The Allure of Toxic Leaders

In the wake of highly publicized examples of toxic leadership - in politics, business, and even religion - Americans are growing increasingly cynical about leaders’ morality and motivations. Despite frustrations with such leaders who manipulate, mistreat, and leave their followers worse than they found them, followers often continue to tolerate, and even prefer, these leaders over their nontoxic counterparts. What forces make followers susceptible to toxic leaders and how can this detrimental situation be remedied?

In The Allure of Toxic Leaders, Jean Lipman-Blumen analyzes these questions in the context of case examples and research. Deviating from convention by focusing on the critical role of the followers in promoting and maintaining toxic behavior, Lipman-Blumen uses a psychological lens to explore why followers fall prey to toxic leaders and how this increasingly alarming phenomenon can be minimized.