Conger 1990

Sometimes the dark side of leadership eclipses the bright side— to the detriment of both the leader and the organization.

The Dark Side of Leadership

JAY A. CONGER

n recent years, business leaders have gained great popularity: Lee Iaccoca and Steven / Jobs, for example, have stepped into the limelight as agents of change and entrepreneurship. But though we tend to think of the positive outcomes associated with leaders, certain risks or liabilities are also entailed. The very behaviors that distinguish leaders from managers also have the potential to produce problematic or even disastrous outcomes for their organizations. For example, when a leader's behaviors become exaggerated, lose touch with reality, or become vehicles for purely personal gain, they may harm the leader and the organization. How do leaders produce such negative outcomes —and why? Three particular skill areas can contribute to such problems. These include leaders' strategic vision, their communications and impression-management skills, and their general management practices. We will examine each to discover its darker side.

PROBLEMS WITH THE VISIONARY LEADER

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As we know, the 1970s and 1980s brought tremendous changes in the world's competitive business environment. Previously successful organizations that had grown huge and bureaucratic were suddenly faced with pressures to innovate and alter their ways. Out of these

turbulent times came a new breed of business leader: the strategic visionary. These men and women, like Ross Perot of Electronic Data Systems and Mary Kay Ash of Mary Kay Cosmetics, possessed a twofold ability: to foresee market opportunities and to craft organizational strategies that captured these opportunities in ways that were personally meaningful to employees. When their success stories spread, "vision" became the byword of the 1980s. Yet though many of these leaders led their organizations on to great successes, others led their organizations on-to great...