Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects
Date of Graduation
12-2014
College
Management
First Advisor
Timothy P. Munyon, Ph.D.
Recommended Citation
Leonard, Joshua B., "The Dissolution of Effective Leadership: A Multiple-Case Study Analysis of Destructive Leadership" (2014). Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/1800
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Included in
Applied Behavior Analysis Commons, Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Organization Development Commons, Other Business Commons
Comments
This paper seeks to define the antecedents and destructive tendencies that inevitably impel an effective leader to organizational dissolution. A definition for destructive leadership is proposed and the concept is further illustrated using three separate models: a model of constructive and destructive leadership behavior (Einarsen, Aasland, & Skogstad, 2007), the toxic triangle (Padilla, Hogan, & Kaiser, 2007), and the susceptible circle (Thoroughgood, Padilla, Hunter, & Tate, 2012). The concepts are then discussed in conjunction with character profiling and case analysis to provide examples of and clarify specific dynamics such as follower susceptibility and conducive environments that contribute to destructive leadership. Enron was selected to demonstrate a business organization, Nazi Germany was identified to discuss political organizations, and the People’s Temple was chosen to examine religious cults.