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The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians--and How We Can Survive Them
Toxic leaders, both political, like Slobodan Milosevic, and corporate, like Enron's Ken Lay, have always been with us, and many books have been written to explain what makes them tick. Here leadership scholar Jean Lipman-Blumen explains what makes the followers tick, exploring why people will tolerate--and remain loyal to--leaders who are destructive to their organizations, their employees, or their nations.
Why do we knowingly follow, seldom unseat, frequently prefer, and sometimes even create toxic leaders? Lipman-Blumen argues that these leaders appeal to our deepest needs, playing on our anxieties and fears, on our yearnings for security, high self-esteem, and significance, and on our desire for noble enterprises and immortality. She also explores how followers inadvertently keep themselves in line by a set of insidious control myths that they internalize. For example, the belief that the leader must necessarily be in a position to "know more" than the followers often stills their objections. In addition, outside forces--such as economic depressions, political upheavals, or a crisis in a company--can increase our anxiety and our longing for charismatic leaders. Lipman-Blumen shows how followers can learn critical lessons for the future and survive in the meantime. She discusses how to confront, reform, undermine, blow the whistle on, or oust a toxic leader. And she suggests how we
can diminish our need for strong leaders, identify "reluctant leaders" among competent followers, and even nurture the leader within ourselves.
Toxic leaders charm, manipulate, mistreat, weaken, and ultimately devastate their followers. The Allure of Toxic Leaders tells us how to recognize these leaders before it's too late.
Why do we knowingly follow, seldom unseat, frequently prefer, and sometimes even create toxic leaders? Lipman-Blumen argues that these leaders appeal to our deepest needs, playing on our anxieties and fears, on our yearnings for security, high self-esteem, and significance, and on our desire for noble enterprises and immortality. She also explores how followers inadvertently keep themselves in line by a set of insidious control myths that they internalize. For example, the belief that the leader must necessarily be in a position to "know more" than the followers often stills their objections. In addition, outside forces--such as economic depressions, political upheavals, or a crisis in a company--can increase our anxiety and our longing for charismatic leaders. Lipman-Blumen shows how followers can learn critical lessons for the future and survive in the meantime. She discusses how to confront, reform, undermine, blow the whistle on, or oust a toxic leader. And she suggests how we
can diminish our need for strong leaders, identify "reluctant leaders" among competent followers, and even nurture the leader within ourselves.
Toxic leaders charm, manipulate, mistreat, weaken, and ultimately devastate their followers. The Allure of Toxic Leaders tells us how to recognize these leaders before it's too late.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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267 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 4, 2013
Jean Lipman-Blumen's "The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians - And How We Can Survive Them" initially appealed to me on several levels. As someone who studied public administration and nonprofit management at the graduate level, the book addressed issues I had been familiar with from my prior academic career. As someone who formerly served on the Board of Directors of a nonprofit organization that was undone by poor leadership as well as poor followership, I also knew that this book would speak to personal experiences that I have had as well. Finally, I was curious about the structural factors which contribute to some businesses, nonprofits, community organizations, nations, international organizations, social movements, and government agencies falling prey to chronic dysfunctional leadership. While the book offers much food for thought for both followers and leaders in any type of organization, it ultimately fell short of its potential by refusing to engage with the last of these motivations for my reading the book. The book talks a great deal about the personal reasons that individuals may tolerate or even seek out toxic leaders but fails to address the structural reasons why some organizations seem to attract chronic dysfunctional leadership while others have these problems to a far lesser degree.
One flaw of Lipman-Blumen's analysis is that she draws on many worthwhile disciplines with much to say on this important topic - public administration, management studies, psychology, history, political science, sociology, anthropology, religious studies, journalism, philosophy, and even mathematics - without seriously engaging in an in depth way with any of them. Many points raised in the book seem that they could have been strengthened with more in depth case studies, empirical research, or at the very least with a more in depth engagement with the issues Lipman-Blumen raises and the ideas of the thinkers whose work she brings to bear on the topic.
All of that said, this book is still a worthwhile read for those that are both followers and leaders in any type of organization. In a conversation with a very close friend that still serves on the Board of Directors of the nonprofit I once served on, she brought up her analysis of how the leader I had experienced as toxic had taken on greater and greater authority and as a result became increasingly corrupt. It brought to mind the point that Lipman-Blumen raises in the book about how followers may sometimes push nontoxic leaders over the line into toxicity by delegating too much of their power to him or her, thereby making space for the leader to begin to abuse his or her power. In light of this conversation, I developed a new appreciation for Lipman-Blumen's analysis of the ways in which followers, who for whatever reason see fit to delegate complete authority to a leader, can create a monster. Lipman-Blumen is right that followers willing to nurture "the leader within" can in many ways prove a bulwark against toxic leadership.
In conclusion, Lipman-Blumen's book is a worthwhile read for those who play a variety of diverse roles within organizations of all kinds. However, the book could have been greatly improved by an examination of structural factors that contribute to chronic dysfunctional leadership within organizations, empirical research on the issues addressed, and a more in depth engagement with the work of the thinkers that Lipman-Blumen draws upon in "The Allure of Toxic Leaders."
One flaw of Lipman-Blumen's analysis is that she draws on many worthwhile disciplines with much to say on this important topic - public administration, management studies, psychology, history, political science, sociology, anthropology, religious studies, journalism, philosophy, and even mathematics - without seriously engaging in an in depth way with any of them. Many points raised in the book seem that they could have been strengthened with more in depth case studies, empirical research, or at the very least with a more in depth engagement with the issues Lipman-Blumen raises and the ideas of the thinkers whose work she brings to bear on the topic.
All of that said, this book is still a worthwhile read for those that are both followers and leaders in any type of organization. In a conversation with a very close friend that still serves on the Board of Directors of the nonprofit I once served on, she brought up her analysis of how the leader I had experienced as toxic had taken on greater and greater authority and as a result became increasingly corrupt. It brought to mind the point that Lipman-Blumen raises in the book about how followers may sometimes push nontoxic leaders over the line into toxicity by delegating too much of their power to him or her, thereby making space for the leader to begin to abuse his or her power. In light of this conversation, I developed a new appreciation for Lipman-Blumen's analysis of the ways in which followers, who for whatever reason see fit to delegate complete authority to a leader, can create a monster. Lipman-Blumen is right that followers willing to nurture "the leader within" can in many ways prove a bulwark against toxic leadership.
In conclusion, Lipman-Blumen's book is a worthwhile read for those who play a variety of diverse roles within organizations of all kinds. However, the book could have been greatly improved by an examination of structural factors that contribute to chronic dysfunctional leadership within organizations, empirical research on the issues addressed, and a more in depth engagement with the work of the thinkers that Lipman-Blumen draws upon in "The Allure of Toxic Leaders."
April 11, 2009
As assortment of genuinely interesting ideas wrapped in fuzzy prose. The book would have been better if the arguments were presented in a more structured and logical manner (see, e.g., Dean's Conservatives Without Conscience).
June 27, 2018
Lipman-Blumen's theme is that the problem of toxic leadership lies more in the followers than in the leaders. This book is timely for the Age of Trump. But it is more useful to the political/social analyst than to the person confronting a situation of toxic leadership.
March 31, 2025
O carte destul de interesantă, scrisă de o idealistă, sau mai exact, de o INFJ.
De unde știu asta? De la vocabularul deosebit de bogat, adică de la utilizarea unor cuvinte în engleză pe care nici cei cu studii academice nu le știu / folosesc. Precum și de la idealismul (naivitatea) celor scrise.
Autoarea este interesată de leadership-ul toxic. Ceea ce este bine, deoarece aceste leadership a fost mereu omniprezent în istoria omenirii. Ceea ce face unică această carte este focusul ei: autoarea se focalizează pe followeri. Adică pe urmăritori, pe victime: ce îi face pe aceștia să idolatrizeze și să contribuie la ascensiunea și menținerea la conducere a liderilor toxici? De ce aceștia tolerează, și chiar deseori, consideră normal să fie tratați toxic de către liderii lor? O problemă foarte interesantă, precum și foarte dilematică.
Intenția autoarei este una nobilă și idealistă: aceea de a-i ajuta pe followeri să-și conștientizeze anxietățile, părtinirile (bias-urile), erorile logice, să accepte adevărul, ca în final să se revolte și să nu mai tolereze leadership-ul toxic. Un fel de idealism al lui Orwell din 1984, care spera că prolii se vor deștepta distrugînd sistemul totalitar. Or, aici e și naivitatea autoarei: nu masele, ci indivizi și grupuri au schimbat omenirea de-a lungul istoriei spre bine.
Cartea nu este nici una științifică, dar nici proză. E ceva la mijloc, tipic stilului unui INFJ, care s-a documentat cu mii de surse, dar care și conține o mulțime de insight-uri abstracte și exotice personale, pe care marea majoritate nu are cum să le înțeleagă, precum și care nici științific nu pot fi demonstrate. Clasic INFJ style, gen Freud (care azi opera lui e considerată pseudo-știință).
În fine, cartea e faină deoarece te ajută să vezi leadership-ul toxic și din cealaltă parte, a followerilor. Aproape toată literatura științifică despre leadership-ul toxic e focusată pe liderii toxic și caracteristicile acestora, minimizînd rolul urmăritorilor și al sistemului în care are loc procesul dat (de leadership toxic).
Mai ales acum e potrivit să fie citită, cînd indivizi toxici ca trump și cohorta lui au ajuns la putere în SUA cu votul și sprijinul mulțimii, iar psihopați ca putin ucid sute de mii de oameni avînd sprijinul deplin al populației sale...
De unde știu asta? De la vocabularul deosebit de bogat, adică de la utilizarea unor cuvinte în engleză pe care nici cei cu studii academice nu le știu / folosesc. Precum și de la idealismul (naivitatea) celor scrise.
Autoarea este interesată de leadership-ul toxic. Ceea ce este bine, deoarece aceste leadership a fost mereu omniprezent în istoria omenirii. Ceea ce face unică această carte este focusul ei: autoarea se focalizează pe followeri. Adică pe urmăritori, pe victime: ce îi face pe aceștia să idolatrizeze și să contribuie la ascensiunea și menținerea la conducere a liderilor toxici? De ce aceștia tolerează, și chiar deseori, consideră normal să fie tratați toxic de către liderii lor? O problemă foarte interesantă, precum și foarte dilematică.
Intenția autoarei este una nobilă și idealistă: aceea de a-i ajuta pe followeri să-și conștientizeze anxietățile, părtinirile (bias-urile), erorile logice, să accepte adevărul, ca în final să se revolte și să nu mai tolereze leadership-ul toxic. Un fel de idealism al lui Orwell din 1984, care spera că prolii se vor deștepta distrugînd sistemul totalitar. Or, aici e și naivitatea autoarei: nu masele, ci indivizi și grupuri au schimbat omenirea de-a lungul istoriei spre bine.
Cartea nu este nici una științifică, dar nici proză. E ceva la mijloc, tipic stilului unui INFJ, care s-a documentat cu mii de surse, dar care și conține o mulțime de insight-uri abstracte și exotice personale, pe care marea majoritate nu are cum să le înțeleagă, precum și care nici științific nu pot fi demonstrate. Clasic INFJ style, gen Freud (care azi opera lui e considerată pseudo-știință).
În fine, cartea e faină deoarece te ajută să vezi leadership-ul toxic și din cealaltă parte, a followerilor. Aproape toată literatura științifică despre leadership-ul toxic e focusată pe liderii toxic și caracteristicile acestora, minimizînd rolul urmăritorilor și al sistemului în care are loc procesul dat (de leadership toxic).
Mai ales acum e potrivit să fie citită, cînd indivizi toxici ca trump și cohorta lui au ajuns la putere în SUA cu votul și sprijinul mulțimii, iar psihopați ca putin ucid sute de mii de oameni avînd sprijinul deplin al populației sale...
October 20, 2021
Like I imagine many others, I jumped on this book in the hopes of understanding why so many of my countrymen and women have devoted themselves to former president Trump (and spent the entire book wishing it had been written after his presidency for the analysis). The good news is that after combing through all the pages, I feel like my question has been answered. So why the 2 stars?
The Allure of Toxic Leaders, unfortunately, reads like a college textbook. It's dry, wordy, vague, and repetitive. It feels like the author spent the first section of the book trying to convince me that toxic leaders exist (the amount of examples are slightly traumatizing and not needed) and the last section telling me that our only solution is greater self-awareness (which is something counselors spend multiple sessions working on with clients -- not an easy task and that's one-on-one). The middle section, which does have some gems, feels like the ghost of Freud is casting his shadow over ever hypothesis. *sighs*
The most important takeaways for me are 1) low self-esteem is easily boosted by perpetuating -isms (e.g., racism, sexism), and toxic leaders often use such division as a tool, and 2) toxic leaders promise us the world, which diffuses our sense of responsibility and makes us feel safe and secure, allowing us to focus on our day-to-day lives.
It's an informative book, but it could have been condensed and simplified.
The Allure of Toxic Leaders, unfortunately, reads like a college textbook. It's dry, wordy, vague, and repetitive. It feels like the author spent the first section of the book trying to convince me that toxic leaders exist (the amount of examples are slightly traumatizing and not needed) and the last section telling me that our only solution is greater self-awareness (which is something counselors spend multiple sessions working on with clients -- not an easy task and that's one-on-one). The middle section, which does have some gems, feels like the ghost of Freud is casting his shadow over ever hypothesis. *sighs*
The most important takeaways for me are 1) low self-esteem is easily boosted by perpetuating -isms (e.g., racism, sexism), and toxic leaders often use such division as a tool, and 2) toxic leaders promise us the world, which diffuses our sense of responsibility and makes us feel safe and secure, allowing us to focus on our day-to-day lives.
It's an informative book, but it could have been condensed and simplified.
April 27, 2022
So this is a book that promises hopeful answers but seems a little too much like a self-help book. In many ways, to avoid following a toxic leader you have to know yourself well enough to know WHY you even might be attracted to a toxic leader. I think many of the answers posited are buried in most people's subconscious minds.
It's a bit like being bullied. Even if you are the bully, can you stop being that way if you don't recognize it or you see it as a strength? If you follow others who are toxic, what if you can't help but find security in following someone who seems to have the answers? And how much of what is shared is culturally influenced by an American perspective of being "independent?"
So I believe there are many good nuggets in this book but ultimately would only give it 3/5 stars because the answers are a bit too pat and perhaps I just couldn't slog through the chapters anymore. I will lay the blame at my own feet for not being able to finish it as I do believe there was a healthy amount of effort to give multiple perspectives but my bias may have been that I was looking for answers that might speak more to my own sensibilities as an Asian American.
It's a bit like being bullied. Even if you are the bully, can you stop being that way if you don't recognize it or you see it as a strength? If you follow others who are toxic, what if you can't help but find security in following someone who seems to have the answers? And how much of what is shared is culturally influenced by an American perspective of being "independent?"
So I believe there are many good nuggets in this book but ultimately would only give it 3/5 stars because the answers are a bit too pat and perhaps I just couldn't slog through the chapters anymore. I will lay the blame at my own feet for not being able to finish it as I do believe there was a healthy amount of effort to give multiple perspectives but my bias may have been that I was looking for answers that might speak more to my own sensibilities as an Asian American.
February 5, 2022
Jean Lipman-Blumen (professor of public policy and organizational behavior at Claremont Graduate University, California) describes why we do sometimes follow destructive bosses and politicians. What does loyalty mean in disfunctional leader-follower relationships? Lipman brings analyses and practical strategies.
Her research question is: what are the forces that propel followers, again and again, to accept, often favor, and sometimes create toxic leaders?
This book complements Heifetz's Leadership Without Easy Answers (1990).
Her research question is: what are the forces that propel followers, again and again, to accept, often favor, and sometimes create toxic leaders?
This book complements Heifetz's Leadership Without Easy Answers (1990).
January 7, 2018
A deep read on how one might deal with toxic leaders. As a student of organizational leadership and the effects of the dark side of leaders on organizations this book is a must read. The examples of how different leaders can be or become toxic and how followers can overcome them is intriguing and a difficult concept to address. I enjoyed the various examples provided of how followers might break free from toxic leaders.
June 11, 2017
I read this book for an MBA class on Toxic Leadership taught by the author. The book is timeless and true. It is a must read in these and any times.
January 28, 2008
About the expectation (and dependency) of security.
July 16, 2011
An in-depth analysis and thesis on toxic leadership and why it is a perpetual problem.
December 14, 2008
Recognize anyone?
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews