Toxic Leadership:
An Organizational Disease
By:
Desirae Linton-Guapi
November 1, 2015
National University
Leadership 603
Toxic Leadership
2
Leadership is a multifaceted term. It has a different meaning to different people
based upon varying situations. In general, leadership is the ability to inspire and
motivate others to accomplish a goal or objective. This can be done through either
positive leadership or negative (toxic) leadership. Positive leadership is accomplished
when trust, collaboration, and selflessness are exemplified and the leader provokes
determination in the employees to achieve the organization’s goals. Negative, or toxic,
leadership is when a leader uses their power to satisfy their greed and achieve their
own self-induced goals through fear and oppression of the employees. Throughout the
years, we can see that more and more leaders are using a form of toxic leadership
increasing the amount of ethical scandal endured in major corporations. Even in the
military, I have worked for a few people in senior leadership positions whose primary
