders around from the older school of thought in many renowned organisations, especially in the public sector and owner-owned and managed companies who are a sheer sign of despair for the second or third tier leadership and Gen-Z employees.
For them, success is simply their positive balance sheet and nothing else. In the realm of organizational behavior, the concept of leadership often conjures images of inspiration, vision, and positive influence. However, not all leadership manifests in these idyllic forms. Dark leadership, a term used to describe leaders who exhibit destructive and unethical behaviors, casts a long shadow over organizations and their members. Understanding dark leadership is crucial for organizations aiming to foster healthy, productive, and ethical work environments.
This article delves into the nature of dark leadership, its characteristics, impact, and strategies for mitigation.
Impact of Dark Leadership
The presence of dark leadership in an organisation can have profound and far-reaching consequences — all negative. Some of the key impacts include:
1. Low Employee Engagement
In low employee engagement environment, employees do not feel emotionally connected and invested in their work. They tend to be less productive, have commitment issues, and are less likely to stay with the organisation.
Employees subjected to dark leadership often experience low employee engagement and job satisfaction. The constant manipulation, exploitation, and fear can lead to feelings of helplessness and frustration, resulting in disengagement and burnout. Such employees are made to realise that they always need to do something else other than the work to keep their jobs.
2. High Employee Turnover
In high turnover situations, more and more people try to switch jobs, thus leaving the company. The employee turnover rate is a way to measure how often employees leave a company and are replaced by new ones.
Organisations led by dark leaders often face high turnover rates. Talented employees are more likely to leave in search of healthier and more peaceful work environments, leading to a loss of institutional knowledge and increased recruitment costs.
3. Politicised Company Culture
The term ‘organizational politics’, also known as workplace politics or office politics, refers to the agenda of each employee within a company and the activities they engage in to acquire, increase, and wield power and resources to gain a desired outcome. Organizational politics is present in most organizations.
Dark leadership fosters a toxic organisational culture characterised by distrust, unnecessary competition, and unethical behavior. This culture can become self-perpetuating, making it difficult for ethical leaders to effect positive change. Political culture in fact describes how unhealthy the office culture is. Every professional work culture needs to focus on business and proftability.
4. Inhibition of Innovation & Creativity
In fact, people who love status-quo will answer the following way when you ask them who stand in the way of innovation & creativity, and they’ll point to real barriers, such as a lack of time (few executives or organisations have slack capacity to spend on new thinking); the perception that doing things differently produces no benefits, just costs (and possibly punishment); a lack of innovation.
Just because employees are fearful and busy pleasing their superiors, innovation and creativity within the organisations begin to disappear. Employees are less likely to take risks or propose new ideas when they fear retribution or exploitation, hindering the organisation’s growth and adaptability.
Addressing Dark Leadership Issues
Addressing and mitigating the effects of dark leadership requires a multifaceted approach involving organisational culture, policies, and individual development. Here the mindset and realization come first and that too from the top. They must diagnose and buy in to the fact that they are leading a sick organisation and that must be treated well. Here are some thoughts:
1. Ethical Leadership
Ethical leadership means both acting ethically and setting the standard for others to do so as well. Leaders have an opportunity to inspire others not only to do the right thing but also to consider the kind of people they want to be.
Organisations must prioritise the selection and development of ethical leaders. This involves creating clear criteria for leadership roles that emphasise integrity, empathy, and accountability. Leadership development programs should include training on ethical decision-making, emotional intelligence, and the importance of fostering a positive organisational culture.
2. Implementing Robust Governance Structures
The corporate governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities among the different stakeholders in an organisation — such as the board, shareholders, managers, and employees— and lays down the rules and procedures for decision-making.
Robust governance structures are essential to hold leaders accountable for their actions. This includes clear policies and procedures for reporting unethical behavior, mechanisms for anonymous whistleblowing, and independent oversight bodies to investigate and address complaints. Regular audits and assessments can help identify and address issues before they escalate.
3. Fostering a Culture of Transparency & Accountability
This is one of the serious problem in the overall corporate, social and political structures in the third-world countries. People in key positions love to get away for anything and everything, thus don’t want to be held accountable.
A transparent and accountable organisational culture can counteract the influence of dark leadership. This involves open communication channels, regular feedback mechanisms, and a commitment to ethical behavior at all levels of the organisation. Leaders should model transparency and accountability in their actions, setting a positive example for their followers.
4. Empowering Employees
Employee empowerment is a management philosophy that focuses on allowing an organisation’s employees to make independent decisions and to feel empowered to take action as they see fit. This is in contrast to micromanagement, which does not allow for independent decision making.
Empowering employees to speak up and take action against unethical behaviour is crucial. This can be achieved through training on recognizing and addressing dark leadership, creating safe spaces for discussions, and ensuring that employees feel supported and protected when they report misconduct.
Wrap Up
We all must remember that everything starts at employing people — be it a junior executive or a chief operating officer. We must repeatedly ask ourselves how the new hires will contribute to the work environment of organisations if that really matters to us. People coming in with great qualifications but with terrible behaviours simply destroy companies. They could end up being sick minded people indulged in to harassment, corporate thefts and what not.
To conclude, dark leadership represents a significant challenge for organizations, threatening their ethical foundations, employee well-being, and overall success. By understanding the characteristics and impacts of dark leadership (as listed above), organizations can implement strategies to mitigate its effects and promote a culture of ethical and positive leadership. Through robust governance, transparency, and employee empowerment, organizations can navigate the shadows of dark leadership and build a brighter, more sustainable future.
About the Author
Muhammad Sajwani is a C-Level HR, Transformation Leader, Board Advisor, Business Coach & Organisational Consultant working in the capacity of Managing Director, Evolve HR. He is an author, columnist and a contributor who besides writing for other platforms also regularly writes at BizCatalyst 360. He brings along 30+ years of local & international experience. He is a change catalyst specializing in unleashing the human Dreamgenius through Leadership, Creativity and Change Management. Muhammad has been instrumental in helping organizations come to terms with organizational changes like right-sizing and business process re-engineering. His innovative approach & high personal competence encourages people to not only accept change, but also to excel in it. Muhammad has diverse experience in conducting strategic & management development programs, conferences & events for organisations across sectors.
