Destructive Leaders and Dysfunctional Organizations: A Therapeutic Approach

Half title......Page 7
Title......Page 9
Copyright......Page 10
Contents......Page 11
Extended Table of Contents......Page 13
Acknowledgments......Page 19
Bridges, not walls......Page 21
Consulting with companies on the edge......Page 23
Opening privileged doors of leadership......Page 24
Disclosing confidential consulting narratives......Page 25
“Gorillas in the mist” – On-site anthropologist......Page 27
Wild cards......Page 29
A work in progress......Page 31
Privileged communication......Page 32
Extreme hubris of toxic leaders......Page 33
Unveiling the dark side of leader and company......Page 34
Beyond the trance of metrics......Page 35
The narratives of toxic leadership......Page 36
Damaged, pathological, troubled leaders......Page 37
Toward expecting the unexpected......Page 39
Diagnosing high-oxicity leaders......Page 41
Hypodermic needle and participatory approaches......Page 42
Empowering the client......Page 44
An invitation to destructive leaders and dysfunctional organizations......Page 47
Antidotes to a dysfunctional agenda......Page 49
A problem in leadership......Page 50
Impact of the toxic leader......Page 51
Consultant and CEO......Page 53
From needs assessment to intervention......Page 54
Leadership coaching and clinical psychotherapy......Page 56
Individual and organizational interventions......Page 57
Salvaging a toxic, yet productive leader......Page 58
Toxic behavior in remission......Page 59
Unintentional misbehavior of a leader......Page 60
The allure of the toxic leader......Page 62
A world-renowned leader who is quite arrogant......Page 63
A narcissistic leader......Page 64
Consultation with Dr. Vangella......Page 69
DSM-IV-TR insubordination: Self-Diagnosis......Page 71
Treatment yields no more failed heart surgeries......Page 73
Leader and company-wide narcissism......Page 74
Leaders with mental and emotional duress......Page 75
Failures of a deeply toxic culture......Page 77
Uppe-echelon sabotage......Page 78
Skewed case history......Page 79
Consultation with vice president Graystone......Page 81
No employee assistance Program......Page 84
A defiant, resistant client......Page 86
A deeper, toxic wellspring......Page 88
Negotiating small wins: rapid-cycle consultation......Page 89
Point/counterpoint: Incremental and systems views......Page 91
Black Valley consultation, assessment......Page 93
Dysfunctional “Zenton” consultation......Page 95
Surprise me with success......Page 96
Toxic nexus in leadership......Page 97
Beyond hubris and leadership fantasies......Page 99
Rapid interventions: Six–ten hires over a three-month period......Page 100
Complex probing of psychopathology in leadership......Page 102
Does the fish rot from the head down?......Page 106
Toxicity summons......Page 108
Consultation with a struggling organization......Page 110
Background narrative: Case history of a unique banking culture......Page 111
A changing of the guard at Johnstone-mumford......Page 112
New leadership: No honeymoon, whatsoever......Page 113
Initial internal assessment: Culture shock......Page 114
Self-disclosure and briefing......Page 115
A forewarning of toxicity......Page 117
Destructive behavior emerges on the shop floor......Page 118
Assessing destructive leader behavior......Page 121
Initial impressions......Page 123
Leadership coaching......Page 124
From emotional denial to emotional intelligence......Page 126
Leadership therapy for “perfection or destruction”......Page 127
Decoding a “perfection or destruction” leader......Page 130
Consulting and therapeutic interventions: Phase I......Page 131
Consulting and therapeutic interventions: Phase II......Page 132
Implications for leaders and organizations......Page 134
Brilliance and pathology coexist......Page 135
Dysfunctional background narrative......Page 136
Extreme cruelty: Barbarism in the workplace......Page 138
A dysfunctional company in search of treatment......Page 140
The executive coach assesses “twisted leadership”......Page 141
A wildly creative leader steeped in psychopathology......Page 144
Company and leader on the couch......Page 145
Individual and organizational pathology......Page 147
Dual leadership intervention......Page 149
At the fault line of leader and systemic toxicity......Page 150
High-oxicity alert: Leaders go off the deep end......Page 152
A company faced with an abusive leader......Page 154
Addressing toxic leadership......Page 155
High toxicity requires the DSM-IV-TR......Page 156
“DSM-IV-TR”: A search for objective standards......Page 158
A case study in high toxicity......Page 160
A Jersey version of early Brando on a bad night......Page 161
The physically and emotionally abusive leader......Page 162
A leader with antisocial personality disorder......Page 164
Danger to self/Danger to others......Page 166
The company perpetuates its leader’s toxicity......Page 167
The threat of a pre-existing leader pathology......Page 168
Individual or systems pathology?......Page 169
The challenges of the DSM-IV-TR......Page 171
Are we in the business of healing sick leaders?......Page 174
It takes one sick leader to bring down a company......Page 175
Complex emotional constellations in a leader......Page 178
Cavendish & Bodark’s organizational culture......Page 179
Extraordinary hires for a volatile industry......Page 181
The honeymoon period is over......Page 183
Scrutinizing the leadership of markus Renee......Page 184
A constant center of attention......Page 185
The drama king or drama queen......Page 187
A consultant is called in......Page 189
A leadership coach and psychotherapist is retained......Page 190
Intervention with a destructive leader......Page 191
Followership empowers toxicity......Page 192
Debriefing and descalation of dysfunction......Page 193
Reducing toxicity to functional levels......Page 194
The outer limits of toxic leadership......Page 196
Exemplary leader or disturbed stranger?......Page 197
A leader with body dysmorphic disorder......Page 198
A case study in disturbed leadership: Elija Ltd.......Page 199
The emergence of dysfunctional behavior......Page 200
The leader retreats into a “black box”......Page 202
A formal assessment of Julia’s outlandish behavior......Page 203
Escalating organizational toxicity......Page 204
Counterproductive workplace behaviors......Page 206
Postscript of a dysfunctional organization......Page 207
Morphing into company-wide pathology......Page 209
The farther reaches of dark leaders......Page 211
Toxicity mismanaged takes on a life of its own......Page 212
Blindsided by toxic leaders......Page 213
Organizational resistance and avoidance......Page 214
Who assesses and handles toxicity?......Page 216
The movement toward outside experts......Page 218
Research streams and consultant implications......Page 219
Conclusion......Page 220
References......Page 221
Index......Page 232