Truly toxic leadership always ends badly. This is a type of leadership distinguished by a lack of humility to see and respond to their own failings. Sure, there are "grey" leaders who might be too harsh or somewhere along the line of narcisissm, but they respond to confrontation with thoughtfulness and a willingness to work on their leadership skills. But toxic leadership does not possess this humility.
1st Corinthians 1 says so many things to leaders as well as subordinates in Christian organizations. It speaks of calling and of wisdom and of foolishness and of power and of weakness and of arrogance—all of which are related to leadership and those who follow.
What makes a leader good is not that he simply rejects prevailing political approaches, speaks his mind, displays power, or brings wealth and fortune to an organization. However, what is fundamental to good leadership is someone who has skills, humility, and cares for the needs of others, particularly the vulnerable.
Nearly a year and a half ago, Anders Örtenblad reached out to me because he was interested in my doctoral research. As a result, I wrote a chapter for "The Oxford Handbook of Bad Leadership" edited by Anders. It is finally about to come out!
To some Christians, the choice of whether to stay under a toxic leader in the home, workplace, or organization is not a question. They may consider leaving, but the go-to is a belief that God has called them to suffer for Christ’s sake. I assure them, their consciences are not bound by Scripture.
Clearly, according to a survey/study done in Sweden bad leadership is not under every rock. Only 42% of those surveyed don’t trust their company’s management team. Is the glass half full?
Like in domestic abuse research, there is debate as to the malleability of abusive people in leadership. I would guess that in most people's experience, there is little hope for such change.
Often the focus of Bible teaching—when it comes to leadership and followership—is on the follower. In particular, the focus is on being submissive more often than not. I understand that. However, Scripture also speaks to those in authority.
May Easter bring leadership transformation.
This is Good Friday. It is called "good" for a good reason. Because of the resurrection of Jesus for the rescue of mankind. But have you ever considered what brought on the darkness of this day that leads to that day? Toxic leadership!
How do we view the world around us? And more specifically, how do we view our “enemies”, particularly those who have abused their authority and deeply wounded those who work under their authority?
I would like to share with you a new spiritual abuse support group that my friend, Aaron Hann is starting.
Pharisaism cannot be mollified. Paul, nor Jesus, ever makes excuses for it. Pharisaic teaching and practice are destructive.
A friend of mine says, "Leadership is easy when things are easy. But real leadership happens when things are difficult." It is in those challenging times that the real heart of the leader becomes evident.
In this four-part series on the book of James I have sought to look into how the brother of Jesus handles the evil of abusive behavior and motives. This final installment looks at how James wraps up his theme. It is very helpful in providing the prescription for leaders seeking to turn from abusiveness.
In the American church we have a determined focus on desires for wrongful sex, but James—the writer of the book by that name in the New Testament—has a distinctively different focus: broken relationships. He zeros in on fights of which there are many between a toxic leader and his/her subordinates.
In this second look at the book of James, we will consider the center of toxic leadership. As was noted in part one of this series, much teaching in leadership circles looks at the outward behavior of the leader as the standard. But that isn't the standard for Christians.
The book of James has profound insights on oppressive leadership, hypocrisy, and the power of words in Christian contexts. This is the first in a series on James and oppression.
According to much of Scripture on forgiveness, the one who needs forgiveness, needs to ask for forgiveness in order to receive it. But there is another kind of forgiveness.
In the domestic violence world it is common to hear, "Well at least he doesn't hit her." We see the same dynamic in the organization when fellow leaders, boards, or even co-workers suggest that the boss isn't as bad as the last guy.