Dark and Destructive Leadership

Edited by:
Peter Harms, University of Alabama

A volume in the series: Leadership Horizons. Editor(s): Michelle C. Bligh, Claremont Graduate University. Melissa Carsten, Winthrop University.

In Press 2024

Destructive leadership has become an umbrella term for a range of toxic leader behaviors, intentional or unintentional, which are associated with negative outcomes for followers and/or organizations (Einarsen et al., 2007; Krasikova et al., 2013; Mitchell et al., 2023; Schyns & Schilling, 2013; Thoroughgood, 2021). By contrast, dark leadership concerns the psychological mindset of the leaders, not just what they do, but also why they do it (Hogan & Sherman, 2022). To this end, it assesses the traits, motives, abilities, and perceptual tendencies that lead to patterns of toxic leader behaviors that we label as being destructive (see Hogan et al., 2021).

This book is intended to provide an in depth look at the topic of Dark and Destructive Leadership. Our author teams have provided insights into the origins and history of dark leadership, the personality and developmental antecedents associated with destructive leadership behaviors, the differential reaction of various types of followers to these toxic leadership styles, advances in the assessment and analysis of dark and destructive leadership styles, the differential display of these characteristics based on gender, and what we currently know about developmental and training interventions for leaders in danger of being derailed by these characteristics.

CONTENTS
Introduction—Dark and Destructive Leadership: A Reckoning and Review, P. D. Harms. A Natural History of Leadership, Robert Hogan and Ryne A. Sherman. Control, Confidence, and Coercion: Crisis Drives the Opportunistic Rise of Dark Leadership, Daniel Jones. The Developmental Aspects and Origins of Toxic Leadership: An Attachment Theory Perspective, Lumina S. Albert and Peter Harms. Destructive Followership, Amber Olson, Melissa Carsten, P. D. Harms. Personality Derailers and Destructive Leadership: Complex Nonlinear, Interactive, and Differential (NID) Effects, Bart Wille, Jasmine Vergauwe, and Joeri Hofmans. Destructive Leadership, Narcissism, and Gender: A Facet-Level Approach, Ning Hsu, Daniel A. Newman, Jun-Yeob Kim, and Simon Lloyd D. Restubog. Using Functional Field Models to Understand How Leaders Drive Their Organizations Toward Dysfunction, Dustin Wood. Sympathy for the Devil: Understanding and Coaching Dark and Destructive Leaders, Chase A. Winterberg, Seth A. Osborn, and Bradley J. Brummel. About the Contributors.