Toxic Leadership: Contemporary Issues In The Army

Contemporary Issue in the Army: Toxic Leadership

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CONTEMPORARY ISSUE FACING THE ARMY:

“The Problem of Toxic Leadership”

Sergeant First Class, Ericca Cole

U.S. ARMY SERGEANTS MAJOR ACADEMY,

Master Leader Course Non-Resident (MLCNR)

Contemporary Issue in the Army: Toxic Leadership

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“A leader who allows their subordinates to suffer as proof of who is the boss, likely

quenches their thirst with salt water from a rusted canteen,” Donavan Nelson Butler, Master

Sergeant US Army. According to the Army’s leadership Field Manual (FM) 6-22, Army

leadership is “the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation

Contrarily, if an engines receives toxic fuel, it will

malfunction, have difficulty starting, decrease in power, and have performance problems. Toxic

leadership is a prevalent problem in the Army. Toxic leadership is like an intuitional cancer,

with the potential to spread throughout an organization. Toxic leaders possess detrimental

characteristics and attributable which can negatively impact Soldiers, however, there are ways to

combat this issue.

FM 6-22 and Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP), defines toxic leadership as:

“a combination of self-centered attitudes, motivations, and behaviors that have adverse effects on

subordinates, the organization, and mission performance. The toxic leader operates with an

inflated sense of self-worth and from acute self-interest. Toxic leaders consistently use

dysfunctional behaviors to deceive, intimidate, coerce, or unfairly punish others to get what they

want for themselves.” According to Army Colonel, Denise F. Williams, there are eighteen

different types of toxic leaders (The United States Army War College Strategy Research

Project). The Absentee Leader, The Incompetent Leader, The Codependent Leader, The

(The United States Army War College Strategy Research

Project). I can personally relate to the Narcissistic Leadership. This particular leader was only

interested in himself. He relentlessly took credit for my work. He was demeaning, and

constantly belittled my ideas. He would publicly humiliate the junior enlisted. This leaders

made the work environment extremely toxic.

Destructive leadership in the Army can potentially have life or death consequences.

Researcher Dave Matsuda conducted an investigation on the suicides of eight Soldiers. At the

conclusion of his study, Matsuda revealed that the Soldiers leadership didn’t cause them to

commit suicides. However it did help push them over the edge. Matsuda says “Suicidal

behaviors can be triggered by toxic command climates.” The presence of toxic leadership can

establish a destructive cycle with harmful effects on moral, work ethic, and retention. “Toxic

leaders lack concern for others and the climate of the organization, which leads to long term and

short term, effects, FM 6-22. My first experience with toxic leaderships was 13 years ago.