I’m inspired by an observation that some executives are hired to fulfill a specific leadership mandate.  Then at once, they are sabotaged by the very people who have hired them achieve the prescribed goals.  What should a leadership hero do?  How can one survive or thrive in such an environment?

The trick here is recognizing this early and establishing the appropriate game plan.  There are sadly many forms of this toxic leadership but I will just discuss three here.

My executive sponsor is a crazy narcissistic loon.  I’m sure you’ve never experienced this right?  The challenge here is to not make the mistake in assuming that you work for a normal person.  If you do, you’ll notice bizarre things begin to happen.  I will share a valuable strategy that someone gave me.  Throw a nickel in the corner and tell them to go find it.  In other words, keep them distracted and occupied until you’re finished whatever it is you’re doing.  Then give them all the credit.  If you put your own narcissistic ego aside, this strategy works.

My executive sponsor is afraid and hiding under the table afraid of his own shadow.  This person is risk averse or lacks the capacity to pull off the required management agenda.  You can’t go out on a limb with this fair weather boss, because they won’t have your back and will leave you alone on that limb.  Make sure you have a safety net with this kind of executive sponsor.  Have a set of contingency plans so that if trouble comes, you have a way out.  It helps to position the situation so that “doing nothing” is worse than the alternatives.

There is incompetence and criminality in high places.  One my favorite recent movie lines from Cloud Atlas is “…I will not be subjugated by this criminal abuse!”  Take a stand against what is wrong and point out the crime.  In the old TV show Perry Mason, almost invariably, the person found holding the dead body was accused of the murder.  So, if you run across dead bodies in your organization, point them out.  Else, you’ll be accused of the crime.

Once you decode the clues of toxic leadership, all is not lost.  Mitigate as much as you can and strive to find ways to make yourself useful.  Plant your hedge of protection and do the right thing.  It may not feel good if you’re in it, but when you look back, you will feel good about your leadership legacy.