Destructive leadership: types and levels of severity (psychoanalytical approach) (in Russian)

Abstract

The article discusses the classification of types of destructive organizational leadership and the levels of its severity. Purpose. To formulate and substantiate the taxonomy of destructive organizational leadership, analyze the severity of destructive traits in the behavior of managers, and establish how these personality traits affect the effectiveness of business processes. Destructive leadership is considered in the article as the opposite of constructive leadership, and is characterized by suppression, manipulation, excessive control, and other negative manifestations. Special attention is paid to the pathological aspects of destructive leadership related to psychodynamic processes and the peculiarities of the leader’s personality development. Method. For the theoretical and methodological analysis, classical and relevant works on social psychology and psychoanalysis were reviewed. A review of approaches to the interpretation of destructive leadership traits was conducted, and some preliminary results of a study on the severity of destructive manifestations in the heads of domestic organizations were examined (N = 330). The article discusses various examples of destructive leadership, as well as the reasons for appointing not the most effective employees to senior positions. Findings. The author’s approach to the taxonomy of levels and types of destructive leadership based on psychoanalysis is presented, including a description of personality traits, pathologies characteristic of each level and type, and the main aspects of determining destructive traits in the personality structure. The author identifies 10 types of destructive leadership: a tyrant leader (psychopathic or antisocial type), a self-sacrificing leader (masochistic or self-destructive type), a dramatizing leader (hysterical type), a narcissistic leader (narcissistic type), a loner or a distant leader (schizoid type), a masked leader (dissociative type); controlling leader (paranoid type), robot leader (obsessive-compulsive type), overactive enthusiastic leader (hypomanic type), anxious-depressive leader; and four levels of their severity. The study highlights the need for a systematic approach to assessing leadership qualities and the importance of applying known and new methods to improve the quality of management in organizations.