Adverse Leadership Model

SOU 4: Adverse Leadership Model Jeff Mais Texas A & M University – Commerce Introduction During this semester we have looked at several positive leadership theories, from the most elementary to the more complex. Leadership takes on many different roles and responsibilities of both the leader and follower. Some leaders have the inherent ability to lead their followers successfully, however others cannot. Destructive leadership (Padilla et al, 2007) is such a theory that has been introduced with devastating follower outcomes. This could be viewed in several ways; a good leader with bad followers or bad leader with good followers.
Bad or adverse leadership can affect the follower outcomes and ultimately create a terrible work environment for the followers. Poor leaders can have a negative impact on employees and might even damage the company’s bottom line (Leviticus, 2010). In this paper we will further examine the adverse leadership model in figure 1 and explain this model from the leader, follower, environment and outcomes. Adverse Leadership Model The Adverse Leadership Model (ALM) is a model that focuses primarily around bad leaders and subservient followers.
Looking at Figure 1, we will start with explaining the various characteristics of the bad leader; poor communicator, micromanager, sets unclear expectations, uses intimidation, and poor people skills. These 5 characteristics define the bad leader and help create the poor environmental conditions examined further. * Poor Communication – Poor leaders don’t value communication with their employees. A poor leader might spend long periods of time away from his desk or office or might ignore staff emails and telephone messages.

Listening to others is a low priority, and poor leaders disregard input from staff and might not seem to care about staff opinions (Leviticus, 2010). * Micromanager – Micromanagers are very involved in the smallest details of the follower’s jobs and/or projects. This type of leader behavior can make followers feel inadequate at their jobs and it typically due to insecurities of the leader. * Sets Unclear Expectations – Failing to set clear expectations by the leader can frustrate followers and hinder their ability to be successful.
A leader who doesn’t set clear expectations might not give all of the details related to a project or suddenly move the due date creating a moving target for followers. * Uses Intimidation – Leaders might intimidate or bully their followers. Workplace bullying has been an ongoing discussion within the realm of leadership. This type of behavior can decrease worker morale and ultimately could increase turnover. * Poor People Skills – People skills are vital to becoming a great leader, however leaders can be negative people who don’t know how to motivate others.
In addition, leaders with poor people skills cannot consider any other opinions but their own. Looking at the characteristics described above, they are all contradictory to the transformational leadership theory putting value into the followers’ opinions and helping employees complete their tasks. Often times the followers have characteristics that enable the leader to remain in an adverse leadership role. However, these followers might not understand how to recognize a good leader from a bad leader. Some of the characteristics include; Low self-esteem, Unambitious, Low maturity, little or no core values, and disengaged. Low self-esteem – Followers with low self-esteem might not have the skills necessary to confront a bullying leader or one that uses intimidation. * Unambitious – These followers have little drive and consider their current situation to be the best they will ever do. Having a follower that isn’t ambitious would be easy for the transformational leader to motivate, due to their ability to engage them and make them part of something larger. * Low maturity – Often times a follower with a bad leader can be young and immature, lacking both self-esteem and confidence.
This makes it easier for the bad leader to intimidate and control the follower. * Little or no core values – The follower must have some kind of core values in order to be a successful leader. If they do not, then the leader can often times take advantage of this and exploit the followers weakness in order to remain in control. * Disengaged – The disengaged follower treats their current position as a job. They are also known as clock punchers, only there to collect a paycheck and are not worried about the company in any way.
Although these characteristics are not desirable in a traditional leadership example, they make it easier for the adverse leader to thrive creating a chaotic environment for the workplace. As we further examine figure 1, we can see a direct line between the leader and follower, but no line back from the follower to the leader. This is because in the adverse leadership model, the leader is primarily a dictator and doesn’t allow for a healthy leader-member exchange. This could be due to insecurities by the leader and fear of being out performed.
Moving outside of the leader and follower characteristics, we can examine the environment created by this type of leadership. High stress, alienation, and segregation are all felt by the follower due to the dyadic relationship between the leader and follower. High stress can lead to disruption of productivity amongst the team members and other health related issues. Creating a negative atmosphere can backfire because fear can cause stress, and in extreme situations, reductions in performance and efficiency (Riggio, 2009).
Alienation and segregation by the leader can also create a feeling of betrayal within followers; this can also allow the members to form sub-groups that become further alienated from the remaining followers. Segregation amongst other team members removes the cohesive bond that should be cultivated by the leader. Further studies by Liu et al. (2012), have revealed a direct correlation between bad leadership and follower creativity. The final portion of the adverse leadership model has to do with follower outcomes, depression and worthlessness.
These outcomes are detrimental to the company’s success, due to health related issues from depression alone. Approximately 18. 8 million American adults, or about 9. 5 percent of the U. S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder (depressionperception. com). This doesn’t include the other health related issues that could be a direct result of working in a stressful environment. In addition to being depressed, followers might feel worthless due to intimidating behavior by the leader. This could also come from bullying by other co-workers who choose to emulate the leader’s social cues.
In conclusion, bad leaders can only breed more bad leaders and the only way to stop it is to file complaints with HR or stand up to the bad leader, identifying issues the followers would like to change to be productive and work in a stress free environment. References Leviticus, J. (2010), The top signs of poor leadership. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness. chron. com/top-signs-poor-leadership-31537. html Liu, D. , Liao, H. , and Loi, R. (2012). The dark side of leadership: A three-level investigation of the cascading effect of abusive supervision on employee creativity.
Academy of Management Journal, 55(5), 1187-1212. Padilla, A. , Hogan, R. and Kaiser, R. B. : 2007, The toxic triangle: destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments, The Leadership Quarterly, 18, 176–194. Riggio, R. (2009), How to spot a bad leader. Retrieved from: http://www. psychologytoday. com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200905/how-spot-bad-leader Adverse Leadership Model Figure 1: Adverse Leadership Model Figure 1: Adverse Leadership Model Environment: * High Stress * Alienation * Segregation Environment: * High Stress * Alienation * Segregation Follower Outcomes: . Depression 2. Worthlessness Follower Outcomes: 3. Depression 4. Worthlessness Follower Characteristics: 1. Low Self-Esteem 2. Unambitious 3. Low Maturity 4. Little or No Core Values 5. Disengaged Follower Characteristics: 6. Low Self-Esteem 7. Unambitious 8. Low Maturity 9. Little or No Core Values 10. Disengaged Leader Characteristics: 1. Poor Communicator 2. Micromanager 3. Sets Unclear Expectations 4. Uses Intimidation 5. Poor People Skills Leader Characteristics: 6. Poor Communicator 7. Micromanager 8. Sets Unclear Expectations 9. Uses Intimidation 10. Poor People Skills