Dark Leadership Research Articles

Deliberating Dark Triad Traits and Spiritual Intelligence: A novel conceptual advancement.

With the corporates permeated with dark leadership behaviours, the organisational paradigm impels for inculcating spiritual intelligence at workplace. This paper endeavours to conceptualize the connection between leaders’ Dark Triad Traits (DTT); Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy; and their cognizance for cultivating Spiritual Intelligence (SI). We assiduously reviewed and drew upon the theoretical insights from the literature of transpersonal psychology and organizational behaviour and offered a conceptual map. This research article also elaborates on how spiritual intelligence is the need of the hour and underscores its distinction from other intelligences. Theoretical contributions, practical implications and future avenues of research have been discussed

Dark Leadership Styles: A Conceptual Review

Karanlık liderliğe ilişkin son yıllarda gelişen bir yazın olsa da kavrama yönelik farklı terimlerin kullanılması ve karanlık olarak ifade edilen çeşitli liderlik tarzlarının ortaya çıkışı alanın birleştirici teorik bir çerçeveden uzaklaştığını göstermektedir. Bu durum karanlık liderliğin aslında tam olarak ne olduğu konusunda karmaşıklık oluşturmaktadır. Karanlık liderliğe ilişkin gerek yerel yazındaki boşluğu doldurmak gerekse ilgili kavramın daha net anlaşılmasına katkı sağlamak maksadıyla bu çalışmada bazı araştırma soruları vasıtasıyla ilgili yazının genel bir profilinin çizilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaca yönelik olarak karanlık liderliğin kavramsallaştırılmasına, karanlık liderlik tarzlarına, tarzlar arasında benzeşen ve ayrışan yönlere, karanlık liderliğin öncüllerine ve sonuçlarına ilgili yazın bağlamında yer verilmiş ve bulgu niteliği taşıyan hususlara tartışma ve sonuç kısmında değinilmiştir. Çalışma yöntemsel açıdan kavramsal ve tanımlayıcı bir nitelik taşımaktadır. Örgütlerin başarısı ve sürekliliği için kritik olarak değerlendirilebilecek birçok değişkenle doğrudan ilgili olan karanlık liderliğe ilişkin güncel bir çalışmanın gelecek araştırmalara ve uygulayıcılara katkı sağlaması beklenmektedir.

THE MODERATING ROLE OF POWER CULTURE IN THE EFFECT OF DARK LEADERSHIP ON ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICAL CLIMATE

The aim of this study is to determine whether power culture plays a moderating role in the relationship of dark leadership with organizational ethical climate. The research was carried out in various 4 and 5 star hotel enterprises in the four metropolis of Turkey (İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Adana). Within the scope of the research, 794 surveys obtained from hotel employees were used. According to the research results; paranoid leadership (B = -0.415; p

Frogs in boiling water: a moderated-mediation model of exploitative leadership, fear of negative evaluation and knowledge hiding behaviors

PurposeThis study aims to utilize the cognitive appraisal theory of stress and coping by conducting a joint investigation of the mediating role of knowledge hiding behaviors in the relationship of exploitative leadership on employee’s work related attitudes (i.e. turnover intentions) and behaviors (e.g. job performance, creativity) and fear of negative evaluation in influencing this mediation.Design/methodology/approachUsing the Preacher and Hayes’ (2004) moderated-mediation approach, the authors tested the model by collecting multi-wave and two-source data from employees and fellow peers (n = 281) working in the service sector of Pakistan.FindingsResults of the study demonstrate that exploitative leadership adversely influences one’s performance and turnover intentions through knowledge hiding behaviors. The fear of negative evaluation moderates the indirect effects of exploitative leadership on employee’s outcomes through knowledge hiding behaviors such that these indirect effects are stronger for individuals possessing low levels of fear of negative evaluation.Originality/valueThe current study contributes to knowledge management and dark leadership literature by suggesting knowledge hiding behaviors as a process through which exploitative leaders unveil their negative effects on employee’s outcomes. This study is also unique in the sense, as it posits that employees might vary because of their dispositional traits (i.e. low fear of negative evaluation) in responding to exploitative leadership with greater knowledge hiding behaviors.

A Multilevel Study of Relationships between Leaders Dark Triad and Employee Burnout: Mediating Role of Perceived Dark Leadership

Purpose – The aim of this research was to determine whether there are relationships between leaders’ dark triad and employee burnout and whether employees’ perception of dark leadership mediates these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – For this purpose, surveys were conducted in the Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Samsun, Ordu, Antalya, Gaziantep, and Mugla provinces of Turkey in units of 12 different private security companies. The sample consisted of 116 leaders and 494 employees who reported to those leaders. Because the sample comprised two levels (i.e., individual and group levels), the data were analyzed through the hierarchical linear modeling technique. Findings – The findings indicated that there were significant relationships between perceived dark leadership and employee burnout, between leaders’ dark triad and perceived dark leadership, and between leaders’ dark triad and employee burnout. Additionally, perceived dark leadership mediated the relationships between leaders’ dark triad and employee burnout. Discussion – This research contributed to the theory by uncovering the mediating role of perceived dark leadership between dark personality traits of leaders and employee burnout. Additionally, significant relationships were discovered between research variables through multilevel analyses that resulted in more robust implications. Moreover, practitioners are able to improve managerial processes by paying attention to undesired consequences of dark leadership and leaders’ dark triad.

Destructive leadership in organizational research: a bibliometric approach

The dark side leadership literature remains a highly relevant yet fragmented and ambiguous literature stream. Therefore, we conduct a bibliometric analysis using co-citation and pathfinder analysis to describe and visualize the intellectual origins of the field by combining predefined word lists with expert validation. Our results suggest that there are key authors as well as other distinctive characteristics of research that also guides future research. Thematic clusters of the dark side literature suggest heightened emphasis on single dark traits such as narcissism while other constructs such as psychopathy receive little attention. Articles by Tepper can be linked to a central position in the network. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

A Conceptual Framework on Impact of Dark Leadership Styles on Organizational Culture and Individual Well Being

A Conceptual Framework on Impact of Dark Leadership Styles on Organizational Culture and Individual Well Being

Associating Values Clarification, Expression of Beliefs And Dysfunction Among Church Lay Leaders

Leaders face both intrinsic and extrinsic challenges to their effectiveness. Specific dysfunctions rank high among the intrinsic challenges. In this regard, a relevant literature review suggested that the discovery and articulation of values and beliefs may ameliorate at least some of these dysfunctions. To test this possibility, data were obtained from 84 lay leaders in two church congregations in Tennessee using the following instruments: The Dark Side Leadership Profile (DSLP) measured five self-reported dysfunctions, codependence, compulsion, paranoia, narcissism, and passive-aggressive tendencies, and Modeling-the-Way Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI-Self) measured self-reported discovery and authentic expression of values and beliefs. The significant inverse relationship observed between Modeling-the-Way LPI-Self scores and DSLP indicated general agreement with predictions and previous research. These results suggest that the more lay leaders can discover and authentically express their values and beliefs, the lower their level of dysfunction and the more effective their leadership may be perceived to be.

Defeating the Toxic Boss: The Nature of Toxic Leadership and the Role of Followers

Drawing on the findings from a multiple case study, we build a process model of toxic leadership and empirically illustrate the toxic leadership process and its outcomes. In doing so, we make two important contributions to current literature. First, we provide a theoretical model of the toxic leadership process that details the intent and outcomes of toxic leadership relative to other dark leadership styles: destructive, abusive, and ineffective. In doing so, we show that, although the intent of toxic leaders is relatively less harmful, the behaviors these leaders engage may be harmful for the organization. More specifically, we show that the primary intent of toxic leaders is to conceal lack of relevant competence and maintain a position of control, at the exclusion of other organizationally relevant objectives. To achieve their intent, toxic leaders engage in upward and downward directed influence attempts that create ambiguity and confusion, thus increasing the toxicity of the context and interfering with others’ ability to perform their work. Second, our findings suggest that followers are more agentic than previously suggested. We show that followers not only choose to unfollow their leaders but also actively work to neutralize the influence of toxic leaders through workarounds and learning. Followers have largely been neglected by the extant leadership literature, and thus, the agency they often display in leadership processes has been insufficiently examined.

Three Nightmare Traits in Leaders.

This review offers an integration of dark leadership styles with dark personality traits. The core of dark leadership consists of Three Nightmare Traits (TNT)—leader dishonesty, leader disagreeableness, and leader carelessness—that are conceptualized as contextualized personality traits aligned with respectively (low) honesty-humility, (low) agreeableness, and (low) conscientiousness. It is argued that the TNT, when combined with high extraversion and low emotionality, can have serious (“explosive”) negative consequences for employees and their organizations. A Situation-Trait-Outcome Activation (STOA) model is presented in which a description is offered of situations that are attractive to TNT leaders (situation activation), situations that activate TNT traits (trait activation), and the kinds of outcomes that may result from TNT behaviors (outcome activation). Subsequently, the TNT and STOA models are combined to offer a description of the organizational actions that may strengthen or weaken the TNT during six career stages: attraction, selection, socialization, production, promotion, and attrition. Except for mainly negative consequences of the TNT, possible positive consequences of TNT leadership are also explored, and an outline of a research program is offered that may provide answers to the most pressing questions in dark leadership research.

When Dark Leadership Exacerbates the Effects of Restructuring

ABSTRACTEvidence regarding the effects of dark leadership is growing but still underrepresented in comparison to studies on positive leadership styles. Particularly, little is known about contextual conditions in which leadership behaviour is directly related to a corresponding negative impact on individuals. Hence, the objective of this contribution is to analyse in how far dark leadership (in this case: abusive supervision) influences the impact of change measures on employees’ well-being and attitudinal individual outcomes. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory, we hypothesize that facing restructuring measures increases job insecurity, and impairs job-related attitudes (i.e. job satisfaction) and well-being (i.e. work-related irritation) and that this association is aggravated by abusive supervision. Based on longitudinal data acquired from 673 employees working in the finance sector in Germany, we show that after controlling for the outcomes at T1 restructuring experiences and abusive supervision as well as their interactions are related unfavourably to job-related attitudes, strain and job insecurity perceptions. It is discussed that restructuring alters the work situation of employees, and that abusive supervision further lowers the individuals’ resources to deal with the organizational change.

Dark Leadership Impact on Psychological Well-being and Work-Family Conflict: Implications for Project Success of Bahrain Companies

This paper examines dark personality traits of leaders involved in management and proposes a conceptual framework for future studies. Based on the personality characteristics identified using Hogan Development survey, the influence of personality traits is hypothesized to affect the well-being of employees and consequently, business success. The study shows a negative relationship between the personality traits of leaders and the psychological well-being of employees and work-family conflict. According to the developed concept, there is a negative impact on business and project success due to the work-life conflict and psychological well-being of employees supervised by project leaders with a negative personality. Most of the studies in this area has focused on identifying the positive aspects of leadership, thus limiting the discussion on the implication of dark leadership. The originality of this paper can be described in the context of research on project leaders, whose negative traits are linked towards business and project failure. This dissertation contributes to leadership literature by identifying the significance of negative personality traits and by presenting the link to business failures.

Vision of Effective Leadership

The purpose of the paper will be to develop a framework for the objective evaluation of leadership styles, including effective and dark side leadership. In the framework, various leadership approaches are identified, such as (1) Transformational Leadership, (2) Transactional Leadership, (3) Charismatic Leadership, (4) Situational Leadership, (5) Pseudo-Transformational Leadership. Using this framework, two historical leaders will be compared and contrasted according to their leadership style. In the final section, dark side leadership dimensions will be reviewed and evaluated. Based on the framework, a vision of leadership strategy plan will be completed for incorporating effective leadership, including recognizing darker characteristics and providing solutions to avoid the emergence of dark leadership.

Dark Leadership and its Impact on Work Place Spirituality: An Empirical Study

Leadership has an imperative mastery on employee and organisational outcomes. In particular, leaders shapes the culture of the organisation, role model behaviour for employees and develop inter and intra personal relationships between themselves and their followers. states that employees with low spiritual intelligence has a strongly relationship between abusive supervision and workplace deviance compared to individuals with high spiritual intelligence. This paper examines the leader's destructive behaviour and its impact on work place spirituality. The structured questionnaire was adopted to collect the data from217 BPO employees in Coimbatore. The results of the study shows there is a significant positive and negative relationship between the variables of destructive leadership on workplace spirituality. The study highlights the findings of previous research, and suggestions for future studies, and provides a practically useful measure of destructive leader behaviour in organizations. Background of the study: Leadership has an imperative mastery on employee and organisational outcomes. In particular, leaders shape the culture of the organisation, role model behaviour for employees and develop personal relationships between themselves and their followers. Research objective: The objectives of the study is to explore a the destructive behaviour and its impact on workplace spirituality Method: Questionnaire method was used with the sample of 217 respondents working in BPO companies in Coimbatore by using snow ball sampling. The researcher had adopted ex-post facto research design. Results: The results of the study shows there is a significant positive and negative relationship between the variables of destructive leadership and workplace spirituality. Conclusion: The study offers a range of applicable suggestions for the policy makers and the organizations of this sector.

A Desire for the Dark Side: An Examination of Individual Personality Characteristics and Their Desire for Adverse Characteristics in Leaders

ABSTRACTPowerful and charismatic leaders are often highly desired by organizations and the followers that work within them. However, leaders who are highly skilled at developing relationships and accomplishing what they need to are often those individuals who rate very high on personality traits or characteristics that are considered “dark.” Although much attention has been paid to leaders and dark characteristics, we know much less regarding the dark side of leadership and followers’ susceptibility to these leaders. This article investigates the extent to which follower traits (i.e., the dark triad and the Big Five) predict a follower’s propensity to accept leader behaviors indicative of psychopathy (measured via the Hare P-Scan). Results suggest a follower’s psychopathy leads to the desire for dark leaders. Implications and future research suggest a more in-depth examination of followers and why certain individuals desire dark leadership, as well as examining negative environments.

Toxicity in leadership: exploring its dimensions in the Indian context

For decades, scholarly research on leadership have attempted to ascertain the traits, behaviours, styles and outcomes of great and effective leadership, very few have resolutely attempted to understand the nature and consequences of dark side or dysfunctional leadership. This study attempts to address the taxonomy deficits in toxic leadership as applicable in Indian context. The focus of the paper is on identification of factors of toxic leadership based on Destructive Leadership Questionnaire (DLQ) and toxic leadership scale (TLS). The identified factors of toxicity in leaders are viewed from subordinate's 'cognitive schema' perspective in Indian organisations. Exploratory Factor analysis on 150 samples yielded eight factors of perceived toxicity of a leader. Co-relation and regression analysis was also done in order to identify their determinants. The results contribute to developing research stream that examines toxic leadership and have both theoretical and practical implications.

İş Yerinde Karanlık Liderlik

The aim of this research is to uncover the behaviors that constitute the dark side of leadership, the impacts of these behaviors on employees and the employees’ reactions to these behaviors in Turkish context. The data were collected through structured face-to-face interviews, a focus group interview and observations and analyzed according to content analysis technique. Interviews were done with 9 and focus group interview was done with 4 participants. Observations were made in an open plan office. Participants were selected from researchers’ social network according to purposive sampling technique. At the end of the analyses, dark leadership was explained by themes of wearisome, narcissistic, insincere and tyrannous leader behaviors, impacts of dark leadership on employees were explained by themes of physiological and psychological effects and employees’ reactions to dark leadership were explained by themes of active and passive reactions. Findings were discussed in terms of their contributions to the management and organization literature and practical implications.

Corporate psychopathy and abusive supervision: Their influence on employees' job satisfaction and turnover intentions

Dark leaders have been characterized as abusive; they exhibit hostile verbal and non-verbal behaviors and rudeness towards employees. Abusive leadership has also been shown to have negative impacts on employee and organizational performance. However, very few studies have examined the underlying factors of dark leadership. This study proposes to test the relationship between corporate psychopathy traits and abusive supervision, employees' job satisfaction and intention to quit their job. A total of 97 employees from a non-profit organization completed measures of their abusive supervision and corporate psychopathy traits as well as self-report measures of job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Corporate psychopathy was positively and significantly correlated with abusive supervision and turnover intentions and negatively correlated with employees' job satisfaction. SEM results indicate that, although the B-Scan 360 has a direct influence on turnover intentions, it influences job satisfaction through abusive supervision behavior. Our results indicate psychopathy may be an underlying factor explaining abusive supervision which is detrimental to employee attitudes.

Tell me who you are, I'll tell you how you lead: Beyond the Full-Range Leadership Model, the role of corporate psychopathy on employee attitudes

The role of corporate psychopathic traits in supervisors on employee attitudes has yet to be studied. The goal of the present study is to test the impact of corporate psychopathy in leaders on their employee's attitudes and its impact above and beyond the influence of leadership styles associated with the Full-Range Leadership Model (Transformational, Transactional and Laissez-Faire leadership). A total of 74 supervisors and 423 subordinates participated in this study. Employees completed self-report measures of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, work motivation and job neglect. They also rated their immediate supervisor on the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the B-Scan 360 (a corporate psychopathy measure). Hierarchical linear regressions indicated that the B-Scan 360 total score was the best predictor of employee's job satisfaction, turnover intentions, work motivation and job neglect (beyond the influence of the Full Range leadership Model). These results indicate that, for our sample, the B-Scan 360 is a stronger predictor of employee attitudes than the three leadership styles comprising the Full-Range Leadership Model. These results represent a stepping stone for future research trying to unravel the factors associated with dark leadership and its impact on employee attitudes.

Bridging the Dark and Bright Sides of Leadership

Leaders can be positive and influential, motivating people in the organization to perform at their best. Leaders can also be controlling and abusive, using their elevated status as a way to misuse power. These different leadership styles can have relative effects on the individuals that report to the leader as well as to the organization as a whole. In this symposium, we will discuss this apparent dichotomy of leader behavior by examining the mechanisms through which the differences in bright and dark leadership might be explained. Our panelists will consider the following topics: whether leader ethics can enhance positive ethical behavior instead of simply avoiding negative ethical behavior; well-intentioned leaders behaving badly; leaders creating an environment of psychological safety meant to encourage employee voice versus leader overconfidence driven by power and control; the likelihood of authoritarian versus democratic leadership style as a result of group size; and the competing goals of autonomy...