The Psychology of Leadership Principles, Practices, and Priorities

The negative determinants that come from a leader who has a callous disregard for employees or who is ego-based and detached from employees or who cannot make decisions are often the same leaders who fail to see their faults and short-comings. Descriptions of leaders and their behaviors are central to better understanding why boards cannot misstep when choosing a leader and why leaders must understand their role in organizational leadership and leadership accountability. Furthermore, this book includes research and case studies that offer valuable tools and lessons for leaders. Many people and students of leadership look at examples in the business world and in business-related articles and books to glean information about good leadership to more easily recognize flawed leadership, but seldom will business leaders and non-education entities look at examples of flawed leadership in education and non-profit settings as a learning tool. This book offers lessons for anyone interested in leadership by exploring multiple types of organizations. But there is something else to offer here, too. Any discussion about the determinants of destructive leadership would not be complete without also including what works. Destructive leaders, boards, and organizations are not necessarily lost causes. There are "antidotes" to the poison of destructive leadership. Sometimes the antidote is disproportionate to the number of determinants to counteract the effects; for example, it takes a steady and long-term "dose" of servant leadership to counteract the destructive effects and aftereffects of dictatorial leadership. The examples in this book of leadership and governance, including both destructive and effective leadership, come from several sources. There are 500 references and over 50 case studies analyzed to illustrate leadership points. Some of the case studies are troubling and some are reassuring. Some case studies are puzzling and they are all revealing. The message should become clear when reading this book that boards and leaders should be held accountable for allowing a destructive workplace climate to contaminate what otherwise could or should be a healthy organization. Of course, there are well-functioning organizations with effective leadership and governance; however, research shows that half of the people currently new in leadership positions will fail. They fail primarily due their inability or unwillingness to build and maintain a productive team, a positive work climate, and a leadership style that encourages and motivates employees. However, it does not have to be that way. In this book, the word "determinant" is used frequently. It is a concept that no other book on leadership uses. The word and concept come from the field of epidemiology. Epidemiologists work from two basic principles: (1) all diseases have determinants and (2) diseases do not occur randomly. In other words, there are always causes for diseases and there are patterns that reveal how a disease spreads, which holds the key to how it can be prevented and treated. Effective and ineffective leadership can be viewed the same way because there are always determinants and those impacts are not randomly distributed; the impacts are uniformly and deeply spread throughout an organization. Epidemiologists look for treatments, also, by matching the determinants to the disease. Like the epidemiologists, this book not only identifies determinants, such as arrogance, it also provides research-based "antidotes" to the determinants at the end of each chapter. At the end of the book is a section on leadership and motivation theories and models, as well as a section that provides leadership style surveys and assessments that can help readers identify their leadership style while also becoming aware of what changes in leadership style can improve the workplace. The reference section includes numerous citations and advanced reading suggestions.