Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Chapter 14: Exploring Destructive Leadership
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Dark leadership is able to thrive when which three conditions exist?
a. Destructive leader, susceptible followers, and energetic environment
b. Destructive leader, susceptible followers, and conducive environment
c. Laissez-Faire leader, susceptible followers, and conducive environment
d. Destructive leader, empowered followers, and conducive environment
2. Which of the following terms best fits the textbook’s definition of destructive
leadership?
a. The dark side of leadership
b. Toxic leadership
c. Unethical leadership
d. All of these
3. The opposite of caring and productive leadership is ______.
a. Laissez-Faire leadership
b. autocratic leadership
c. destructive leadership
d. achievement-oriented leadership
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
4. Three characteristics of the dark side of leadership include excessive use of power,
selfishness of the leader, and ______.
a. behavior that harms others
b. sociopathic tendencies of the leader
c. lack of a common goal
d. productive followers
5. Excessive use of power can mean a leader ______.
a. is exclusively task-oriented
b. is focused only on the development of his/her employees
c. covers up the mistakes of his/her followers
d. uses coercion to get his/her way
6. An example of selfish leadership is ______.
a. wanting to be the best performer in a company
b. being fixated on your own goals rather than shared goals
c. doing what your followers want you to do
d. forcing your followers to take personal development courses
7. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of destructive leadership?
a. Excessive use of power
b. Selfishness
c. Lack of trust
d. Harmful behavior
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
8. How might an unscrupulous business person use charisma to sell a faulty product?
a. By devaluing competitors’ products and arguing why his/her product is best
b. By promoting him/herself as the top salesperson in the company
c. By only targeting uninformed potential buyers
d. By charming potential buyers and gaining their trust
9. What effect can the narcissism of a destructive leader have on followers?
a. Makes them feel unimportant
b. Causes them to idolize the leader
c. Makes the leader appear more “human”
d. Encourages the followers to work harder
10. People who go along with destructive leaders out of fear are known as ______.
a. conspirators
b. conformers
c. colluders
d. complainers
11. In the Toxic Triangle, people who are easily influenced by others and unintentionally
support destructive leaders are known as ______.
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
a. participative
b. suspicious
c. susceptible
d. conducive
12. Colluders ______.
a. invite others to share in the ways and means of getting things done
b. support leaders who use a participatory style
c. secretly try to undermine their co-workers
d. support leaders in order to advance their own agendas
13. College coaches who don’t report academic misconduct by a star player to
academic officials are ______.
a. conforming
b. colluding
c. compromising
d. cowardly
14. When followers’ needs for______ are strong, it makes them vulnerable to the
dictates of abusive leaders.
a. security and certainty
b. feeling chosen or special
c. belonging
d. all of these
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
15. According to Lipman-Blumen, people who tend to follow leaders who are self-
assured, controlling, and demanding, may have a psychological need to ______.
a. be controlled by others
b. feel guided and protected
c. have obstacles removed for them
d. have clear goals set for them
16. Research on the psychological factors that predispose followers to be susceptible to
destructive leadership was done by ______.
a. William Schutz
b. Andrew Padilla
c. Susan Komives
d. Jean Lipman-Blumen
17. People who are highly dependent on a group for their own personal meaning and
purpose are likely to engage in this behavior to retain their sense of belonging.
a. Step up and take a leadership role
b. Be willing to take more risks
c. Be willing to give up their individuality and integrity
d. Pressure others to conform to group norms
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
18. Which of the following is NOT one of the psychological factors that contribute to
making people susceptible to destructive leadership?
Our fear of powerlessness to challenge a bad leader
Our fear of being isolated from others
Our fear of not belonging to the group
Our fear of being wrong
19. Among susceptible followers, being part of the “chosen ones” means one ______
while others are ______.
a. has power; weak
b. is right; less valuable
c. is humble; know-it-alls
d. is independent; still dependent on others
20. Followers who bring attention to the negative aspects of what a group or
organization is doing are called ______.
a. colluders
b. trouble-makers
c. whistleblowers
d. non-conformists
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
21. Hazing is an example of this psychological factor that makes people vulnerable to
destructive leadership.
a. Need for belonging to a community
b. Need for reassuring authority figures
c. Need to feel chosen or special
d. Need to disagree with the group
22. Which of the following is NOT a factor contributing to a conducive environment for
destructive leadership?
a. Instability
b. Missing checks and balances
c. Certain cultural values
d. Leader’s goals and motivations
23. How might opportunistic leaders take advantage of an unstable situation?
a. They may become whistleblowers.
b. They may create rules that serve themselves.
c. They may provide hope to followers.
d. They may observe rules to the tiniest detail.
24. A cultural value that might predispose people to obey destructive leaders is ______.
a. avoidance of uncertainty
b. pacifism
c. gender egalitarianism
d. humane orientation
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
25. In the Toxic Triangle, which of the psychological factors of susceptible followers is
most closely related the conducive environmental factor of perceived threat?
a. Fear of ostracism
b. Fear of powerlessness
c. Need for belonging
d. Need for security
26. This cultural value identifies with and emphasizes broader societal interests rather
than individual goals.
a. Power distance
b. Uncertainty avoidance
c. Collectivism
d. Institutionalism
27. A person who believes some people are entitled to be rich while others are not, and
that some people are born to rule, while others are not, is expressing this cultural value.
a. High power distance
b. High institutionalism
c. Low gender egalitarianism
d. Low collectivism
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
28. A task group that appoints a devil’s advocate during group discussion is protecting
itself against which potential threat?
a. Unscrupulous leadership
b. Absence of checks and balances
c. Uncertainty avoidance
d. Instability
29. Why is it challenging to get rid of destructive leaders once they are in place?
a. They are usually charismatic and persuasive.
b. They have accumulated some power and know how to use it.
c. They may be narcissistic and lack empathy for others’ points of view.
d. All of these.
30. How can organizations protect themselves against destructive leaders in their
midst?
a. Do not promote individuals who exhibit qualities of destructive leaders.
b. Ensure confidential means of reporting on unethical behavior of co-workers
c. Have policies in place where destructive employees can be removed
d. All of these
31. According to the text, how can followers stop destructive leadership once it occurs?
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
a. Ask for staff development opportunities to become better leaders themselves.
b. Become accepted by the leader in order to fulfill some of their personal agendas.
c. Convince themselves they are capable of outlasting the destructive leaders.
d. Avoid drama and focus on getting their own work done well and on time.
32. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was authorized to protect investors from destructive
leaders by ______.
a. requiring governing boards to limit terms of their members, so no one can build up
power bases over time
b. requiring governing boards to appoint scientists, not just dignitaries, to serve
c. requiring governing boards to more closely monitor their company’s financial activity.
d. requiring governing boards to appoint at least 20% diverse or minority members
33. According to the Leadership Snapshot in chapter 14, Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos
used this technique, common to destructive leaders, to run her company.
a. Attracting high-level investors and board members
b. Demanding absolute loyalty from her staff
c. Wanting to leave her mark on the world
d. Spending money lavishly
34. Shawna has worked in the restaurant business for 10 years. She has recently been
hired as the head chef at an upscale, new restaurant. She is responsible for all the
meals served at the restaurant, including purchasing the food, hiring the staff, and
making a profit. Because she is meticulous in creating menus and designing beautiful
plates of food, Shawna expects the same level of attention and care from the rest of the
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 5e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
kitchen staff. To maintain her reputation, she wants her food to be rated highly by
reviewers, so she examines every plate before it leaves the kitchen, often tells the
cooks to remake dishes, and scolds servers for slow service. There is now a high
turnover of staff in the restaurant. What quality of destructive leadership is Shawna
displaying?
a. Harmful behaviors
b. Selfishness
c. Charisma
d. Collusion
35. Shawna has worked in the restaurant business for 10 years. She has recently been
hired as the head chef at an upscale, new restaurant. She is responsible for all the
meals served at the restaurant, including purchasing the food, hiring the staff, and
making a profit. Because she has worked in toxic restaurant environments previously,
with chefs who yell and demand absolute control of the kitchen, she wants to create a
less stressful workplace at the new restaurant. How can Shawna lessen the likelihood of
her leadership becoming destructive?
a. Use her charisma to get staff to be loyal to her.
b. Teach her staff how to do tasks exactly the way she wants them done.
c. Hire staff who value the jobs as stepping stones to advance in their own careers.
d. Attribute the restaurant’s success to team effort rather than her personal reputation.
36. People can avoid becoming susceptible followers by ______.
a. choosing to be around like-minded people
b. being wary of how charisma can influence them
c. seeking out authority figures to guide them
d. learning new skills