Humanity today is going through one of the worse patches in modern times. In spite of the fact that the human brain has developed to a level where it should have rationally and reasonably seen through the ills of neglecting human welfare and dignity, errors have been committed and market forces allowed to drive leaders towards an impasse, consequences of which none had ever thought of.
Leadership style, therefore, is in question again. Responsiveness to human needs, adaptability of organisational structures, sustainability of economic growth and balanced social development are some of the challenging tasks for leadership that has come under the radar of observation by everyone struggling in the rising tide of frequent lockdowns, lost business opportunities, massive layoffs and survival in the VUCA world.
This blog article highlights that bad leadership is a craft of the bygone days and no more works to manage and deal with human beings in a dispersed work environment, which demands trust and empowerment. Bad/unethical leadership contravenes the need for developing this bondage between the employees and the employer.
In the business world, bad/unethical leadership is a costly phenomenon as it is linked with job stress, diminished wellbeing, poor job satisfaction, reduced performance, lesser productivity, and low levels of creativity among followers and thus a terrible waste of human potential. Research on the dark side of leadership behaviour is comparatively a new field of research. It gained traction as its deleterious effects started being observed and studied in depth by scholars around the world.
The lead author of this article has been doing research on the dark triads of leadership. Her research showed that such behaviour is extremely common in organisations and it elicits a range of negative attitudes and behaviours, including bullying and harassment in the workplace. Another study estimated that more than 70% of employees have been either directly bullied by their supervisors, managers and leaders at work, or have observed them displaying abusive and hostile behaviour in the workplace.
There is a strong consensus that a leader is said to be bullying when s/he harasses, offends, and harms the less powerful person by unreasonable, unethical and hostile interpersonal conduct at work. It’s an abuse of power, legitimate or illegitimate, linked to the helplessness of targeted individual(s) who find it difficult to escape from such behaviour. In fact, one study suggests that leaders use bullying as a tactic to advance their selfish agendas in order to discredit those who question their unethical motives.
In the business world, bad/unethical leadership is a costly phenomenon as it is linked with job stress, diminished wellbeing, poor job satisfaction, reduced performance, lesser productivity, and low levels of creativity among followers and thus a terrible waste of human potential.
Organizations can be rebuilt but humans are more valuable and irretrievable if lost. The costs associated with bad leadership necessitate a need for initiating cultural change driven by moral norms and enforcement of ethical standards in all walks of life. Value-based leadership, which inspires and empowers followers by role modelling, shared ethical and moral values, should become the mainstay for all activities. Leaders who show compassion and integrity should guide and lead people in all walks of life. Advancement of the common good through the virtues of care, consideration and compassion should become the goal and mission of all institutions that are meant to serve humankind.
The failure of our institutions, and their leadership, to deal effectively and promptly with the pandemic crisis, has heightened the need for all these changes. The shocks that the global community endured has awakened us to the reality that perhaps the business world has been worshipping the wrong idols and pursuing wrong priorities. Policymakers are thus recommended to cultivate ethical leadership practice in organisations as it has been found to promote justice and wellbeing as well as discourage bullying and harassment at work. This can be accomplished by accentuating behavioural ethics in leadership development, evaluation and selection processes in organizations. For example, selection committees should ask the candidates for senior roles on how they have responded to ethical dilemmas in their past professional experiences.
Dr Saima Ahmad, Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University and Mr Mohammad Nazim, Private Education
& Business Consultant
