It’s always been a mystery to me why so many arguably evil managers and leaders not only last but seem to thrive inside certain organizations.
You know the type. Hey, maybe you are one. If so, chime in. I’ve never actually heard from an evil leader that was willing to talk openly about why he is the way he is.
Evil leaders tend to fit one or more of these profiles:
- The dictator
- The assassin
- The two-faced politician (is that redundant?)
- The warlord
- The megalomaniac
- The evil genius
- The double agent
While this might sound like the cast of a great new movie, I know a few people that would agree that it looks a lot like a quorum at their senior management meeting.
Is it our nature to gravitate towards evil leadership in our pursuit of power and wealth?
I sure hope not, because I’m missing that gene.
I’ve worked in and with organizations that seem to cultivate and reward more than their fair share of villains, thugs and hoodlums masquerading as leaders. My observations as to why some environments seem to produce a bumper crop of these dysfunctional characters include:
- No visible sign of values in action—the sign might be on the wall outlining the values, but other than that, nothing. No teeth and no meaning behind those words.
- Some leaders just like to be surrounded by enforcers. One leader I encountered as a consulted tolerated a truly heinous individual because in his words, “I like to have a pitbull in the office looking out for my interests.”
- Some senior leaders enjoy the conflict. It is entertaining and it fits their Darwinian view of the world.
- Some leaders are sensory deprived—they are so preoccupied with their own issues they are truly blind to the carnage going on around them. While they hear isolated reports, they are not perceptive enough to see the patterns.
The Cures:
- If you have the chance, fire an evil leader or even a future evil leader. I actually enjoy this. Ooops, is that a sign that I might be moving to the dark side?
- Regardless of where you fit in the food chain, establish, promote and reward those that show character and reinforce proper values. Fire the others. Yep, still enjoyable.
- If you are in charge or starting up, establish clear, meaningful values from day one and build your culture and team around those values. Abstinence from evil leaders is still the best bet.
- Help the evil leader unmask himself or herself. This is not for the faint of heart or light of bank account, since you are in essence playing their game but often without the power.
- Find a new job and company, but remember to do a great job culture sensing before you sign up. You would hate to move from one evil den to another.
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If you have a good evil leader story, the readers would love to hear it. Unlike most stories, we like these to end poorly for these people. It just makes us feel like the good people have a chance.
I hesitate to mention two leaders who come to mind… but since we live in the same city and read the same headlines you can probably guess at least one of them.
I like your lighthearted approach to the topic, Art, and I look forward to hearing stories from your readers.
It is always a good thing when the bad guys get what’s coming to them!
Thanks for the candid post. Many leaders fail to recognize the long term damage from evil leadership until it’s too late. One of the CUREs that I’ve used seen used is; “Circle the Bozo.” CTB uses the best and strongest team members and leadership to “quarantine” the ineffective evil leader from impressionable staff and the faint-hearted. If the evil leader cannot be exposed and removed, then they are recommended for a self-managing “special project” for the company. Once in purgatory, the evil leader’s issues are exposed by them self or brought forward to executive management and then dealt with. While this may be a process that languishes for a period, it diffuses the evil leader from sustained damage to the organization and team.
Becky, you are right. We seem to be blessed w. “fascinating” leaders here in IL. I suspect that for the one you are referencing, the Karma Train will be pulling into the station pretty soon!
Jim, you should trademark the “Circle the Bozo” strategy! Not only is it marketable, but the technique sounds darned effective. I love it!
Thanks to both of you for jumping in. -Art
Hi, Art –
You point out “No visible sign of values in action” as an enabler of evil managers.
I’d say that the presence of evil managers *is an indication of values in action.*
The company may have fancy placards that espouse lofty values in every meeting room. But the presence of bully bosses and evil managers tells the real story.
When the words and the music don’t match, go with the music.
“Evil managers” fall into two main categories:
1) People who believe their behavior is acceptable management practice. Some believe workers are lazy and work better when their a little afraid (An amazing philosophy, but I have actually heard people say this). Others act this way because it’s the only model of management they’ve observed.
2) They have significant difficulties in the arena of self-management. These managers are unable to manage their own emotional responses and actions.
Bad management behavior isn’t a matter of style… it’s a business issue. Abusive behavior stifles creativity, kills morale, and dampens productivity. These are all hard to measure… but it’s easy to measure staff turn over. If people are leaving in droves (or no one internal will willingly transfer to that managers group) it’s a clue.
You might be interested in Bob Sutton’s The No Asshole Rule. http://tinyurl.com/owh5yt
Esther, thanks for jumping in! Love your comments.
-Bit of semantics on the absence/presence of values. Certainly, by default, the tolerance of the the poor practices is a strong cultural statement and an indicator of the de facto values, not the print ones.
-I have seen those same leaders that believe that motivating through fear is necessary and good. I subscribe to Deming on this one…one of the core jobs of the manager is to eliminate fear in the workplace. Point #8, I think.
Great comments and thoughts. Enjoyed Sutton’s book.
-Art
This is going to sound even worse than all the other motives but I’m convinced that one of the reasons why we see evil leaders is our current way of running and incenting management is upside down.
1) We live in a quarterly driven financial results mentaility. Don’t want to debate this wisdom other than to point out the here and now dominance inside most companies.
2) We create products and services that the market doesn’t want because it seemed like the thing to do at the time to someone with the clout to pull the investment lever.
3) We ask our teams to perform unnatural acts to connect the dots in the market after we put #1 and #2 in place.
And we develop the environment for an evil leader to emerge and thrive. How many times have we created a public reward system for the guy or girl who ‘gets it done in spite of all the odds’. Without of course ever questioning ‘how’ they got it done. As long as we kept the hounds away for another quarter and found some poor company to eat our bad dog food, life is good.
Only it isn’t, no matter how many times you dodge the bullet.
The point that you are all really driving at is that it’s not really the individual. As they say in the old country … the fish rots from the head. We’re living in a world right now where leadership takes the courage to break this cycle. This means not only with the people who are evil, but with the strategies, exeuction processes and financing foundations that support them.
Phil, tell us what you really think! Wow. That’s a great rant and a good look at some of the underpinnings that promote and perpetuate the development of evil leaders. Thanks for jumping in. -Art
Art, this is a fantastic post, both the post itself and the thoughtfulness of the commenters. It’s almost unfortunately this is so relevant, we see too many of these leaders in organizations today.
There are some ironies in your “cures.” Unfortunately, there is likely to be some level or dysfunction in senior managers who have put these evil managers in place. For those that have the strength of character to recognize the error and take corrective action, it’s great, but in my experience too often this doesn’t help and the organization gets into a death spiral—until the “turnaround team” comes in.
Frankly, I’ve given up trying to help them unmask themselves –this is an area of great blindness.
I addressed an aspect of this last weekin my blog post on Ledership And Narcissism. (http://partnersinexcellence.blogspot.com/2009/05/leadership-and-narcissism_17.html) While everyone has some narcissist tendencies, I think these evil leaders are often extreme cases and blind to the impact they have on their organization.
Thanks for a great post. Regards, Dave
Great post and comments! I love Esther’s comment on values. A variant that I see too often is that results are judged but values are not. You hear phrases like “He’s a real jerk, but he gets results” and that’s a prelude to letting things go on without intervention.
But hear this: if you get the right numbers the wrong way, you don’t have good results. You’ve got tainted results.
The objectives of a leader are to accomplish the mission AND care for the people. Not one or the other. Both. Not sometimes. All the time.
Dave, the narcissism comment resonates and your post is excellent-thanks for sharing it.
Wally, well said. Doing one without the “AND care for the people” is not good leadership.
Thanks both for checking in with your heavy-weight comments. -Art
Art –
Looking up at this issue from up from the bottom rungs, at the leaders in roles, one of the issues I’ve seen is that “evil leaders” are often very good at the selling of their tactics to the powers to whom they report.
I have seen (and, yes, been in cultures,) where their actions may disrupt the culture, stymy productivity and generally cast a pall of doom over the environment; yet, the evil is rewarded by the Board/Execs since they are “on track with the plan” to “turn the ship around.” However, when the results come through and don’t meld with the plan, the leader is the one who is asked to explain why (as they should in their role) and often places blame on the underlyings without looking at their own actions in the mirror.
It is only when leaders build the trust, respect and credibilty that the culture can support the change the leader wants; and, by then, an evil leader has often left since the upward selling can only last so long when results are not returned.
6/3/09: Midweek Look at the Independent Business Blogs…
Every week I select five excellent posts from this week’s independent business blogs. This week, I’m pointing you to posts on innovation, leadership questions, culture and values, leadership and anthropology, and evil leaders. There’s also a bonus p…
Jennifer, your very observation is part of their “evilness.” The best of these characters are outstanding at selling themselves up the food chain. BTW, I think I worked in that company! Your last paragraph sums it up great.
And Wally, much thanks to be featured on your blog w. this post and the many great comments here. I’m honored! -Art
Art, I believe that Lee Thayer captures the essence of this issue best. He states:
People will rarely trade a problem they can’t stand for a solution they can’t live with.
As I speak to CEOs about Silent Problems (problems that are being avoided, neglected or going unnoticed), the people issue is at the top of the list. For instance I was presenting down in Indiana yesterday and a hand popped up. His top sales person was also his biggest irritant to the organization. When you’re trying to grown the organization, its tough to chop off your most productive asset in the organization, despite the fact they’re also the most destructive.
This problem isn’t isolated – its rampant. If the individual were lowly hourly person, the decision would be simple. However in this instance, any decision one makes hurts.
It fascinates me that Abraham LIncoln’s favorite play was Macbeth. I think the US president with arguably the most profound moral sense recognized in himself the danger of the power he wielded to corrupt. Any leader is vulnerable to the same forces of evil. Lincoln offers a great example of the need to be aware.
Rodney, thanks for reminding us of Thayer’s quote. As a follow-on to your Silent Problem theme, one of my best interview subjects for my book, Practical Lessons in Leadership was a former company CEO who very openly admitted that he never could deal with the tough people issues. That quote launched a great deal of work in the area of feedback, which as it turns out, many people are afraid to deliver.
Lydie, you remind me of Lincoln’s quote: “If you want to test the character of a man, give him power.” Washington lived this dilemma in a large way as well, when there was absolutely no precedent for being president and the power could easily have been abused. Both men were remarkable in many regards and particularly so in the area that you point out.
Thanks to both for chiming in! -Art
Art, I think you’ve struck a nerve with this post. I like your cure “establish clear, meaningful values from day one and build your culture and team around those values.” To the extent you create an environment with values that espouse the opposite of ‘evil’ you craft a culture where malicious people don’t want to work and can’t exist.
If it’s the people at the top who cultivate the evil culture, your last cure is definitely the best. -Michael
Art, I’ve known managers who I have considered “evil.” Despite the enjoyment I had reading your post where you call these people out, I worry that labeling people as evil hurts rather than helps the cause of improving management.
How many manager will step up and say they are evil? Zero. Regardless of whether someone has committed first-degree murder, they don’t consider themselves as evil.
If dysfunctional managers must be labeled, let’s label them as “assholes” like Bob Sutton does in the book Esther Derby mentioned in an earlier comment. It’s a humorous designation. A manager can admit to acting like an asshole.
I think many managers who act like assholes aren’t the least bit evil. They are playing a role. They have a partial script based on their experiences. And they ad lib within the context of their script. If you look at their personal life, you may see a different person. Someone who cares deeply about their family and community. Their behavior in that role would be characterized as “good.”
I suggest we concentrate on the behavior that leads to a manager be characterized as an asshole. If we can help change that behavior, we will rewrite portions of the script. Each change of the script (the rules), transforms the role slightly. Each change happens one person at a time. Many changes over time will change the role significantly.
I believe successful transformation will happen by concentrating on the script changes that produce superior results that are recognized and rewarded by top management. That seems obvious, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in practice. Best regards, -Steve
Steve, glad you jumped in. Some great points, and of course, “We all have opinions…” BTW, I’ve known more than my fair share of evil SOBs in leadership roles. -Art
So, what about when the values are published and aligned with the reality? Who defines evil? If you join the organization in full knowledge of the values, are you evil, or just choosing an environment where you think you can thrive?
Example: some well-known Wall Street firms are known for being “kill what you eat” organizations. Accounts get stolen, what counts is that the account gets serviced. Evil? or just business?
Example: show biz. Young, talented people will be lucky to work for food, often at a time when they’re doing their best work. Evil? They know the score going in.
Example, maybe just showbiz again: e-games are typically created by talented newcomers who work 90 hour weeks for 6 months, then get laid off when the game ships. Evil? Or just businss as usual?
Example, doctors typically draw 36 hour shifts when they begin their residencies. Just how high is the quality of care from a sleep-deprived rookie? But this kind of “training” apparently produces people who can make good (?) decisions under extreme stress.
Example, the US Marine Corps breaks you down before they build you up. It appears to work. Pick your own favorite military organization.
Politics?
Personally, I wouldn’t want to be in any of those environments. They are all full of “get it done at all costs”, “there is no tomorrow” people. Is there a better way? It’s not clear.
Is it still evil if you expect it?
[…] as leaders” and why they seem to prosper in some organizations. Take a few minutes to read Why Do Evil Leaders Flourish Inside Some Organizations? and then follow up with A Follow-Up to My “Evil Leaders” post: Your Firm’s Values Have No […]
As an HR person (waits for the boos), I’ve had times when I highlight extremely high attrition from a particular department and been told off, for the simple reason that the manager in question produces the numbers they want. Not to mention the Evil Leaders who insist on one form of behaviour among their staff (I believe they call them “Values”), and another for themselves (called “Benefits”, or more often the “I deserve it”‘s). How about the times when great performers are given lower “moderated” ratings because they refuse to toe the “asshole” line? And (more and more), I’m being asked to “offload” the manager who is honest, fair, and has strong followership among his staff. All for the crime of trying to cut costs without cutting heads.
After working for Evil Leaders in and around Asia for nearly 20 years, I don’t believe there will be any cures as long as “Leaders” and managers are rewarded for short-term results.