Toxic Leadership: Recognising the signs

Toxic leadership always ends badly but it doesn’t start that way. Toxic leadership (as is the case with any from of leadership) requires followership and to assume that at the outset the followership knew what they were in for is incorrect. Toxic leadership goes bad in stages and the followership are sucked in over time to the point that they are unable to see the toxicity emerging – or if they do, they often feel powerless to oppose it. They might feel entrapped and that they have too much to lose by speaking up and so end up by doing nothing.

Toxic behaviour cultivates dependency, promotes cronyism and corruption, misuses resources and ignores incompetence. However toxic leadership is often charismatic, has a ‘X-factor’ and stands for something – the righting of a perceived wrong, the meeting of a felt need or the safety derived from togetherness. There are plenty of examples of toxic leadership that span the religious, political and corporate worlds. Think Jim Jones, the religious leader who led his followers to the utopia that was Jonestown in Guyana and which ended with 909 of his followers taking their own lives by drinking poison. Think the fall of Enron, the seventh largest corporation at the time. Enron was the biggest bankruptcy in USA corporate history – a company that took 16 years to build and only 24 days to collapse. 20 000 people lost their jobs (that doesn’t include those who lost their jobs through Arthur Andersen’s demise) and $2 billion of pension funds lost.

Toxic leadership always ends badly, but it doesn’t start that way.

So how do we recognise toxic leadership? What are the traits of toxic leadership that we need to be able to recognise in order to challenge it and prevent it ending as it does?

There are seven traits of toxic leadership that Jean Lipman-Blumen identifies in her book, The Allure of Toxic Leaders that help us recognise that something is not right. The early detection of these traits can make all the difference as to whether or not the full consequences of toxic leadership root and play out.

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What every business leader can learn from the horsemeat scandal

Lesson One – Values are THE competitive advantage

Values are important. Seems obvious and yet not a week goes by without a new corporate scandal. Every annual financial report is awash with purported commitment to corporate values like: honesty, integrity, trust and teamwork. And, these “hygiene” values, essential for competitiveness, are seen as soft business factors with little time, resources or energy directed at them until the proverbial poop hits the fan! It’s time to put corporate values at the centre of the organization, from corporate culture to strategy, values need to take centre stage.

Lesson Two – Personal values raise the competitive bar 

The corporate values found in annual reports are the bare minimum. They will not deliver competitive advantage. No customer will thank you for being honest or showing integrity, it’s expected – so why do business leaders expect to be showered with praise for listing these values. The bar needs to be raised. More personal or human values make a real difference when incorporated into the fabric that makes business great. Kindness, generosity, fun, family, friendship, challenge, achievement, excitement, acknowledgement etc. are values that raise the bar and deliver sustainable worthy results.

Lesson Three – Focus on removing the perversions of the proper workings of capitalism

When values – personal and corporate become central to everything in business, we remove the perversions of the proper workings of capitalism. Perversions like treating colleagues with disrespect, perversions like polluting the environment, perversions like lying to customers, perversions like squeezing suppliers for unrealistic deals and perversions like mind numbing soul deadening work environments begin to disappear.

Lesson Four – Create value rather than extract value

Seek to create value not the lowest deal. There will always be rouges that seek to cut corners it’s why close strong ties with suppliers is essential. But the more the procurement department, the buying department, legal department work to squeeze suppliers for more ‘value’ the proportion of rouges grow. Desperation leads to desperate actions. Retailers can attempt to pass the buck and blame unscrupulous slaughterhouses and there is already finger pointing from and to the FSA. Take lesson here seek to grow not extract value for all across the value chain. When we look at growing value for suppliers, partners, colleagues and customers we unlock new innovation and growth opportunities.

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When will they learn that we live in an age of transparency?

This is a bit of a nerdy blog post. Or as we say in the UK, I am being an anorack. But I’ll declare that I am a fan of Elon Musk, of Tesla, and a media skeptic (all will become clear). I also believe that we are living in an age of transparency, and not enough people understand the implications of this.

It might just be that you’re the CEO of Yahoo and you think you can put false information on your CV (your name would be Mark Thompson – read his story here). Or you might be a journalist who literally just made up stories for the New York Times (that would make you Jayson Blair). Or you could be any number of politicians who say one thing one day and another thing the next (that might also make you a Fox News commentator). Whatever the issue, in the age of transparency you’re less and less likely to get away with it.

So now to Elon Musk. He is a South African who went to the same school as my brother did (Pretoria Boys High). He made a fortune as one of the founders of PayPal, and has since used his money to do some really cool “boys own” type stuff. He’s the first private individual to successfully launch a space rocket. He’s also started a really cool car company, Tesla, aiming to create high performance electric sports vehicles. He seems to be succeeding.

But the entrenched motor media and car journalists don’t like it, and enjoy trying to discredit him and trash his cars. But Elon is fighting back. His cars have all sorts of logging systems in them, and he ensured they were turned on recently when he gave one of them to a journalist to do a road test. It appears as if this journalist has just flat-out lied about the road test he did – and Elon can prove it.

The latest episode in the story is well reported here – if anything I’ve said so far interests you, I am sure you’ll love reading the whole story.

The lessons: data rules; nerds rule the world now; transparency wins; electric cars are coming; Elon Musk is the man. But mainly: Transparency wins! Be transparent: in your life and your company. You have been warned.

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Global warming deniers need to face the facts (and the heat)

One of the key trends that my team and I track is the environment. There is no doubt that changes in our physical world, and our responses to them, are huge causes of disruptive change right now. When I do presentations on the TIDES of change (an acronym we use to talk of the five most disruptive forces of change), I am always a little nervous when I get to the “E” for environment. Especially in America, there is a danger that my audience will discount and dismiss everything else I say if I come out with a position on global warming and climate change that they don’t agree with.

It is a very divisive issue right now. So, I have found a way to hedge my bets a bit – especially in America – giving some credence to the position of the deniers and skeptics, allowing them the possibility that not all of the facts are in, but pointing out to them that governments are forcing through legislation and taxes anyway. So, I say, “I doesn’t really matter what you or I believe, this is an issue we are all facing.”

But I am going to stop this now. The facts ARE in, and the science IS conclusive.

The world is getting warmer, climates are changing, and this is having an impact on all of us. Globally, the ten hottest years on average on record have all been in the past fifteen years. In many countries, including the USA, 2012 was the hottest year ever recorded (previous highs for many countries were in 1998 or 1999). Australia’s climate scientists were forced last week to add an additional colour to the heat map, as they expected a high temperature of 52°C (surpassing the previous high of 50.7°C set in 1960), and a new high for national average maximum (40.3°C) and national average (32.2°C) temperatures.

Other national records around the world are being broken too as extremes of weather become more common. Last year, for example was the second most extreme, as measured by an NOAA index of weather extremes that includes temperature, precipitation, hurricanes and the like. Only 1998 was more variable. See The Economist’s map of extremes here.

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China and Ethics Matter: Two Bottom Line lessons for Leaders Everywhere

Two headlines in the Business Report caught my eye this morning. The first had to do with China’s economic performance.  Later today I am flying to Guangzhou, China for a day’s work with London Business School on the Nestle Leadership Programme. Given TomorrowToday’s extensive work in China and the region, articles on that part of the world always feature prominently on the radar.  And so they should for all leaders serious about a global context and the big picture as the 21st Century will certainly become known as the ‘Chinese century’.

The headline was, ‘Chinese economic growth speeds up’ (by Kevin Yao and Aileen Wang) and it stated: ‘Evidence of a burgeoning recovery in exports, stronger than-expected industrial output and retail sales, together with robust fixed asset investment, all signalled that Beijing’s pro-growth policy mix has gained sufficient traction to underpin a revival without igniting inflationary risks yet’. The challenge China’s leaders face in the face of an economy that is growing as fast as it is will be to ensure economic, political and social stability. This is a view shared by Chris McNally, a political economist and global authority on China. China’s leaders are steering towards a number of economic reforms designed to address various imbalances that exist; imbalances that if not addressed, could lead to social upheaval in the future. China is entering the global economy at its own pace and in its own way and the sheer size and momentum of it economic engine mean that the Western economies cannot afford to ignore what is happening in this part of the world. The Chinese economy depends on a healthy global economy but so too is the global economy dependent on a healthy Chinese economy.

Of course the key to doing business in China is to have a good liver! The social aspect is integral to doing business in China. Most in the West approach business primarily from a contractual point of view but the Chinese regard relationship as equally important. It is referred to as ‘Guanxi capitalism’ and you ignore the relational aspect at your peril in forging economic ties with China.

Bottom line: As a leader you need to keep you eye on what is happening in China. One way or the other China will impact your industry, market and playing field.

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Still the very best thing we could do: End extreme poverty in a generation

For the last few years, I have been involved with The Global Poverty Project, a charity with the goal of seeing the end to extreme poverty within a generation. They support the work of other charities, of advocacy groups and of corporations who are working together to make this dream a reality. Their flagship “product” is a remarkable presentation, “1.4 Billion Reasons” which they want as many people as possible to see.

You can book one of GPP volunteer presenters to come and deliver this to any group – from your company’s annual conference to a small group of friends at a dinner party. Check it out here and find out about hosting a presentation. You can also sign up to their newsletter and blog to be kept up to date about advances and challenges, and practical advice and encouragement about what you can do, to help end extreme poverty in a generation.

As you begin another year, with all your resolutions (have you broken any yet?) and plans, please just pause for a moment to consider that about 1.4 billion people do not have any choices about their future. Many of them will die this year, for no other reason than that they are poor and cannot afford a few life giving essentials. Most of these poor people are children, who’s futures are eroded daily by their circumstances. And just like people with chronic illnesses, this is not a condition that they can escape from by themselves. They need help. Often it’s just the tiniest bit of assistance that makes all the difference.

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Shale Gas – the greatest disruptive technology facing the world of work

Nine 2012 stories that will change the world in 2013

Yesterday, the Common Dreams blog ran an excellent piece by Sarah van Gelder on nine key trends that started last year and will continue to impact the world this year. Most of these are disruptive forces, and chime well with the work we do with our strategic insights team at TomorrowToday. While the article is quite US-centric in its focus, we believe that many of these forces will influence most nations and industries across the world in 2013.

Read the full article at Common Dreams here, or an extended extract below:

9 Stories That Will Change Your World in 2013

by Sarah van Gelder
Published on Thursday, January 3, 2013 by YES! Magazine

2012 was a year of superstorms, mass shootings, debt strikes, and the most spendy election ever. Here’s how last year’s most important stories will shape 2013.

While the Earth didn’t end on December 21, 2012, the year’s end was marked by a new awareness of the urgency of the climate crisis. Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the preciousness and fragility of life on Earth. That and other cultural shifts are setting the stage for significant change in the year ahead.

Nine key trends tell the story:

1. Climate Crisis: Alarm Translates Into Action

The climate crisis is the top story of 2012, with record-breaking heat, severe drought that led to the declaration of more than half of U.S. counties as disaster zones, wildfires that burned more than 9 million acres, and superstorm Sandy, with costs reaching into the billions. Four out of five Americans now believe that the climate problem is serious, according to an AP-Gfk poll.

The Obama administration has done little to address this problem—in part because of congressional resistance—but did set higher fuel emissions standards for automobiles, an important step in curtailing greenhouse gases.

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If America was really serious about the economy, it would end the ‘war on terror’

I’ll be upfront: I hate war. These simple three words were etched in my mind forever as I stood in front of Gallery Room 3 at the open air memorial to Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, DC (see picture). In 1936, FDR said: “I have seen war. I have see war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded… I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed… I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war.” I have not seen all that FDR had seen, but as a conscripted serviceman in the South Africa military near the end of apartheid, I have seen enough to know that I hate war.

I particularly hate the “war of terror” being perpetrated by the American government. And I think that every business person and young graduate in America – and around the world – should hate it too. And, where possible – especially if you are American – do something to end it (unless you’re in government or the arms industry, I suppose – but more on that below).

Last month, Jeh Johnson, General Counsel for the US Department of Defense gave a speech at the Oxford Union (watch it on YouTube, 24 mins) and said that the ‘War on Terror’ must, at some point, come to an end:

“Now that efforts by the US military against al-Qaida are in their 12th year, we must also ask ourselves: How will this conflict end?… ‘War’ must be regarded as a finite, extraordinary and unnatural state of affairs. We must not accept the current conflict, and all that it entails, as the ‘new normal.’ Peace must be regarded as the norm toward which the human race continually strives… There will come a tipping point at which so many of the leaders and operatives of al-Qaida and its affiliates have been killed or captured, and the group is no longer able to attempt or launch a strategic attack against the United States, that al-Qaida will be effectively destroyed…”

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow interviewed Johnson last week, and introduced the segment as follows:

“When does this thing we are in now end? And if it does not have an end — and I’m not speaking as a lawyer here, I am just speaking as a citizen who feels morally accountable for my country’s actions — if it does not have an end, then morally speaking it does not seem like it is a war. And then, our country is killing people and locking them up outside the traditional judicial system in a way I think we maybe cannot be forgiven for.”

All the while, this ‘war on terror’ is costing the country huge amounts of money and stripping America of its liberties. And this is where it becomes a business issue – not just for Americans, but for all of us.

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The Kids Aren’t Playing Around Anymore

For a few years now, our researchers at TomorrowToday have been predicting what Generation Y might do when they grow up. This generation was first dubbed “The Millennials” by Neil Howe and William Strauss (see this book, for example), and were defined as the generation who would graduate High School in the new millennium (born from 1984 to 2000). Our team, who look more globally rather than simply at American culture, suggest that they are best defined as the generation born after 1989. We’ve also called them the “Digital Natives” as they have lived their whole lives with text messages, emails and the world wide web.

However you define them, the oldest of them is now in their mid twenties. With an education behind them, and those character defining young adult years in full swing, we’re finally seeing what we’ve been predicting for some time: this generation is going to be a generation that is civic minded, activist, take-no-nonsense and will work together to activate their communities for causes they believe in.

All around the world, we’re seeing evidence of this. The #occupy movements that started in New York, spread across the US and into Europe were a start. Yes, they might not have had their goals and aims sorted out clearly at the start, and didn’t have the Boomer-savvy to make a huge impact, but they nevertheless got a generation onto the streets and chanting about something. Secretly, I believe, most Baby Boomers were actually quite happy to see this. For most of the last two decades, Generation X (born in the 1970s and early 80s) have been a “whatever” generation, too pragmatic to get too worked up about anything, and certainly not idealistic enough to hit the streets in protest. The great protests of the 1960s were becoming a distant memory, especially for American Boomers. But now the kids have started it up again.

In some parts of the world has been more than just a mild nuisance. The Arab Spring last year saw revolutionary change sweep across North Africa and the Middle East. The youth in Iran are bubbling and waiting for an opportunity to make more of their “Green” revolution. We see this all over the world, actually. Young people rioted in London last August. There have been almost constant marches in Spain by young people desperate to find employment. These are not games these kids are playing now.

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The Future of the Olympics: who’s the best mutant? or human 2.0?

As the Olympics once again start their quadrennial celebrations of human achievement and athletic accomplishment, we look forward to a few weeks of extraordinary stories and celebrations. On the basis of past experience, it’s likely that some competitors will be cheating (by which I mean that they are knowingly breaking the rules). I hope they’re found out.

But, at one level, ALL of the competitors are cheating. If the idea of the Olympics is that there should be a fair and equal starting point for everyone, this is just not possible. Sitting on my sofa watching the games, there is just no way I could have even come close to winning one of the medals. At least not one that required the use of one’s lungs. I have asthma. Always have. I have a mild case, and don’t get attacks. But exercise is never nice for me. No endorphins, no fun. Just pain in my chest. It’s no excuse, I know, for the little exercise I do actually do (my waistline tells that story only too well, sadly). But I wasn’t born with the natural abilities to compete at Olympic level.

But what if genetic modification, or augmentation of my body were allowed? What if drugs could sort out my asthma, and give me an opportunity to compete? Would you rather see some Jamaican run a 9sec 100m because of the slight genetic advantage he has, or someone run it in 5 seconds with the mutant legs of a cheetah? OK, extreme maybe, but the point is that the playing field is not level now. So why not just let anyone do whatever they want to do to their bodies, and allow us to be amazed and entertained by the results?

This is not as far fetched as it might sound. We now understand more than ever about our genetics and DNA. We have machines that can be attached to our bodies and controlled by our minds. And we’re actually evolving rapidly too.

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Those who think they have power tend to abuse that power

This thought could probably apply to many different people in many different parts of society, but right now my brain is fixated on the nauseating stench coming from the banking industry. From Barclays colluding with central banking authorities to manipulate the very heart of the industry to HSBC providing banking for some of the world’s worst criminals, the banking industry seems amoral right now. I wonder if part of it is explained by a simple experiment?

The graduation speech at Princeton this year was given by Michael Lewis. In it, he discusses an experiment that explores the relationship between power and morality:

” … a pair of researchers in the Cal psychology department staged an experiment. They began by grabbing students, as lab rats. Then they broke the students into teams, segregated by sex. Three men, or three women, per team. Then they put these teams of three into a room, and arbitrarily assigned one of the three to act as leader. Then they gave them some complicated moral problem to solve: say what should be done about academic cheating, or how to regulate drinking on campus.

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