Managerial Derailment

Researchers have studied managerial derailment — or the dark side of leadership — for many years. The key derailment characteristics of bad managers are well documented and fall into three broad behavioral categories:

• “moving away behaviors,” which create distance from others through hyper-emotionality, diminished communication, and skepticism that erodes trust;
• “moving against behaviors,” which overpower and manipulate people while aggrandizing the self;
• “moving toward behaviors,” which include being ingratiating, overly conforming, and reluctant to take chances or stand up for one’s team.