Ben Polis Case

Destructive leadership is theory that has been around for a while now, and is clearly exemplified through Ben Polis.

To begin with, there are five main features of destructive leaders, these features include: that the leader is rarely absolutely destructive, there is a mixture of good and bad results that may be produced in various leadership situations; secondly, destructive leaders rely mainly on methods of dominance, coercion, and manipulation as opposed to influence, persuasion, and commitment; thirdly, destructive leaders tend to focus more on personal gains/goals as opposed the needs of the entire group; fourthly, the outcomes of these leaders often tend to compromise the quality of life of its constituents; and lastly, the outcomes of destructive leaders are due to a direct result of the leaders, followers, and the environment in which this all takes place.

This culmination of a destructive leader, susceptible followers, and a conducive environment is regarded as the infamous toxic triangle, which is clearly seen in the case of Ben Polis (Oderberg, 2012).

Polis had charisma in regards to his ability to inspire people to get on board with his vision for his organization, while at the same time there was a clear ideology of hate as seen through his numerous inappropriate racial comments (Levy, 2012). Polis had susceptible followers; both conformers who simply went along with his practices out of shear fear, as well as colluders who were individually driven to meet their personal goals and expectations (Battersby, I was not the boss, Polis tells court, 2012). Further, Polis had the perfect environment, in relation to the fact that for some reason the regulatory boards of the industry simply overlooked his business operations until things went seriously wrong (Battersby, Going for Broke: The bizarre saga of Energy Watch, 2012).

Bibliography

Battersby, L. (2012, July